Extremism

Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shared social consensus) to be far outside the mainstream attitudes of society. It can also be used in an economic context. The term may be used pejoratively by opposing groups, but is also used in academic and journalistic circles in a purely descriptive and non-condemning sense. Extremists' views are typically contrasted with those of moderates. Political agendas perceived as extremist often include those from the far-left politics or far-right politics, as well as radicalism, reactionism, chauvinism, fundamentalism, and fanaticism. Extremist groups will differ in their preference for violent extremism vs. nonviolent extremism. Research specific to social media activities has shown that groups from different sides of the left and right political axis or of those that consist of an incumbent party and opposition party, are further apart in terms of ideology, with ideological distance strongly correlated with an extremism score.