Religiös fundamentalism och våldsbejakande extremism

Literature, RT2214 (Religious Fundamentalism and Violent Extremism), Fall 2026

Obligatory books to read: 

Dwyer, Philip (2022). Violence: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 160 pages.

Ruthven, Malise (2007). Fundamentalism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 176 pages.

Juergensmeyer, Mark (2017). Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. Oakland, California. University of California Press, Fourth Edition (also available online via Gothenburg university Library)

Select one of these two books:

Véronique Altglas (2022). Religion and Conflict in Northern Ireland: What Does Religion Do? Palgrave MacMillan, 138 pages.

Gardell, Mattias (2021). Lone Wolf Race Warriors and White Genocide. Cambridge University Press, 75 pages.

Articles/reports (all accessible via the Library of the University of Gothenburg, or as open access publications) 

Atran, S. (2016). “The Devoted Actor: Unconditional Commitment and Intractable Conflicts across Cultures,” Current Anthropology, Vol. 57, No. s13, June 2016. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/685495

Axelson, Tomas & Jonas Stier (2020). “Religions – a Janus-Faced Phenomenon in Local Politics: A Swedish Interreligious council and Participants’ Views on Religions as a Possible Asset for Social Cohesion in the Local Community,” Interreligious Studies and Intercultural Theology 4(2). https://doi.org/10.1558/isit.41383

Bhatia, R. & Hendrixon, A. (2025). “Kindling green hate through eco- and demographic anxiety,” Environmental Politics. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2025.2532342

Broekaert, Clara et al. (2024). The Soufan Center Special Report. Accelerating Hate: The Impact of October 7 on Terrorism and Political Violence in the West. Download from https://thesoufancenter.org/research/accelerating-hate-the-impact-of-october-7-on-terrorism-and-political-violence-in-the-west/

Bruce, Steve (2001). Fundamentalism and Political Violence: The Case of Paisley and Ulster Evangelicals, Religion, 31:4, 387-405, DOI: 10.1006/reli.2001.0357

Cavanaugh, William T. (2014) “Religious Violence as Modern Myth”, Political Theology, 15:6, 486-502, DOI: 10.1179/1462317X14Z.00000000094

Davis, Mark (2024), “Violence as method: the ‘white replacement’, ‘white genocide’, and ‘Eurabia’ conspiracy theories and the biopolitics of networked violence”, Ethnic and Racial Studies 48(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2024.2304640

Gill, Paul, Horgan, John & Deckert, Paige (2014). “Bombing alone: Tracing the Motivations and Antecedent Behaviors of Lone-Actor Terrorists,” Journal of Forensic Sciences 59(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12312

Gustafsson Kurki, Pär (2014). Apostles of Violence: The Russian Orthodox Church’s Role in Russian Militarism. Stockholm: FOI. https://www.foi.se/en/foi/reports/report-summary.html?reportNo=FOI-R--5514--SE

Juergensmeyer, Mark (2019). Do Religious Ideas Cause Violence?, Critical Review, 31:1, 102-112, DOI: 10.1080/08913811.2019.1565737

Larsson, Göran (2025). Past and Present References to Khaybar and the Jews in Medina: From Early Islamic Sources to Contemporary Antisemitism, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, 36:4, 353-373, DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2026.2637045

Nasir, Wassim (2026). The Islamic State’s Growing Footprint in the Sahel. Download from https://thesoufancenter.org/research/the-islamic-states-growing-footprint-in-the-sahel/

Nilsson, M. (2024). “Jihad and Heroic Hypermasculinity – Recruitment Strategies, Battlefield Experiences, and Returning Home,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2024.2341446

Wilson, C.., Dziwulski, M., Renner, E. & Smylie, J. (2025). “The Role of Ideology in Motivating Lone Actor Terrorism: An Analysis of the Online Record of the Christchurch Terrorist,” Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 31(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/13537113.2025.2461347