The use of right-wing violence among Flemish adolescents: exploring the role of perceived injustice, social bonds and perceived discrimination

The events of 9/11 gave rise to a huge increase in studies on political violence and terrorism. Horgan (2005) and Bouhana & Wikström (2008) postulated that the increase in studies has not led to an increase in the understanding of political violence. Horgan argues that theoretical cloudiness around the concepts of extremism and terrorism impedes our understanding of the phenomenon and its causes. However, some scholars have attempted to integrate this fragmented knowledge in a theoretical framework. In the present inquiry we build upon insights derived from Sampson and laubs theory of cumulative disadvantage, Tyler’s model of procedural justice and Wikstrom’s recently developed Situational Action Theory. Following SAT, we define (right-wing) political violence as acts of moral rule-breaking stated in law and distinguish between causes and causes of the causes of right-wing political violence. The present study focuses exclusively on the antecedents and consequences of propensity to violent extremism. Propensity to violent extremism is a consequence of moral support for violent extremism and low self-control. The present inquiry evaluates (1) the (in)direct effect of cumulative disadvantage and perceived (in)justice on moral attitudes that are relevant to the explanation of self-reported right-wing political violence and (2) the (in)direct effects of perceived procedural justice, moral support for right-wing extremism and thrill-seeking behaviour on self-reported political violence and self-reported political vandalism. The analyses are based on a large-scale web survey among adolescents and young adults in Belgium.The events of 9/11 gave rise to a huge increase in studies on political violence and terrorism. Horgan (2005) and Bouhana & Wikström (2008) postulated that the increase in studies has not led to an increase in the understanding of political violence. Horgan argues that theoretical cloudiness around the concepts of extremism and terrorism impedes our understanding of the phenomenon and its causes. However, some scholars have attempted to integrate this fragmented knowledge in a theoretical framework. In the present inquiry we build upon insights derived from Sampson and laubs theory of cumulative disadvantage, Tyler’s model of procedural justice and Wikstrom’s recently developed Situational Action Theory. Following SAT, we define (right-wing) political violence as acts of moral rule-breaking stated in law and distinguish between causes and causes of the causes of right-wing political violence. The present study focuses exclusively on the antecedents and consequences of propensity to violent extremism. Propensity to violent extremism is a consequence of moral support for violent extremism and low self-control. The present inquiry evaluates (1) the (in)direct effect of cumulative disadvantage and perceived (in)justice on moral attitudes that are relevant to the explanation of self-reported right-wing political violence and (2) the (in)direct effects of perceived procedural justice, moral support for right-wing extremism and thrill-seeking behaviour on self-reported political violence and self-reported political vandalism. The analyses are based on a large-scale web survey among adolescents and young adults in Belgium.C