Conclusion

Abstract Case studies can synthesize research across subfields in psychiatry and psychology to examine the personalities of militant leaders. This chapter compares and contrasts militant leaders according to personality traits, motivations for violence, skills and abilities, and significant life events. A developmental perspective can clarify which interventions could have maximal impact in the psychology of militant leadership. Aggregating psychopolitical formulations can also reveal targets for deradicalization and counterterrorism interventions. The chapter concludes with a developmental typology of militant leadership that can be adopted cross-culturally in other geographic regions. Political violence continues to pose a threat to civilians in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia. Cross-cultural psychological studies of militancy can produce applied research toward violence prevention while also calling attention to the very circumstances that incite militancy.