Unearthing the most primal motivations behind the fear politics movements sweeping across the
USA Europe and the Middle East Stevan E. Hobfoll examines how the increasing sense of threat
from the political and cultural other or outsider engenders an evolutionary built-in defend
and aggress response. This deep-wired evolutionary response is a defining aspect of our tribal
origins and has allowed for the rise of propaganda extremist politics and-in turn-violence.
In this timely work which binds theories in psychology sociology evolution biology
linguistics iconography rhetoric and religion Hobfoll explores the tribalist roots of
radical militant Islam violence against women white supremacy the rise of authoritarian
leaders and an increasingly polarized and uncompromising political landscape. Grounded in
evolutionary psychological research Hobfoll's long term study of stress and in conversation
with contemporary academic literature Tribalism notonly offers an explanation for society's
worst impulses but also points us towards the best protections against tribalism and other
evolutionary traps.
