| Summary/Abstract |
This article addresses two main issues: 1) the research progress in
radicalization theory and its development trends; 2) the relevance of field
research of Islamic communities in the North Caucasus for the radicalization
theory. The author maintains that different conceptions of radicalization,
from simple to more complex and most comprehensive ones, have failed
to cope with the key problems inherent in this approach. One of the main
ways to enrich the radicalization theory is to expand its information basis,
including through field research. The results of field research conducted
in the North Caucasus by the author suggest the need to look closely at
the role of macro processes in understanding radicalization; at religious
radicalism as a “commodity” not only on the religious market, but also on
VOL. 20 • No.1 • JANUARY – MARCH • 2022 185
Irina V. Starodubrovskaya
the market of ideologies and youth cultures; and at competition among
different religious ideologies as a mechanism that can turn mutual relations
between the opponents and proponents of violent actions into a “two-way
street,” and not a “conveyor belt” or “firewall.
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