Rational Extremism: The Political Economy of Radicalism - Hardcover

Wintrobe, Ronald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521859646 ISBN 13: 9780521859646

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2006

Synopsis

Extremists are people whose ideas or tactics are viewed as outside the mainstream. Looked at this way, extremists are not necessarily twisted or evil. But they can be, especially when they are intolerant and violent. What makes extremists turn violent? This 2006 book assumes that extremists are rational: given their ends, they choose the best means to achieve them. The analysis explains why extremist leaders use the tactics they do, and why they are often insensitive to punishment and to loss of life. It also explains how rational people can be motivated to die for the cause. The book covers different aspects of extremism such as revolution, suicide terrorism, and global jihad. The arguments are illustrated with important episodes of extremism, including the French Revolution, the rise of nationalism in Yugoslavia under Milosevic, and the emergence of suicide terror and Al Qaeda today.

About this title

Book Description:

The starting point of this 2006 book is that the best way to understand extremists is to assume they are rational. The treatment explains why extremist leaders often advocate violence, and how they motivate their followers to die for the cause. The arguments are illustrated with important episodes of extremism.

About the Author:

Ronald Wintrobe is Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario, where he also co-directs the Political Economy Research Group. Professor Wintrobe is the author of The Political Economy of Dictatorship (1998), and coauthor (with Albert Breton) of The Logic of Bureaucratic Conduct (1982). He is also coeditor (with Albert Breton, Gianluigi Galeotti and Pierre Salmon) of Rational Foundations of Democratic Politics (2003), Political Extremism and Rationality (2002), Understanding Democracy: Economic and Political Perspectives (1997) and Nationalism and Rationality (1995). All of the above titles were published by Cambridge University Press. He is also author or coauthor of many book chapters and articles in leading professional journals, and has written two radio programs on political economy for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0521859646
• ISBN 13: 9780521859646
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 300