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Rational Extremism
The Political Economy of Radicalism
Extremists are people whose ideas or tactics are viewed as outside the main-
stream. Looked at this way, extremists are not necessarily twisted or evil. But
they can be, especially when they are intolerant and violent. What makes extrem-
ists turn violent? This book assumes that extremists are rational: given their ends,
they choose the best means to achieve them. The analysis explains why extremist
leaders use the tactics they do and why they are often insensitive to punishment
and to loss of life. It also explains how rational people can be motivated to die for
a cause. The book covers different aspects of extremism, including nationalism,
revolution, suicide terrorism, and global arguments are illustrated
with important episodes of extremism, including the French Revolution, the
rise of nationalism in Yugoslavia under Milosevic, and the emergence of suicide
terror and Al Qaeda today.
RonaldWintrobeisProfessorofEconomicsattheUniversityofWesternOntario,
where he also codirects the Political Economy Research Group. Professor
Wintrobe is the author of The Political Economy of Dictatorship (1998) and coau-
thor (with Albert Breton) of The Logic of Bureaucratic Conduct (1982). He is also
coeditor (with Albert Breton, Gianluigi Galeotti, and Pierre Salmon) of Rational
Foundations of Democratic Politics (2003), Political Extremism and Rationality
(2002), Understanding Democracy: Economic and Political Perspectives (1997),
and Nationalism and Rationality (1995). All of these titles were published by
Cambridge University Press. He is also author or coauthor of many book chap-
ters and articles in leading professional journals, and he has written and nar-
ratedtwo radio programs (on dictatorship and on extremism) for the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation’s Ideas series