While most condemn political violence, some come to see it as morally justified when their identity is under threat. Drawing on the 3N(Need, Narrative, and Network) model of radicalization, the present study conceptualizes identity threat as a situational activation of threatened significance that may trigger moral disengagement and increase justification of political violence. In a between-subjects deception experiment (N = 468, strongly identified conservatives and progressives), participants were exposed to either an identity-threatening or neutral media articles. 

Perceived victimhood and trait narcissism were assessed as individual difference moderators. Moral disengagement was modeled as a mediator linking identity threat to justification of political violence. Structural equation modeling tested direct and moderated mediation effects, controlling for political orientation. It was hypothesized that identity threat increases justification via moral disengagement, particularly among individuals high in perceived victimhood and narcissism. The study advances political radicalization research by testing identity-based threat and intrapersonal vulnerability factors within the 3N framework.