Countering extremism in modern conditions

Abstract

Background. Countering extremism is a permanently urgent task of any society. On the territory of Russia the number of extremist crimes has increased, both carried out by organizations and spontaneously arising from hooligan motives of persons who are not aware of the consequences of their actions. The spread of extremism in general has a nega-tive impact on society, increases the level of anxiety, the general level of crime and tangible threats to public order. The danger of extremism in recent years lies in the rapid involve-ment of children and adolescents. The purpose of the work is to analyze ways to counter extremism in modern conditions, based on the causes of its occurrence, factors that increase the spread in general and among young people in particular. Materials and methods. The realization of the research goal was achieved by analyzing the data obtained by the authors as part of their daily professional activities on the problems of countering extremism in Russia. As data for the analysis, information was used on the methods of work and recruit-ment of supporters by extremist and terrorist organizations in the Near and Middle East. Results. The article substantiates the influence of both individual psychological factors and socio-economic factors on the spread of extremism. The phenomena affecting the dignity of citizens are recognized as the most influential on the spread of extremist activity: corrup-tion, lack of opportunities for decent work and existence. Based on the data obtained in the framework of professional activity, the authors refute the popular myth that people with a low level of education and intelligence get into extremist organizations. On the contrary, the involvement of graduates of leading universities makes organized extremist activity more complex in nature, makes it difficult for law enforcement agencies to counteract it. Conclusions. Countering extremism is not only a search for persons committing crimes, but also a comprehensive work of the state and law enforcement agencies. This work should be based on improving socio-economic conditions, eliminating phenomena that increase the level of anxiety of the population and exclude them from a decent existence.

Keywords

• extremism
• extremist activity
• extremist organizations
• terrorism
• countering extremism