From social conservatism and authoritarian populism to militant right-wing extremism

From social conservatism and authoritarian populism to militant right-wing extremism

This paper reviews our work that points to a link between the psychological aspects of social conservatism, intelligence, educational achievement, and militant extremist mindset (MEM). Conservative outlooks did not change under communist rule. Three ingredients of Social Conservatism are Religiosity, Nastiness/Social Dominance, and Social Awareness/Morality. There is a negative correlation between cognitive abilities and Social Conservatism. An increasing proportion of people with tertiary education contributes to a split in society between better-educated liberals and conservatives. Two ingredient processes of MEM (Pro-violence and Excuse) are conceptually similar to aspects of Social Conservatism. A critical ingredient of MEM that distinguishes it from Social Conservatism is Grudge. Three components of Grudge – Vile World, West, and Neighborhood Grudge – are important predictors of animosity towards outgroups. While nationalism/ethnocentrism has a significant correlation with all aspects of MEM, measures of trust in the system and socioeconomic status (SES) have essentially zero correlations. Terrorism motivated by right-wing ideology and MEM is also on the rise. Two recently completed studies produced outcomes that may be useful to policymakers. First, Serbs living in an area of recent conflict with Albanians show higher levels of Ethnocentrism, Neighborhood Grudge, and Pro-violence than Serbs living outside the conflict area. Second, asylum seekers hold lower levels of Grudge towards Western nations than do domicile populations from Southern Europe.

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