ABSTRACT
There is no single pathway towards extremism, violence and acts of terrorism instead there are a range of factors that lead to such incidents. Extremism has become a nebulous term with many different interpretations and definitions of what the term constitutes (Eatwell and Goodwin 2010). In the UK tackling this threat from extremism has led to a wave of counter-terrorism policies and anti-terrorism legislation. Indeed, the term has also resulted in a polarised debate about what the term ‘extremism’ means amongst academics, policy makers and politicians. For example, Hussain in his book entitled ‘the Islamist’ argues that extremism as a ‘preamble to terrorism’ (2007: 278). However, critics argue that the term extremism is far too broad and being converged with problematic associations with words linked to violent acts, such as ‘violent extremism’; ‘fundamentalism’; ‘radicalisation’; ‘jihad’; ‘Islamism’ and ‘terrorism’ (Davies 2008). Moreover, Eatwell (2006) argues that the term ‘cumulative extremism’ should be adopted as a means to define extremist threats to UK national security.
