Temporal perspectives understanding the psychology of violent extremism through a temporal lens

We offer an integration of temporal approaches to the psychology of violent extremism. Focusing on the role of remembering, we draw attention to how memories and perceptions of the past motivate the use of violence in the present. Reminiscing about a glorious past elicits nostalgia, which, in turn, may increase present-day feelings of relative deprivation, collective angst, and threat. Furthermore, remembering historical perpetrators instills threat perceptions and negative intergroup emotions, whereas remembering past victimization elicits moral entitlement, thereby justifying more extreme means. We explore how different imaginings of the future – for the self and community – function as a double-edged sword either fueling or preventing radicalization in the present. Imagining can stimulate utopian or dystopian visions, which, in turn, may encourage mobilization of more extreme means by instilling a sense of legitimacy and hope in terms of utopias and moral obligation and urgency to prevent dystopias. However, imagining can also elicit a realistic, positive future outlook for the self and wider community, functioning as a protective shield against radicalization into violent extremism instead. We conclude by providing primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention recommendations based on our temporal approach aimed at policymakers and key stakeholders and avenues for future research.