Jihadism and far
Scott Atran
IS IT correct to find parallels between violent white supremacism and neo-Nazism on one hand  and the nihilist fury of ultra-militant Islam on the other? A Franco-American scholar   Scott Atran   is convinced that these deadly phenomena are two sides of the same coin. Unless people grasp that point   he  thinks  our ability to cope with either scourge may be limited.
Of course there are superficial resemblances which anyone can see. In August  when a fanatic drove his car into a group of liberal  anti-racist protesters in Charlottesville  Virginia   he  was copying a tactic that had already been used by self-styled warriors for Islam in at least four European countries.
But Mr Atran  who holds academic posts in Britain  France and America  sees deeper resemblances.  He  makes the point in an essay for Aeon   a forum for elaborate intellectual arguments  drawing on a series of  his  own academic investigations.
In  his  view  both kinds of fanaticism reflect both the failure of the liberal democratic order to inspire anyone to defend it  and the insidious attractiveness of ideologies which challenge that order. What makes these ideologies appealing is not their content but the strong collective identity they offer. They create peer groups that promise their own members such admiration that it can seem like sufficient reason to lay down oneâs life. By contrast  surveys suggest that very few people  these days  feel inclined to give up their lives for democracy.
IS IT correct to find parallels between violent white supremacism and neo-Nazism on one hand  and the nihilist fury of ultra-militant Islam on the other?  [TGT] is convinced that these deadly phenomena are two sides of the same coin. Unless people grasp that point    [TGT]   thinks  our ability to cope with either scourge may be limited.
Of course there are superficial resemblances which anyone can see. In August  when a fanatic drove his car into a group of liberal  anti-racist protesters in Charlottesville  Virginia    [TGT]   was copying a tactic that had already been used by self-styled warriors for Islam in at least four European countries.
But Mr Atran  who holds academic posts in Britain  France and America  sees deeper resemblances.  He  makes the point in an essay for Aeon   a forum for elaborate intellectual arguments  drawing on a series of  his  own academic investigations.
In  his  view  both kinds of fanaticism reflect both the failure of the liberal democratic order to inspire anyone to defend it  and the insidious attractiveness of ideologies which challenge that order. What makes these ideologies appealing is not their content but the strong collective identity they offer. They create peer groups that promise their own members such admiration that it can seem like sufficient reason to lay down oneâs life. By contrast  surveys suggest that very few people  these days  feel inclined to give up their lives for democracy.