A Case Study of Anders B. Breivik’s Intergroup Conceptualisation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15664/jtr.879Keywords:
Lone-wolf terrorism, Social Identity Theory, Radicalisation, Social Psychology, Case Study, BreivikAbstract
This paper undertakes summative content analytical case study of Anders Behring Breivik’s political manifesto, analysing Breivik’s conceptualisations of social ingroup and outgroup, and how these concepts interact. Findings indicate that Breivik conceptualises his ingroup on a three-level scale, ranging from specific to general. The outgroup is conceptualised as twofold, seen as either originating inside Breivik’s ingroup society or outside. A basic interaction pattern between the two group-conceptualisations was found, suggesting mutual reinforcement and a self-replicating pattern of radicalization and entrenched group-conceptualisation. Ingroup categories appeared to exist as hierarchical subsets, while outgroup categories were clearly differentiated as separate entities.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2014 The Author(s)Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).