At different times, multiple attempts were made to define the concept of "extremism". In fact, this is a very complex phenomenon that is difficult to characterize. An extremist is a person who performs demonstratively tough actions to resolve a dispute or conflict. However, this term can also refer to beliefs, strategies, feelings, relationships. Moreover, the definition of "political extremist" is a subjective concept that can cause some controversy in society. So what does this term mean?
The appearance of the term in the Russian-speaking society
An extremist is a person who is characterized by extremely radical views and activities. For a long time, this term did not exist in the legislation. Who are extremists? According to the Shanghai Convention, which was ratified on June 15, 2001, these are people who commit acts aimed at forcibly retaining influence or seizing power. This category also includes individuals who forcibly encroach on security.society. This equally applies to armed extremist formations. The federal law of July 25, 2002 brought a fairly wide list of crimes under this concept.
Extremist activity
An extremist is a person who incites national, racial, religious hatred. This term also includes people who incite social discord, which is associated with calls for violence or directly with violence.
Who are extremists? These are people who call for aggression in society, who propagate the superiority, exclusivity of themselves and those who have joined their organization. They also declare other citizens inferior on the grounds of their relationship to some nationality, religion, social class, race. An extremist is a person who violates the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of other individuals, depending on their racial, religious, linguistic, social, national identity.
Extremist statements
Verbal extremists - who are they? Public transmission of messages in written or oral form, which are aimed at inciting and inciting to carry out illegal actions, initiate aggression, provoke or lead groups of radical citizens - all this refers to verbal illegal activity. In this case, an extremist is a person who justifies or substantiates the above types of statements, and also promotes Nazi paraphernalia or symbols. The actions of such an entityexpressed in messages, words, phrases, public speeches, stories or even poetry, are aimed solely at inciting racial, national or religious enmity and hatred through print media, television, the Internet, radio, and the media.
Extremism and terrorism - synonyms or not?
Is an extremist politician and a terrorist the same thing? Can these words be used as synonyms? Undoubtedly, the world community is taking measures to strengthen the technical and material base of anti-terrorist agencies, placing serious emphasis on the prevention and prevention of terrorist crimes. However, between the concepts of "terror" and extremism, an equal sign is often put. To what extent are these concepts related to each other in fact? The answer is very complicated.
Terrorism and extremism at the legislative level
Important food for thought are the lists that are compiled by government authorities. Such texts include lists of public and religious organizations in respect of which court decisions have been issued to ban their activities (and liquidate) in connection with the use of extremist materials and terrorist activities. Extremist groups and movements are entered into a special register. At the legislative level, you can see that these lists are different. Lists of extremist organizations rarely correlate with lists of terrorist organizations, and vice versa.
Extremist organizations
Basicmaterials related to the concept of "extremist" are data on the directions of radical nationalism. From a judicial point of view, it is clear that more than seventy percent of all criminal proceedings under the article “extremism” are carried out with a touch of nationalism and racism. In second place are materials on Muslim affairs. Further, one can single out radical political opposition organizations that do not have a bright religious and national character. There are also some separatist groups that are also classified as extremist. The final positions are occupied by various opposition national minorities, sects and religious totalitarian groups, countercultural organizations.
Differences between terrorists and extremists
Terrorist groups have a completely different list: almost all such organizations, with rare exceptions, belong to different branches of Islam. Hamas, the Taliban, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, Ittihad can be called especially large. The criterion of terrorist activity is the practice of violent influence on society and the consciousness of people, the ideology of cruelty, violent influence on the decisions of state authorities and local self-government, intimidation of the population and other forms of violent illegal actions. It can be seen from the definitions that an extremist is a person who is not associated with terrorist acts, with violence against society, but expresses her disagreement with the political course of this or that state, with the views that are accepted in most sectors of society.
Extremism in politics
An extremist politician is a person who expresses his commitment to radical actions and views in politics, whose behavior goes beyond the current law, violates constitutional foundations, international and state legal norms. First of all, extremism in politics is nihilism in relation to law and laws. Parties or individuals, and sometimes even states and unions, can act as subjects and objects of political extremism. A striking example is totalitarian regimes and their messianic ideas: the proletarian revolution in Russia, the new order in Nazi Germany, the Islamic revolution in Iran.
Left-wing extremism
Interstate and state extremism can come not from those in power, that is, from above, but vice versa, from below, from opposition groups, parties and movements. One of these radicals are left-wing extremists. The classic form of such a movement is the Socialist-Revolutionaries, the Anarchists, the "Red Brigades" of Italy, the "Axion Directes" in France. The left-wing extremist ideology, for all its eclecticism, emphasizes the idea of an irreconcilable class struggle.
Right-wing extremism
Right-wing extremists - who are they? Unlike the left, they exploit "soil" ideas, which are expressed in the ideology of the struggle between races and nations, civilizations and cultures. There are several main forms of such a movement: ultra-conservatism, fascism, Nazism, nationalism.
Roughly since the early sixtiesIn the 20th century, a huge number of neo-fascist groups appeared as a counterweight to the “left”. The current situation suggests that the ultra-right have grown in numbers and strengthened their organizations, which advocate the establishment of a system free from racial and ethnic equality and tolerance. A clear hierarchy and a "cult of heroes" are the main principles. Socialism, capitalism, liberalism are rejected as harmful fruits of civilization. A right-wing political extremist is today a person who is trying to soften his status with the help of various hybrid external forms. French neo-fascists often call themselves "right-wing proletarians", while English ones act under the slogans of "white working class". Even “National Bolsheviks” appeared in the Russian Federation.
