Resentment as an affective foundation of radicalization: a quantitative study among Muslims with a migration background in Germany

Demmrich, Sarah; Pollack, Detlef; Müller, Olaf

Abstract

Resentment refers to an affective state characterized by entrenched feelings of grievance. Negative social experiences, such as discrimination, are detached from their concrete contexts of origin and acquire a self-sustaining dynamic. This process gives rise to victimhood narratives that devalue attempts to improve one’s situation, inhibit critical self-reflection, and externalize guilt and responsibility onto powerful enemy images. The central hypothesis of this study is that resentment may constitute an affective basis for radicalization among Muslims with a migration background in Germany. Based on a non-response-bias-weighted sample of N = 1,887 Muslims with a migration background in Germany, four distinct profiles (groups) were identified, one of which is characterized by a resentful affective state. Approximately 20 per cent of the sample fall into this resentment profile. Compared to the other three profiles, it is significantly the youngest, though not necessarily the most disadvantaged in terms of socio-structural position. Although it does not perform significantly worse on all indicators of integration, it exhibits the highest levels of religiosity, including fundamentalist attitudes. Moreover, the resentment profile exhibits moderate to strong associations with both radicalization with and without violence. These associations remain robust even when controlling for numerous other indicators of sociodemography and social structure, integration, political self-understanding, and religiosity. Against this backdrop, the study appears to identify a new and significant factor in radicalization: resentment. Finally, the paper concludes with implications for future research.

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