Relative deprivation and group identity: The stairway to violent radicalism

The social identity perspective advances a key theoretical viewpoint to understand intergroup conflicts, political violence, and social change. This chapter examines the role of relative deprivation in the explanation of radical group behavior and present a critical analysis of recent studies claiming that Group Relative Deprivation (GRD) is a cause of group violence. The present research shows that GRD is primarily important for group mobilization, not for group violence, consistent with Moghaddam's (2005) staircase model of violent radicalism. The last part of the chapter presents experimental evidence suggesting that the political response to the demands of activists plays a central role in the transition from activism to violent radicalism.