Tracing the Roots of Radicalism

Radicalism is an intense and fast expanding phenomenon of modern times that threaten human collective life. Terrorism is an extreme form of radicalism. It connotes destructive, annihilating and wrongly composed ideology leading to subversive activity. Certain nations are hot beds of terror related violence. It is too few in some other nations. Interestingly we find that certain population are prone to unrest and annihilating tendencies while certain others are largely free from it. Different reasons could be attributed to radicalism. Political instability, poverty, oppression, violation of human rights etc. are most commonly cited reasons. This is further exemplified by the fact that educationally acquired or politically or religiously indoctrinated ideologies act as precipitating factors. Nevertheless, the incidence and intensity of recurrence point to certain genetically acquired characteristics as well as psychological predisposition also. We mean by radicalism, the tendency to revolt against the system or state, or any aggressive outrage on any section/s of population. Radicalism is not a solution but a cause that demands a solution. This paper is an attempt to uncover the roots of radicalism and analyse the role of genetic, psychological, socio - cultural, ideological and intellectual factors contributing to it.