Abstract
The causal role of grievances, personal and political, is commonly attributed to the development of violent extremist outcomes. However, our conceptual and empirical understandings of how grievances develop and why only a minority with grievances go on to become radicalised remain underdeveloped. This paper uses structural equation modelling to examine the effects of perceived victimhood, personal grievances, and anger rumination on attitudes and intentions to engage in violent extremism via revenge motivation and reduced self-control capacity. We further analyse the protective effects of trait forgiveness on anger rumination and revenge motivation as well as self-control. The findings demonstrate that the experience of personal grievances mediates the effects of individuals’ tendency for interpersonal victimhood on anger rumination. The findings further highlight the mediating effects of revenge motivation and low-self-control on individuals’ attitudes and intentions to engage in extremist violence. We also demonstrate the indirect protective effects of trait forgiveness on support for and intentions to engage in extremist violence via its negative relationship with anger rumination, revenge motivation and low self-control. Our findings have important practical implications. Anger rumination may serve as a warning sign that an individuals’ perceived victimhood and personal grievances are translating into an increased vulnerability and potential escalation towards engagement in violent extremism, and thus may be a crucial point of intervention. During this rumination phase, there may be opportunities to intervene in the case by sign-posting critical information or warning signs about the consequences of going further than simply ruminating. Collectively, this suggests ways to inform programmatic approaches to prevent and counter violent extremism, while suggesting future avenues for joint risk assessment and management efforts tackling violent extremism.