ABSTRACT
Non-violent extremism is still a terra-incognita, an emerging niche of literature across several disciplines including security studies, sociology and criminology. Although relevant scholarship would concur on the importance of ideologies in shaping human behaviour and (criminal) actions, the focus is still on actions when exploring issues related to extremism. The latter is also a very problematic term, often overused in contemporary academic and political debates, associated with radicalisation and terrorism. Although radicalisation, extremism and terrorism are not synonyms and present important differences, they are often used interchangeably. This Handbook stands as an important contribution to explore non-violent extremism vis-à-vis radicalisation and terrorism, across different ideologies around the world. This introductory chapter defines the key terms operationalised in the Handbook and maps out three macro-conceptual and policy-led factors that have so far inhibited research on non-violent extremism: the lack of analysis of non-violent extremism in relevant literature, the excessive focus on Islamist violent extremism and the confusion around certain key terms, such as radicalisation, extremism and terrorism. Most importantly, this stipulates how the Handbook will address these gaps in the literature – arguing for a new research agenda that explores the liminality between violence and non-violence within this under-explored category of non-state actors.
