Introduction to The Virus of Radicalization: In Poland, that is, everywhere

In Poland, like everywhere radicalization process begins in the heads but also begins online. It is like a viral disease which finds growth conditions in places affected by severe consequences of inflation, pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In our book we document the rapid growth of extreme attitudes. We pay attention to small, noisy, visible or hidden, dangerous groups that appear in many countries and threaten democracy. The majority of authors of the articles are interested in the process of radicalization, and therefore the sources of its dynamics, not radicalism as such. We understand the latter notion in the simplest possible way, as the use of symbolic and physical violence against other citizens and in public space. Most of the texts in this book are case studies, although the reader also find theoretical concepts. The authors of several articles participated in the Dialogue on Radicalization and Equality project, coordinated by the University of Manchester.