Nativist and Islamist Radicalism in Europe: Co-Radicalization of Young European Citizens

Abstract

This chapter explores the intertwined processes of radicalization among European youth from “native” and “Muslim” backgrounds, focusing on right-wing radicalism and radical Islamism. Drawing on 307 in-depth interviews conducted between 2020 and 2022 in Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, it examines the concept of co-radicalization, where one group’s radicalization is best understood in relation to another’s. These groups of nativist and self-identified Muslim youth, often studied separately since 9/11, share similar experiences of socioeconomic, political, spatial, and psychological deprivation, which manifest in everyday encounters with exclusion, discrimination, and humiliation. Using a first-person narrative approach, the chapter highlights their voices, beliefs, and shared grievances while addressing the inequalities they face. By bridging the divide between these groups, this experimental text underscores their differing responses to globalization’s destabilizing effects, such as deindustrialization and structural exclusion, and situates these dynamics within the broader literature on social movements. © Oxford University Press 2026. All rights reserved.