Involuntary celibates (“incels”) are men who desire romantic or sexual partners but purportedly cannot attain them. Their ideology – the Blackpill – holds that their exclusion from successful romantic and sexual relationships is due almost entirely to their relative unattractiveness. Furthermore, the consequences of being an unattractive man bleed over into other aspects of their lives, marring their interpersonal relationships, job prospects, and overall well-being. Blaming women as the chief architects of their unhappiness, incels sometimes commit mass acts of violent retribution. In this chapter, we explicate the incel ideology; explore the interrelated phenomena of social exclusion, self-verification, and identity fusion among incels; describe who incels are; and provide a framework for de-fusing incels from the group.

Both ostracism experiences and conspiracy beliefs have been discussed as formative ingredients of radicalization trajectories and violent extremism. The present chapter provides a brief introduction to the psychology of conspiracy beliefs and the connections made to violent extremism. In its central part, it discusses the connection between the two in discussing (1) direct evidence for ostracism experiences increasing conspiracy belief, (2) indirect evidence via highlighting how the four fundamental needs postulated to be threatened by ostracism have also been connected to conspiracy beliefs, and (3) a discussion of the reverse causation of expressing conspiracy beliefs leading to being ostracized. In all sections, specific emphasis will be dedicated to the question of how reliable and strong the available evidence is, with experimental evidence weighing heavier than correlational evidence and repeatedly replicated and meta-analytically robust effect weighing heavier than single demonstrations.

Being left out by others is a painful experience that threatens basic needs. When people are excluded, they may merely distance themselves from those who have wronged them to avoid further rejection. However, some individuals may engage in compensatory actions to defend their self, their group, or the interplay between them in a way that could be a first step for radicalization leading to violence. How and when people opt for each strategy might vary depending on psychosocial mechanisms as well was macro-level cultural differences. Here, we focus on a mechanism useful for capturing who is more willing to fight or flee under social exclusion – identity fusion, a profound alignment between the personal self and a group, individual, value, or ideological conviction – and on a global cultural factor of relevance for the link between exclusion and extremism, as it is the distinction between WEIRD and non-WEIRD populations.

Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik was reported to have been excluded throughout his life, much like German extremist Fabian D. In many cases of terrorism like these, social exclusion is found in the life course of terrorists. This chapter therefore explores the relationship between exclusion and terrorism in greater depth. First, central concepts are defined and explained. The chapter then focuses on theoretical and, in particular, empirical findings on the exclusion–terrorism link. According to these findings, there is a causal relationship between exclusion and a terrorist mindset. However, the link between exclusion and terrorism is probably not direct and instead works indirectly, through processes such as deprived needs and higher social susceptibility. Ultimately, exclusion is likely to act as an early cognitive opener for terrorism via its individual- and group-level consequences. A corresponding exclusion–terrorism model is postulated. The chapter concludes with directions for future research and practical implications regarding the exclusion–terrorism link.

Chapter 5 turns to social embeddedness, describes this in terms of two kinds of social identities people have, and explains how a world stratified by social groups produces two kinds of shortfalls in the capability development of people in disadvantaged social groups. First, a microlevel mechanism, social group stigmatization, or social identity stereotyping operates in relational social identity settings, limits stigmatized individuals’ ability to develop their capabilities, and results in what I call capability devaluations. Second, a macro-level process, sorting people over club goods and common pool goods types of social economic locations, produces social group inequalities especially by race/ethnicity and gender, limits lower ranked groups’ capability development, and results in what I call capability deficits. How these two kinds of capability shortfalls combine and reinforce a hierarchical ordering of social groups is explained using a basic complexity theory analysis from Simon. Combatting these two capability shortfalls – motivated by the goal of creating nonhierarchical, democratic societies that promote individuals’ capability development irrespective of social identity – is associated with policies to eliminate social discrimination in the case of capability devaluations and to advance social group reparations in the case of capability deficits.

Chapter 1 presents the contexts for the making and circulation of books in late colonial Peru. It analyses three limiting factors related to society, legislation, and materiality, and concludes that circulation was never unfettered owing to various barriers imposed by the colonial administration. Addressing illiteracy, this chapter shows how educational reforms promoted by contemporary theories of Enlightenment pedagogy and alternative ways of acquiring reading skills created potential book customers. Although a double mechanism of control – before as well as after the publication – determined the book market, actual practice differed from legislation. Finally, an analysis of the material constraints reveals how dependence on paper and printing types restricted Peruvian print production. Notwithstanding these confines, an increasing number of people learned how to read, regulations were not always fully enforced, materials were re-used, and tools were invented, allowing printed commodities to enter the colonial market.

To find answers for the worldwide proliferation of constitutions we need to look at root causes: the sources of constitutions. These are found and human nature. Men are social animals. During human evolution our brains have been wired to work together in communities up to a maximum of 150 members (the Dunbar number). Beyond that number it is difficult to cooperate: we can only do that if there are form of artificial trust and recognition available: and that is what constitutions do and provide. Abstract - imagined - concepts that help us jump the Dunbar threshold and cooperate in large scale groups, and overcome our brain limitations for large scale cooperation

Irrespective of where you end up working in the field of human services, most of the people you work with will be living in relative poverty and experiencing a combination of problems that create a vicious cycle of disadvantage for children and families. In this chapter, we draw upon social work as a case study of a profession working to prevent and address poverty, while actively engaging with, and supporting, affected individuals, families, and communities. An understanding of the complexity and inter-relatedness of issues associated with living in poverty is vital to ensure, at a minimum, that practitioners do no (further) harm and do not perpetuate or replicate dominant or oppressive notions of the deserving and undeserving poor, or individual versus structural explanations of poverty. Social workers and human service professionals therefore need to develop their capacities in relation to poverty-aware practice and the multiple actions that are required to address this complex issue.

This chapter distils a massive reservoir of discourses of heresy against Abu Hanifa to document the capaciousness of the proto-Sunni traditionalist effort to marginalise him and his followers. It identifies the multifarious nature of criticisms against him: proto-Sunni traditionalists assailing him on account of his jurisprudence, expertise in hadith, theology, and piety. This chapter closes with a discussion of the social regulation of heresy and orthodoxy in the eighth to tenth centuries.

This chapter pulls together the findings presented in Section 2 on the extent of social exclusion in people with mental health conditions and the possible causal links between social exclusion and mental ill-heath and health, to build a descriptive model linking these. The evidence supports the contention that people with mental health conditions are excluded from participation in many areas of society and that there are clear social inequalities in mental ill-health. Although this is the case across all forms of mental health conditions, some groups are more at risk of exclusion than others. To build a picture of the relationship between mental health conditions and social exclusion we need to take into consideration the nature of the mental health conditions, material disadvantages, stigma and discrimination, and the effects of the wider community and society. The dynamic nature of exclusion must be considered, including its effects across the life course and generations and the interaction of the factors affecting exclusion. There are the strong contextual effects of material factors, summarised by the association of poor health with income inequality, suggesting that above a certain level economic growth does not produce an increase in population health and may be damaging.

The term ‘social exclusion’ appears to have originated in France in the 1970s and had a significant influence on European social policy before being taken up by the UK’s New Labour Government in the 1990s. This chapter outlines the concepts of social exclusion and some of the competing discourses associated with the term. Several notable definitions of the term are discussed before we settle on the CASE definition of ‘An individual is socially excluded if he or she does not participate in key activities of the society in which he or she lives’. The concepts of social exclusion may provide added value to discussing the more traditional concepts of poverty and deprivation. It is a relational concept and thus is of importance for developing a social psychiatric perspective. The relationship between Social Exclusion and Social Inclusion is complex and they are not necessarily polar opposites; rather, they may be viewed as a continuum, but a continuum of several dimensions which may differ over time and place. The chapter sets out a framework for examining the social exclusion of people with mental health conditions.

The case for population-level approaches to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness is based on the need for cultural change, whether the culture is within organizations, communities, or families. As such, stigma is a multi-level phenomenon requiring intervention at these many levels. In this chapter we present the case for stigma reduction efforts at the population level; present some considerations for such efforts in terms of methods and content; and describe some recent population-level anti-stigma programs, with results of evaluation where available.

This chapter explores the digitalisation of higher education in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), where technology is used to support teaching and learning. This conceptual chapter contends that technology uptake and use by institutions of higher learning has been inevitable in the recent past due to a number of factors, with the latest being the COVID-19 global pandemic. Central to the argument of the chapter is the fact that technology is pertinent for the transformation of teaching and learning. However, in some developing countries, especially those of Africa, digitalisation, noble as it is, has resulted in undesirable consequences. Many citizens of the developing countries have been affected by the dark side of technology uptake, which has brought with it social exclusion and digital divide. As much as they need technology for teaching and learning, findings are that factors such as lack of access to internet, shortage of equipment and lack of skills, among others, have proved to be barriers to effective online teaching and learning. The chapter is guided by van Dijk’s Resources and Appropriation Theory.