This study seeks to advance scientific knowledge about the causes of extremist attitudes via a survey of 480 Sunni and Shia young men in northern India. The survey, conducted in March 2016, covered a random sample from the most violence-prone district in Lucknow, the capital city of India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh. This city of four million inhabitants has the highest levels of Sunni-Shia conflict among all Indian cities. The study jointly tests eight prominent hypotheses from existing literature on religious extremism. It builds on hypothesis generation, conducted in a separate work by the author (Rink & Sharma 2016).
What Causes Extremist Attitudes Among Sunni and Shia Youth? Evidence from Northern India
November 1, 2016
