This document discusses reimagining extremism by examining it through the lenses of context, culture, community, and country. It explores how political entrepreneurs use disinformation and strategic socio-political investments to normalize deviance and instrumentalize anxiety, division, and doubt. While some effects may appear ephemeral, these actions can entrench extremism and normalize it in the long run by preying on vulnerabilities in families, democracy, and trust in institutions. The document cautions that addressing extremism requires understanding how ecologies of discontent take root and spread symbiotically through fluid dynamics like political "swarms" or "mobs".

1. reimagining extremism
context, culture, community,
country
sanjana hattotuwa

2. global south as petri dish
exceptionalism is/as a weakness

3. Political entrepreneurs &
disinfo innovation
Episodic moments
Short-term
Long-term
Entrenchment &
normalisation
Instrumentalising
anxiety, doubt,
division
Ephemeral &
stochastic
persuasion
Strategic
socio-political
investments
Sea
Waves
Land Shore

4. “normalisation of deviance”, diane
vaughan
family, children, friends, elections,
democracy, institutions, media, trust,
scepticism

5. ecologies of (dis)content
roots, pollination, spread, symbiosis

6. swarms (or mobs)
fluid dynamics

8. ah, but a man’s reach
should exceed his grasp,
or what’s a heaven for?
robert browning

9. thank you