ABSTRACT
Crowds and groups may become radicalized, embracing increasingly violent forms of resistance. Radicalization, however, does not necessarily lead to immediate radical action: at times it entails taking a distance from official political contention, or even exiting the world rather than striving to change it. This chapter discusses murderous fantasies, which may turn into desistance from political violence, a process which begins well before a violent political career commences. The protagonists of Paul Nizan’s novel presented in this chapter model violent imaginaries, but what stops them acting is failure to join like-minded individuals, inability to develop practical techniques to engage in action and absence of an enabling community.
