Definition of radicalization - What it is, Meaning and Concept

The Spanish Royal Academy (RAE) does not recognize the term radicalization , although its use is common in our language.The dictionary does accept the idea of ​​ radicalize , which is to make a posture, a mode, an attitude or a behavior become more radical .

At this point , it must be said that one of the meanings of radical refers to what is uncompromising or extremist .Therefore, the radicalization of a person or of a movement would be the process that leads to greater intransigence or fanaticism .

As the radicalization of an individual or a group occurs, decreases the dialogue or the chances of reaching an agreement.A radicalized person will only be interested in impose their ideas , regardless of consequences or without accepting dissent.

For example: "I am concerned about the radicalization of these young people who do not follow the orders of any authority ", " The radicalization of the political party ended up becoming a guerrilla group ", " I will not accept the radicalization of the struggle, but quite the opposite: I intend to find common points to resolve conflicts in peace ”.

Suppose that a group of students is not satisfied with the current conditions to study in a university .As a first step, they submit a request to the authorities to ask for certain changes.Before the lack of response, The students decide to hold a protest at the door of the university, with banners and flags.Without reaching an agreement with the authorities, the radicalization of the movement does not stop, but they decide to cut the street, take the university and prevent classes from being taught until their claims are handled.

One of the risks of radicalizing a group of people is that the opposite responds with the same strategy; in other words, when there is a radical stance on both sides, the chances of finding a solution diminish.Unfortunately, in matters of social interest, involving the masses, it is very difficult to avoid this phenomenon, since ideals move quickly to the background, to give rise to political and economic interests .

Opposite to what happens in a dispute between two people, when they face large portions of society with each other, it is normal not to meet in an open space and dialogue with patience and desire to reach an agreement , but involve third parties who want to control them to satisfy their own desires of power .To do so, they offer the means and channels for discussion, although in reality they are not concerned with the problems raised, but rather They seek to manipulate them through these favors.

Radicalization is related to many other negative phenomena, such as hate and discrimination, in that it arises from lack of understanding and grows in an excessive way, such as a monster that acquires a colossal size and destroys everything in its path without knowing why, ignoring its origin and destiny .Given the intervention of the aforementioned external factors, an extreme posture can be sustained by despite having lost consciousness, but it is not easy to dissolve, since the interests intertwined do not allow it.

If we look at the recent history of the human being, what better example of radicalization can we find that Nazism, however difficult it seems to use this term in the same sentence as "better." Precisely, this ominous stage, which gave rise to the greatest crime of humanity, represents a real challenge for anyone who tries to understand the behavior of our species and forces us to contemplate a twisted and misrepresented look of the human rights and of the foundations of democracy.