Why is it that some social movements engaged in contentious politics experience radicalization whereas others do not? The Dynamics of Radicalization offers an innovative reply by investigating how and when social movement organizations switch from a nonviolent mode of contention to a violent one. Moving beyond existing explanations that posit aggressive motivations, grievances or violence-prone ideologies, this book demonstrates how these factors gain and lose salience in the context of relational dynamics among various parties and actors involved in episodes of contention. Drawing on a comparative historical analysis of al-Qaeda, the Red Brigades, the Cypriot EOKA, the authors develop a relational, mechamism-based theory that advances our understanding of political violence in several important ways by identifying turning points in the radicalization process, similar mechanisms at work across each case, and the factors that drive or impede radicalization. The Dynamics of Radicalization offers a counterpoint to mainstream works on political violence, which often presume that political violence and terrorism is rooted in qualities intrinsic to or developed by groups considered to be radical.

The 43rd Volume of Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change continues the series' tradition of publishing peer reviewed chapters, which advance our understanding of peace, political contention, and social change, by offering new ways to research and theorize attempts to challenge divides. Dedicated to the memory of Gregory M. Maney, Bringing Down Divides engages with and continues Maney's work on international conflicts, peace and justice movements, and community-based research. The volume is organized around three types of divides: Attributional divides, meaning the quality or feature of people around which resources, rights, and powers are distributed unequally, such as race, gender, and ethno-nationality. Ideological divides which encompass the systems of meaning, ideas, and beliefs that split and polarize people, such as conservative vs. progressive and antiwar vs. pro-war. Epistemological divides, namely the types, productions, and usages of knowledge over which conflicts occur, such as the academic-activist divide. The contributions to each of these sections focus on a variety of global issues, including the changing nature of political murals in Northern Ireland; armed actors' responses to civilian demands in Colombian peace territories; boundary-blurring in Turkey's leftwing-Islamist movement; and community-based action research. This makes Bringing Down Divides essential reading for those working and researching within the social movement field.

Although episodes of resistance and contention in authoritarian and authoritarian-like regimes constitute the majority of mass political movements worldwide, the theories and models of popular contention have been developed on liberal-democratic assumptions. Prompted by the recent revolutionary waves in the Middle East and North Africa, Popular Contention, Regime, and Transition offers a deeper understanding of the complex and indeterminate linkages between popular protest, regime type, and transitions in democratic and authoritarian regimes alike. Through a diverse array of case studies from countries around the world, this volume places the Arab Spring uprisings in comparative perspective, demonstrating the similarities and parallels between contentious events in democratic and authoritarian-like regimes. Leading scholars in the fields of political science, sociologoy, and international studies discuss topics such as the set of initial conditions involved in the protest, prospects of contention, and forms of protest, as well as the role of historical legacies, regime responses, the military, social polarization, and external factors in the divergent outcomes of protest. By situating the study of contention in authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes in comparative perspective, Popular Contention, Regime, and Transition generates powerful insights into the impetus, dynamics, and consequences of contention in all contexts.

Why is it that some social movements engaged in contentious politics experience radicalization whereas others do not? The Dynamics of Radicalization offers an innovative reply by investigating how and when social movement organizations switch from a nonviolent mode of contention to a violent one. Moving beyond existing explanations that posit aggressive motivations, grievances or violence-prone ideologies, this book demonstrates how these factors gain and lose salience in the context of relational dynamics among various parties and actors involved in episodes of contention. Drawing on a comparative historical analysis of al-Qaeda, the Red Brigades, the Cypriot EOKA, the authors develop a relational, mechanism-based theory that advances our understanding of political violence in several important ways by identifying turning points in the radicalization process, similar mechanisms at work across each case, and the factors that drive or impede radicalization. The Dynamics of Radicalization offers a counterpoint to mainstream works on political violence, which often presume that political violence and terrorism is rooted in qualities intrinsic to or developed by groups considered to be radical.