While there were important criminology contributions to the study of extremism and terrorism prior to 2000 (e.g., Kittrie 1978 Turk 1982 Hamm 1993 Smith 1994), they were relatively uncommon and terrorism was not widely recognized as a major criminological specialization. However, with the growing availability of data, including open-source databases, paired with the application of more sophisticated statistical methods, we expect to see more robust results in the years ahead. Prior criminological research on violent extremism has focused especially on micro-level characteristics and few studies to date have integrated micro and macro determinants to explain extremist outcomes. Following a review of risk factors, we consider major definitional, theoretical, data and methodological challenges and also progress made. In this paper, we take stock of these developments by considering a basket of micro- and macro-level risk factors that have been frequently linked to the decision to engage in violent extremism. This rapid growth is reminiscent of the early years of criminologyitself, characterized by energy, imagination and creativity but at the same time a specialization struggling to collect and analyze valid data, apply appropriate research methods and develop coherent theoretical frameworks. Over the past twenty years, research on political extremism and terrorism has become one of the fastest growing sub-fields within criminology.
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