Manus I. Midlarsky is the Moses and Annuta Back Professor of International Peace and Conflict Resolution at Rutgers University. He is the author of The Killing Trap: Genocide in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge University Press, 2005).

• Introduction; Part I. Theory and Empirics: 1. The ephemeral gain: intimations of the politically finite; 2. Mortality salience: intimations of the corporeally finite; 3. Cases; Part II. The Secular 'Isms': 4. Fascism; 5. Communism; Part III. An Ostensibly Sacred 'Ism': 6. Radical Islamism: foundations; 7. Contemporary radical Islamist movements; 8. Muslims in India; Part IV. Extreme Nationalism: 9. Sri Lankan Tamils; 10. Poland; 11. The Balkans; 12. The rampaging military; 13. Variations in genocidal behavior; Part V. Conclusion: 14. Pathways to extremism; 15. Ethics and morality: the rejection of traditional moral restraints; 16. War, peace, and the decline of extremism.

'Midlarsky elegantly weaves insights from modern social psychology with macro-historical analysis to produce an original theory of the emergence of violent extremist movements. With its innovative theoretical framework and its command of an impressive range of historical evidence, this fascinating book will make a lasting impact on the literature on extremism and political violence.' Giovanni Capoccia, Professor of Comparative Politics, University of Oxford