jul 18, 2022 - Study comparing ideological predisposition to violence among right, left and Islamist militants

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....Historically speaking, political violence has been perpetrated on behalf of a wide range of political ideologies (1, 2). This could suggest that the willingness to use violence for a cause is independent of the ideological content and can be expected across the ideological spectrum given sufficiently high levels of conflict.

At the same time, individuals espousing different ideological views have been found to differ with regard to personality profiles (3), cognitive functioning (4), social motives (5), values (6), and moral beliefs (7)....

Left-Wing versus Right-Wing Extremism
Of these three ideologies, most prior research has contrasted those committed to right-wing and left-wing causes. Much of this research suggests that compared to left-wing extremists, right-wing extremists may be more likely to engage in politically motivated violence.

In comparison to left-wing supporters, right-wing individuals are more often characterized by closed-mindedness and dogmatism (9) and a heightened need for order, structure, and cognitive closure (5). Because such characteristics have been found to increase in-group bias and lead to greater out-group hostility (10), violence for a cause may be more likely among proponents of right-wing ideologies.

in comparison to their right-wing counterparts, left-wing individuals score higher on openness to new experiences, cognitive complexity, and tolerance of uncertainty (5). They are also less likely to support social dominance (11), which could lead to their overall lower likelihood to use violence against adversaries.

In line with this reasoning, some studies have demonstrated an empathy gap between liberal and conservative individuals (12). Finally, according to various conceptualizations and operationalizations of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA; 13–15), aggressive tendencies constitute an inherent component of this construct, with people high in RWA being more hostile toward others who violate norms than those low in RWA. A recent meta-analysis supported this conclusion, revealing a positive relationship between right-wing ideology and aggressive attitudes and behaviors (16). However, the study did not focus solely on politicized contexts and included only milder forms of aggression.

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