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This innovative study develops a feminist perspective on issues such as nationalism, religious fundamentalism and the process of democratization, examining the role of women in varying political contexts around the world.

In this article, we examine psychological features of extreme political ideologies. In what ways are political left- and right-wing extremists similar to one another and different from moderates? We propose and review four interrelated propositions that explain adherence to extreme political ideologies from a psychological perspective. We argue that (a) psychological distress stimulates adopting an extreme ideological outlook; (b) extreme ideologies are characterized by a relatively simplistic, black-and-white perception of the social world; (c) because of such mental simplicity, political extremists are overconfident in their judgments; and (d) political extremists are less tolerant of different groups and opinions than political moderates. In closing, we discuss how these psychological features of political extremists increase the likelihood of conflict among groups in society.

Attempts to explain the nature of ideologies & to specify their functions in society as a whole can be seen as falling into 6 distinct groups: (1) as systems of theoretical propositions purporting to tell how things really are; (2) as systems of normative or evaluating statements; (3) as calculated lies, for the furtherance of particular pol'al purposes; (4) as myths; (5) as expressions of the needs & demands of soc groups; & (6) as expressions of the att's of diff human personality types. The only approach that will always be found to pay a dividend is to preserve an open mind with respect to the diff ways that may lead us to our goal. IPSA.