Drivers of Far-Left Extremism: a Systematic Review on Current International Scientific Literature

The purpose of this paper is to examine systematically current scientific international literature on far‐left extremism with three analytic aims: first, to identify the main trends within the current scientific debate about such political extremism; second, to focus our attention on gender and youth; third, to develop a “gap analysis”. According to current scientific literature, far‐left groups are characterised by the widespread use of the Internet for both propaganda and mobilisation purposes as well as fighting tactics through an increase in cyberattacks that has been matched by a decrease in physical violence. Manifestations of physical violence are in fact limited and often take place in the form of sabotage and urban guerrilla warfare. On the contrary, within this literature, a fundamental under‐researched aspect concerns the link between local and global dimensions in explaining new forms of social and political conflict that characterise European societies, as left‐wing extremism is.