This course will focus on political extremism around the world. Different countries will be compared, allowing students to examine commonalities in the origins of political extremism between vastly different cultures. While the emphasis of the course will be on current manifestations of extremism, historical examples will also be used for comparison. Primary questions to be addressed in the course will be: what are the causes of extremism; what commonalities can be seen across different cultures and historical eras; what are the unique cultural and historical features that manifest in different forms of political extremism; how does political extremism affect different societies; how does political extremism affect current global political discourse and policy; and what can be done to try to prevent violence caused by political extremism.