Extremism as a form of legal nihilism

One of the global problems of the modern world is considered - the problem of extremism, which is the theory and practice of achieving socio­political, religious, national goals with the help of extreme, prohibited methods. From a political point of view, extremism is an ideology of protest against established social structures and institutions of power, which is designed for a wide public resonance and is accompanied by calls to undermine stability and violence. At the same time, extremism is a form of nihilism that denies universally recognized values and ideals, including law, demonstrates a tendency to extreme ideas and actions, fanaticism. Three components of legal nihilism are considered: worldview, psychological and behavioral. The strategy for implementing the provisions of the ideology of extremism is terrorism - an activity aimed at undermining social security, intimidation, and destabilization. The forms of manifestation of this phenomenon are political, economic, national, ecological and religious extremism. The causes of legal nihilism and extremism are identified, among which the most important are socio-political factors, namely: the weakening of state power and the passivity of its power structures; high corruption of officials; criminalization of society; assistance to extremists by representatives of foreign public organizations. The opinion that anomie is a stimulus to the deformation of legal consciousness and the formation of legal nihilism is substantiated. Forms and ways of spreading extremism are studied, including through the Internet. The personality of the extremist is characterized. It is argued that the danger of extremism lies not so much in the essence of views and the form of their expression, but in the goal that extremists seek to achieve, in the methods of achieving it, including aggression, violence, radical, often illegal actions. Public awareness of the danger of extremism, improvement of its legal culture, economic situation and efficiency of state power, together with the effectiveness of the legal system, will prevent the deformation of legal consciousness and the existence of this global problem.