At different times, numerous attempts have been made to define the term “extremism”. In fact, this is a very complex phenomenon that is difficult to characterize. An extremist is a person who performs defiantly tough actions to resolve a dispute or conflict. However, this term may 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 emergence of the term in a Russian-speaking society
An extremist is a person who is characterized by extremely radical views and activities. For a long time in the legislation this term did not exist. Who are the 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. Also, individuals who forcibly encroach on the security of society fall into this category. This also applies to armed extremist groups. The federal law of July 25, 2002 brought a rather 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 the extremists? These are people who call for aggression in society, propagandizing superiority, exclusivity of themselves and those who have joined their organization. They also declare inferior other citizens on the basis of their relationship to a particular 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 affiliation.
Extremist statements
Verbal extremists - who are they? Public transmission of messages in writing or verbally, which are aimed at calling 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 justifies the above types of statements, and also promotes Nazi attributes or symbolism. The actions of such a subject, expressed in messages, words, phrases, public speeches, stories or even poems, are aimed exclusively at inciting racial, national or religious hatred 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 bodies, placing a serious emphasis on the prevention and prevention of terrorist crimes. However, the concepts of “terror” and extremism are often equated. How closely do these concepts relate to each other? The answer is very complicated.
Legislative terrorism and extremism
Important food for thought is lists that are compiled by state authorities. Such texts include lists of public and religious organizations in respect of which decisions have been made by the court to ban their activities (and liquidation) in connection with the use of extremist materials and terrorist activities. Extremist groups and movements are recorded in 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
The main materials 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 held with a touch of nationalism and racism. In second place are materials on Muslim affairs. Further, radical political opposition organizations that do not have a bright religious and national character can be distinguished . There are also some separatist groups that are also extremist. The final positions are held by various opposition national minorities, sects and religious totalitarian groups, countercultural organizations.
Differences between terrorists and extremists
The terrorist groups have a completely different list: almost all such organizations, with rare exceptions, belong to different movements 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 people's minds, the ideology of cruelty, violent influence on decisions of state authorities and local self-government, intimidation of the population and other forms of violent illegal actions. From the definitions it is clear that an extremist is a person who is not associated with terrorist acts, with violence against society, but expresses his disagreement with the political course of a state, with the views that are accepted in most sections 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 framework of the current law, violates constitutional principles, 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 vivid example is the totalitarian regimes and their messianic ideas: the proletarian revolution in Russia, the new order in Nazi Germany, the Islamic revolution in Iran.
"Left" extremism
Interstate and state extremism can come not from the powers that be, that is, from above, but rather, 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, anarchists, the "red brigades" of Italy, the "axion directives" in France. Left-extremist ideology, with all its eclecticism, emphasizes the idea of ​​an irreconcilable class struggle.
"Right" extremism
Right-wing extremists - who is this? Unlike the left, they exploit “soil” ideas that are expressed in the ideology of the struggle between races and nations, civilizations and cultures. There are several basic forms of such a movement: ultraconservatism, fascism, Nazism, nationalism.
Around the beginning of the sixties of 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 numerically and strengthened their organizations, which advocate the establishment of a system free of racial-ethnic equality and tolerance. A clear hierarchy and “cult of heroes” are the basic principles. Socialism, capitalism, liberalism are rejected as harmful fruits of civilization. The 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", the English speak under the slogans of a "white working class." Even the "National Bolsheviks" appeared in the Russian Federation.