title: Terrorism and right-wing extremism: the changing face of terrorism and political violence in the 21st century: the virtual community of hatred.
abstract: There are no psychological characteristics or psychopathology that separates terrorists from the general population. Rather it is group dynamics, with a particular emphasis on collective identity that helps explain terrorist psychology. Just as there is a diverse spectrum of terrorisms, so too is there a spectrum of terrorist psychologies. Four waves of terrorism can be distinguished: the Anarchist wave, associated with labor violence in the United States in the late 19th century; the Anti-Colonial wave (nationalist-separatist), with minority groups seeking to be liberated from their colonial masters or from the majority in their country; the New Left wave (social revolutionary); and now the Religious wave. With the communications revolution, a new phenomenon is emerging which may presage a fifth wave: lone wolf terrorists who through the Internet are radicalized and feel they belong to the virtual community of hatred. A typology of lone wolf terrorism is proposed.
authors.affiliation: Professor of Psychiatry, Political Psychology, and International Affairs, and Director of the Political Psychology Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University in Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Jerrold M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Post
mesh_terms: D006252:Hate; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D011057:Politics; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D023481:Terrorism / Q000145:classification / Q000266:history / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence / Q000266:history / Q000523:psychology