Religious terrorist groups that are motivated by an apocalyptic worldview often promise a future utopia to their followers. The study of commitment mechanisms by Kanter (1968, 1972) and Burke and Reitzes (1991) in utopian communities can shed light on the processes by which radicalization occurs at various stages of involvement in terrorism. Kanter argued that commitment mechanisms adhere a person’s self-identity to a particular level of social organization (continuance, cohesion, and control). Burke and Reitzes, on the other hand, argued that commitment mechanisms bind a persons’ self-identity to an ideology, which explains why persons may float in membership from group to group. By examining a broad range of terrorist groups, including the Christian Identity group Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord, ISIS, and Aum Shinrikyo, I show that both explanations of commitment are operative in cross-cultural examples of terrorist radicalization.
