How do fanatics work?

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Winston Churchill

I have never failed to wonder how fanaticism begins, builds, and what makes it endure and persist despite an environment that fuels contrary ideas or opinions. Mostly used to reflect strong affiliation to religion, politics, sports, ethnicity etc, I do know that there has been no academic consensus yet to define fanaticism.

I tend to think that 'fanaticism' is derived from 'fan'. So, is it the 'superlative fan'?

Where does this all start? What traits do you think differentiate the behavior of a fanatic from a fan? How does a fanatic find a reason to be so devoted, obsessed and involved with the activity or cause that borders on abnormality?

Technorati K73SRCZP6UH2

Are political wins influenced by behavior and culture?

Just yesterday, I came across this article Obama political campaign last year that won a  reputation for drawing on the tools of social science. What I found most interesting was the part where the article says '...small, voluntary agreement amplifies the likelihood that the person will follow through...' backed by some experiments.

Read on, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Do write back with what you think. Do you know of similar campaigns? How do they work?