Question

Extremist leaders and parties often exploit collective grievances in order to garner support. Identify another historical or contemporary example and briefly compare and contrast it with the case of Nazism.

Answer 1

Another example of extremist leaders exploiting collective grievances is the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the early 2010s. Like the Nazis, ISIS exploited grievances related to political and economic inequality, as well as religious and ethnic tensions, in order to gain support.

However, there are also significant differences between the cases of Nazism and ISIS. The Nazis were a political party that rose to power in Germany in the 1930s, while ISIS was a non-state actor that emerged in the Middle East in the 2010s. The Nazis were primarily focused on expanding their power and influence within Europe, while ISIS sought to establish a caliphate and expand its influence globally.

Additionally, the ideologies of Nazism and ISIS are quite different. Nazism was based on a racist and nationalist ideology that sought to create a pure Aryan race, while ISIS was based on a radical interpretation of Islam that sought to establish a new Islamic caliphate. The methods used by the two groups to gain support and maintain power were also different, with the Nazis relying on propaganda and military force, while ISIS used social media and terrorist attacks.