Machiavellianism, Islamism, and Deprivations as Predictors of Support for Daesh Among Muslims

Abstract

Although many different models of radicalization integrate different intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergroup processes, this interactive approach is scarcely present in the empirical studies. The goal of this study was to fill this gap by combining personality traits (Machiavellianism), ideology (Islamism), and outcomes of intergroup comparisons (perceived deprivations) as predictors of support for Daesh among Muslims in the MENA region, based on Arab Barometer IV data. Results were calculated on the overall sample and on synthetically balanced samples from Algeria and Palestine, respectively, to ensure the robustness of findings. While Islamists were generally supportive of Daesh, socio-politically deprived individuals were not. A negative relationship between Machiavellianism and support for Daesh was found only in Algeria. Multiple interactions, which differed in Algeria and Palestine, confirm the relevance of studying complex relationships among potential predictors of extremism, as well as the role of context that can strengthen or diminish these relationships.