Publisher Description

Extremists are people whose ideas or tactics are viewed as outside the mainstream. Looked at this way, extremists are not necessarily twisted or evil. But they can be, especially when they are intolerant and violent. What makes extremists turn violent? This 2006 book assumes that extremists are rational: given their ends, they choose the best means to achieve them. The analysis explains why extremist leaders use the tactics they do, and why they are often insensitive to punishment and to loss of life. It also explains how rational people can be motivated to die for the cause. The book covers different aspects of extremism such as revolution, suicide terrorism, and global jihad. The arguments are illustrated with important episodes of extremism, including the French Revolution, the rise of nationalism in Yugoslavia under Milosevic, and the emergence of suicide terror and Al Qaeda today.

Author Biography

Ronald Wintrobe is Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario, where he also co-directs the Political Economy Research Group. Professor Wintrobe is the author of The Political Economy of Dictatorship (1998), and coauthor (with Albert Breton) of The Logic of Bureaucratic Conduct (1982). He is also coeditor (with Albert Breton, Gianluigi Galeotti and Pierre Salmon) of Rational Foundations of Democratic Politics (2003), Political Extremism and Rationality (2002), Understanding Democracy: Economic and Political Perspectives (1997) and Nationalism and Rationality (1995). All of the above titles were published by Cambridge University Press. He is also author or coauthor of many book chapters and articles in leading professional journals, and has written two radio programs on political economy for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. The problem of extremism; Part I. Groups: 2. Social interactions, trust and group solidarity; 3. Some illustrations and a general framework; Part II. Extremism: 4. The calculus of discontent; 5. Can suicide bombing be rational?; 6. Religion and suicide terror; Part III. Revolutions, Nationalism and Jihad: 7. Rational revolutions; 8. Slobodan Milosevic and the fire of nationalism; 9. 'Jihad vs McWorld' revisited; Conclusion; 10. Summary of propositions and policy implications.

Review

Review of the hardback: 'The work that Ronald Wintrobe offers us is dense, original, and at times, provocative. He forces us to question his arguments instead of reading them passively. … Rational Extremism gives us ideas and allows us to connect it with the most advanced studies in the field of the contemporary social sciences. It is the hallmark of great books.' Sociétal

Promotional

This 2006 book explains how extremist movements may be motivated by rational goals.

Review Quote

'The work that Ronald Wintrobe offers us is dense, original, and at times, provocative. He forces us to question his arguments instead of reading them passively. ... Rational Extremism gives us ideas and allows us to connect it with the most advanced studies in the field of the contemporary social sciences. It is the hallmark of great books.' Soci

Promotional "Headline"

This 2006 book explains how extremist movements may be motivated by rational goals.

Description for Bookstore

The starting point of this 2006 book is that the best way to understand extremists is to assume they are rational. The treatment explains why extremist leaders often advocate violence, and how they motivate their followers to die for the cause. The arguments are illustrated with important episodes of extremism.

Description for Library

The starting point of this 2006 book is that the best way to understand extremists is to assume they are rational. The treatment explains why extremist leaders often advocate violence, and how they motivate their followers to die for the cause. The arguments are illustrated with important episodes of extremism.

Details