Extremist Activity Research Articles

Students’ subjective perceptions of extremism in the Russian Arctic

Young people are a traditional risk group for radicalization and involvement in protest and extremist activities. The relevance of this topic is due to the growing threat of youth radicalization, the expansion of the activities of extremist organizations, and the need to organize high-quality preventive work in educational organizations at various levels. The article provides an overview of research on the topic under consideration and also presents the results of a series of surveys in general educational institutions and organizations of secondary vocational education (n = 11,052), universities (n = 3966) located in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The results of the study on aspects of students’ ideas about extremism are presented in terms of assessing their own knowledge about extremism, the presence/absence of radically minded people around them, determining the degree of threat from the activities of extremist groups for themselves and their social environment, and identifying approaches to preventing the growth of extremism in society. Conclusions are drawn about the need to improve preventive work models in educational organizations towards a targeted (group) approach.

COUNTERING THE SPREAD OF EXTREMIST IDEOLOGY AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE: PROBLEM STATEMENT

Currently, extremism is characterized by the presence of an appropriate ideology, which is very actively and rapidly improving in the context of modern international conflicts and domestic crises observed in the Russian state, which contributes to the entrenchment of illegal ideas and views in the minds of the population, especially among the younger generation, and increases the number of offenses and crimes of extremist orientation. The spread of extremist ideology poses a direct threat to the national interests of the Russian Federation, undermines the stability of the state, causes social conflicts and contributes to the radicalization of various groups of the population, which necessitates a competent and effective policy of countering the ideology of extremism. The article focuses on the activities of law enforcement agencies and civil society institutions to counter the spread of extremist ideology among young people, and provides examples of the interaction of these entities on the territory of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. It is concluded that only an integrated approach, including both measures to curb extremist activities and preventive measures aimed at creating conditions for the harmonious development of society, can effectively counter the threat of the spread of extremist ideology.

A cyberterrorist behind the keyboard

Abstract Given the diverse backgrounds of people living in modern societies as well as the international nature of cyber-terrorist threats, profiling the type of person behind cyber-mediated crimes has become a norm in terrorist profiling practice. This study contributes to timely efficient terrorist profiling and threat assessment by showcasing an automated content analysis of cyber-mediated terrorist texts, using natural language processing technology and AI-assisted analysis. To characterise the terrorist type of texts and provide clues to threats, the study employs a ‘psycholinguistic profiling’ approach to authorship analysis (Grant 2008). That is, it seeks to describe the likelihood of an author’s engagement in violent extremist activity, identify motives for violence, and provide clues vis-a-vis would-be and actual violent behaviours. The study takes twenty texts produced by international terrorists involved in jihadism and far-right violent extremism as a case study. The findings reveal the investigative value of automated psycholinguistic profiling for security and intelligence practitioners, with the semantic patterns yielding helpful information for an understanding of the criminal nature of terrorist language. Also revealed is the attentional pattern of extremists and their discourse together with clues-based conclusions about text type, as well as ‘warning’ behaviours and motives for aggression which vary according to the authors’ ideological differences.

The Role of the Prosecutor’s Office in Countering Extremist Activities in the Russian Federation: Current Challenges and Ways to Overcome It

The article analyzes the problem of the activities of the prosecutor’s office in countering extremism. To identify the problem associated with the insufficiency of legal regulation, the following algorithm was used: analysis of the provisions of sectoral legislation to identify the assigned powers of the prosecutor; additionally analyzed judicial and administrative practices in cases related to extremism; used a comparison method, including the assigned powers of other law enforcement agencies. The author substantiates the need to improve legal regulation, since prosecutors today, both within the framework of supervisory powers and nonsupervisory activities, ensure legality in the mentioned area. Based on the conducted research, the author concludes that in domestic legislation, the prosecutor’s offices, which are currently entrusted with the main front of work, are not properly enshrined in legislation as subjects of countering extremism, which raises law enforcement issues in practice. It is proved that due to the ambiguous law enforcement and judicial interpretation, it is necessary to develop common approaches to the interpretation of legislation, to identify and record extremist offenses.

Terrorism New Wave: The Same Style but New Ways in the Context of Online Radicalization

Radicalization, which is influenced by social, cognitive, and economic variables, is the mental process that justifies violence or violent behavior. Since the invention of the Internet radical organizations have modified their tactics in order to fit the new environment. The Internet has evolved into more than simply a platform for extremist activity; it has also taken the place of the main operating environment and arena where political beliefs are developed, assaults are planned, and exceptional social movements start to take shape. Members of the group meet up online to discuss their religious beliefs and utilize these forums to broaden the scope of action at the individual and organizational levels in order to disseminate their political ideology, hire employees, and organize assaults. The conceptual framework, individual and group dynamic reasons of radicalization, metaphors for describing radicalization, radicalization driven by religion, internet radicalization, and case studies are highlighted in the current study.

Politics, Chieftaincy and Violent Extremism: Case of Chereponi-Wenchiki in Ghana-Togo Border

This study examined three issues, namely politics, violent extremism, and chieftaincy issues, in the Ghana-Togo border communities to determine which variable(s) influenced the other. This paper examines the relationship between violent extremism, politics, and chieftaincy conflicts in Ghana's North East region. It attempts to see if there is any linkage or connection between or among the three variables in the context of conflict and security along the two West African countries' borders (Ghana and Togo). Edward Azar's (1990) Protracted Conflict Theory (PCT), later emphasized by Bat-Tal (2000), guided the study. This study posits that politics and chieftaincy conflicts are the primary causes of violent extremism. In this regard, the study seeks the opinions, views, and experiences of the people in the Chereponi district, especially the communities along the Ghana-Togo borders. The study adopted an exploratory research design with a blend of experts' and non-experts' perspectives in the North East Region of Ghana and a few communities in Togo. The experts are spread across five regions of Northern Ghana, whereas the non-experts are concentrated in the Chereponi district. Twenty (20) respondents were interviewed face-to-face. The study found that the two major political parties (NPP and NDC) in Ghana were more involved in promoting the interests of some chiefs for political expediency. It found no link between politics and chieftaincy, leading to violent extremism. The study concludes that there is a clear link between politics and the chieftaincy institution in Ghana, but it also establishes that the Ghana-Togo border is free of extremist activities. It recommends a strong collaboration between Ghana and Togo in the fight against insecurity and possible acts of violent extremism along their borders.

Проявления латентного цифрового экстремизма в молодежной среде

The article deals with the psychological aspects of ensuring the safety of minors from their involvement in extremist activities in the modern world. The age-related psychological characteristics of the personality of minors, as well as the conditions in which their life values, attitudes and worldview in general are formed, are systematically and comprehensively considered. The central problem discussed in the work is latent extremism, which is formed and spread through the means of modern communication technologies. The main conductor of the spread of extremist ideas for young people in general and minors in particular is the Internet with its ability to exchange information and have an indirect impact on the psyche. The role of latent extremism in the formation of a proto-extremist environment, which is the previous stage in the formation of a full-fledged extremist criminal environment, is noted.

Rethinking Insecurity and Scoping Security Threat in Nigeria: Looking Ahead

Early in the 2000s, Boko Haram emerged with an Islamisation agenda concentrating mostly on Nigeria the largest African economy. There is empirical evidence suggesting that the government of Nigeria has not successfully warded off this group’s hostility. Yet there are gaps in security threats and extant literature. This study therefore examined the instability and anomic conditions resulting from this insurgency using the document analysis method and the Containment Theory employed as the theoretical framework. The analysis showed that there is no clear reason why the Nigerian military has failed to contain the Boko Haram insurgency given the army’s undoubted gallantry after excelling in several international peacekeeping assignments. It was recommended that public programs for enlightenment through community engagement and transparency would influence positively the government’s efforts to contain these terrorist activities. Given the complex nature of terrorism, there is a need for robust empirical studies that have to be done before any meaningful policy implementation can be considered. This study will amplify the international awareness of violent extremist activities in this most populated African nation. It will significantly provide the Nigerian government, human rights groups, researchers, civil society, policymakers, and public and private security agents with more knowledge to understand these terrorists better. Keywords: Nigeria, Threat, Peace, Security, Boko Haram

Practical Mechanisms for Implementing Measures to Combat Extremism

The article analyzes the practical mechanisms for implementing measures to combat extremism. In fact, extremism has become something of a “plague” in the modern realities of humanity. An indefinite number of people, society, the state, and the world community may suffer from extremist activities. The information and telecommunication network «Internet» contributes to the spread of extremist ideas. Today the World Wide Web is the main information and propaganda channel practically of all international and national extremist organizations and groups. Paying considerable attention to this challenge, the author gives a list of measures to prevent the spreading of extremist ideology in the information network. The analysis of the regulatory framework on the issues under study allowed the author to conclude that there is weak interaction between the bodies designed to carry out the prevention and fight against extremism. To change the negative trend, it is necessary further to improve the legislative framework of the state regulating the activities of competent organizations, its focus on ahead of possible illegal actions in this area. In the context of the multinational nature of the Russian state, there is also a need to intensify explanatory and propaganda work aimed at preventing extremism in the field of interethnic and interreligious relations. The education of the younger generation of traditional spiritual and moral values, raising the level of education of the population and civic culture, citizens’ welfare should also be considered as essential components of preventive work in the fight against extremism and its manifestations.

Criminological Aspects of the Motivation of Individuals Belonging to Organized Criminal Groups of an Extremist Nature

The article is devoted to the study of criminological aspects of the motivation of persons joining organized criminal groups of an extremist nature. The author of the study analyzes various factors that may contribute to involvement in criminal groups and their illegal activities in such groups, the motives for their participation in extremist activities. The article examines the psychological, social and ideological factors that influence the formation and support of the motivation of participants in organized criminal groups with an extremist nature. Examples of interactions between various individual and social factors that contribute to the formation of radical beliefs and readiness to commit extremist acts are given. In addition, the features of the motivation of individuals belonging to organized extremist groups are analyzed with the aim of their classification. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that understanding the motivation of individuals who join extremist organized criminal groups is important for developing appropriate tactics and methods for preventing and suppressing extremist activities. Overall, the article represents a comprehensive study of the criminological aspects of the motivation of individuals belonging to organized criminal groups with an extremist nature, and is an important contribution to the field of criminology and criminal activity.

Investigating long short‐term memory approach for extremist messages detection in Kazakh language

AbstractIn recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in both individuals and organizations utilizing social networks for illicit purposes. This trend can be viewed as a potential threat to the national security of the country. In this article, the authors pay attention to how various extremist organizations use social networks in their activities, and offer LSTM‐based models for classifying extremist texts in Kazakh on web resources. The main purpose of the article is to classify Kazakh texts in social networks into extremist and non‐extremist classes. The authors employed techniques such as Tf‐Idf, Word2Vec, Bag of Words (BoW), and n‐grams in experiments. A list of extremist keywords in the Kazakh language and, accordingly, a corpus of extremist texts in the Kazakh language were created for training and testing machine learning methods. As a result, the authors introduced a model that demonstrated superior performance across all evaluation metrics in machine learning for detecting extremist texts in the Kazakh language. The theoretical significance of this study lies in its comprehensive exploration of methods and algorithms for detecting extremist activities and organizations. The foundational findings derived from this research can contribute valuable insights to the global scientific community. The practical implications, including the developed methodology can be utilized by authorized entities to enhance information security, safeguard critical infrastructure, and combat online extremism.

Extremist Activities in Digital Gaming Spaces: Challenges and Opportunities for Counter-extremism

Extremist Activities in Digital Gaming Spaces: Challenges and Opportunities for Counter-extremism

The Role of Social Justice in Shaping Youth Attitudes towards Extremism and Terrorism "An Analytical Study of Influencing Factors and Strategies for Prevention and Intervention"

Our analytical study underscores the significance of the role of social justice in shaping the attitudes of youth towards extremism and terrorism. The research indicates that social inequality, economic injustice, and other factors can act as sources of frustration and discontent among young people, thereby increasing their susceptibility to engage in extremist activities. Additionally, the study highlights the cultural and religious factors, as well as the influence of media, in either promoting or undermining social integration to confront this challenge. The study offers strategies and avenues to enhance social justice, including improving education and training opportunities, promoting cultural and religious awareness, and encouraging community participation. It emphasizes the crucial need to strengthen communication between the government and civil society to implement comprehensive policies targeting the improvement of economic and social conditions. The study aims to stimulate dialogue and collaboration across different sectors to bring about effective change that contributes to reducing the impact of social factors on the youth's inclinations towards extremism and terrorism, with a focus on balancing security and fundamental rights.

ПРОБЛЕМЫ РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ АДМИНИСТРАТИВНО-ПРАВОВЫХ СРЕДСТВ ПРЕДУПРЕЖДЕНИЯ И ПРЕСЕЧЕНИЯ АДМИНИСТРАТИВНЫХ ПРАВОНАРУШЕНИЙ ЭКСТРЕМИСТСКОЙ НАПРАВЛЕННОСТИ

The article analyzes the provisions of regulatory legal acts regulating the use by the police of administrative and legal means of preventing and suppressing administrative offenses related to the manifestation of extremism. Particular attention is paid to the problems of implementing administrative legislation regulating public relations in the field of countering extremism, and ways to overcome such problems are proposed. The need to form a negative attitude towards manifestations of extremist activity in the legal conscious-ness of citizens is pointed out.
 It is proposed to improve the administrative and legal means of preventing and suppressing administrative offenses related to the manifestation of extremism by creating a unified judicial practice. It is necessary to understand that such an administrative offense as “extremism” does not exist in administrative legislation. In this case, it is necessary to talk about manifestations of extremism within the framework of administrative legislation. At the same time, administrative liability is provided for some manifestations of extremism, and criminal liability for others.
 In administrative law there is no concept of “administrative offenses associated with the manifestation of extremism,” despite the fact that the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses [1] (hereinafter referred to as the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) reflects torts associated with the manifestation of extremism and extremist activities.

The problem of criminal statistical casuistry of the category of "extremist crimes" based on examples of qualitative and quantitative analysis of their indicators.

The subject of the study consists of separate statistical indicators of extremist crimes in their relationship with the formal definition of the list of such acts in Russian legislation. Special attention is paid to various approaches to explaining the phenomenon of extremism by sciences other than criminology; the content of criminal law signs of the phenomenon under consideration; analysis of the place of extremist crimes in the structure of modern Russian crime; the problem of forming objective criminal statistics due to the adoption of novelties of administrative and criminal legislation; issues of registration discipline of this group of criminal encroachments and the latency of illegal acts. The purpose of the presented work is to put forward and verify the hypothesis of the presence of specific statistically significant dependencies in the registration of the phenomenon of criminal extremism and to analyze the impact of the completeness of the data obtained in this way on the conclusions of criminological science. Methodologically, in our theoretical judgments, we relied on the universal method of dialectical materialism. Private methods consisted in using methods of statistical grouping of data, correlation analysis. The scientific novelty of the work carried out consists in the fact that we explained the reasons (origins) of the use of the criminal statistical approach in the formulation of the definition of extremism (extremist activity) by the legislator in 2002. By analyzing various approaches to understanding extremism from other sciences, the inconsistency of other formulations of the concept was determined. From a dialectical-materialistic point of view, a hypothesis has been put forward that criminal extremism belongs exclusively to political crime. They pointed to the limited volume of recorded crimes from the point of view of the "law of large numbers" as one of the main applied shortcomings that arise when analyzing indicators in modern criminological research. They justified the absence of a linear correlation between "prejudicial" administrative offenses and the corresponding extremist elements of crimes, pointing out, however, that the relationship of states between them persists at three analyzed stages. In the conclusions, we pointed out the key problems of the formation of modern criminal statistics in terms of the formation of our objective ideas about the state of the phenomenon of criminal extremism.

Islamist Extremism, Propaganda, And New Media: A Case Study of @Mutiaradabiq During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The activities of Islamist extremist actors are increasingly intensive during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which they are progressively active in producing Islamist narratives in cyberspace. Strategic communication is one of the techniques for Islamist extremist groups to perpetuate their influences on society through social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus this research aims to study propaganda as part of strategic communication in Islamist extremist activities during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021), primarily through Facebook @MutiaraDabiq. This research considers that strategic communication and propaganda are two interrelated communication entities. This study is qualitative research and uses critical discourse analysis (CDA) as a method of data analysis. This research argues that propaganda on social media worked significantly through verbal and visual discourse uploaded by Islamist extremist actor, who reveals rational connections between language use and social reality. This study found how the existences propaganda of this Facebook account can exist during the COVID-19 pandemic by; first, strategic communication emerges into instrumental propaganda at the @MutiaraDabiq performance, and second, strategic communication flourish in discourse logic at the @MutiaraDabiq account.

Повышение эффективности деятельности органов внутренних дел Российской Федерации по предупреждению и пресечению преступлений экстремистской направленности в сфере межнациональных отношений

The article reviews the concepts of extremist activities introduced by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 On Combating Extremist Activities, addresses the need to improve methodological and practical approaches to carrying out activities aimed at combating extremist manifestations. The author concludes that there is a need to raise the efficiency of operations of internal affairs agencies aimed at prevention and suppression of extremist crimes, which should encompass a whole set of events, and ensure due interaction between various security, defense and law enforcement agencies in charge of extremism combating (the Supreme Court, the Federal Security Service, the Federal Service of National Guard Troops, etc.) including with the participation of foreign and international organizations.

К ВОПРОСУ О МЕХАНИЗМЕ ЧРЕЗВЫЧАЙНОГО ПРАВОВОГО РЕГУЛИРОВАНИЯ И ЕГО ОСНОВНЫХ ЭЛЕМЕНТАХ (НА ПРИМЕРЕ ПРАВОВЫХ РЕЖИМОВ ПОВЫШЕННОЙ ГОТОВНОСТИ И ЧРЕЗВЫЧАЙНОЙ СИТУАЦИИ)

The article deals with a comparative analysis of the provisions of the current emergency legislation, which stipulates the procedure for the establishment and implementation of extraordinary (special) legal regimes. It studies the acts of federal legislation regulating the legal regimes of military, state of emergency, emergency situations, counteraction to terrorism and extremist activities, as well as regional legislation on natural and man–made emergencies (a total of 93 normative acts). It also notes that the legislator (especially the regional one) approaches the issue of normative and legal consolidation of the subject of regulation in different ways, the definition and differentiation of the grounds for the introduction of extraordinary (special) legal regimes, the powers of public administration bodies and their officials who ensure the implementation of such regimes. For example, the legislation on the public protection from natural and man-made emergencies, countering terrorism and extremist activities does not provide grounds for the introduction of appropriate regimes. The author reveals a discrepancy between the normative content of the legislative acts of the subjects of the Russian Federation in terms of securing the extraordinary powers of the public administration. In order to eliminate uncertainties in the issues of correlation between the objects of legal regulation and the grounds for the introduction of extraordinary (special) administrative and legal regimes, a proposal is substantiated on the need to formulate blank legal norms defining the grounds for the introduction of extraordinary (special) legal regimes and aimed at ensuring their implementation. Based on the results of the study, a conclusion is made that it is necessary to bring into line the content of regulatory legal acts of the subjects of the Russian Federation, which give public administration bodies and their officials extraordinary powers in the field of protecting the population and territories from emergency situations. Possible directions for improving legislation in the sphere are described.

Beijing 1995 and female terrorism in 21st century West Africa

This article examines the relationship between the 1995 World Conference on Women held in Beijing and the emergence of female terrorism in West Africa during the 21st century. It examines how the conference, which was intended to promote global gender equality and women's rights, unintentionally influenced the dynamics of female participation in extremist activities. This study provides insights into the motivations, strategies, and effects of female terrorism in West Africa by analysing historical events, regional context, and socio-political factors, casting light on the complex relationship between gender, empowerment, and violence. The gendered socialisation theory served as the theoretical framework for this study. Noting that the study is qualitative and non-experimental, a descriptive research design was chosen for this investigation. The qualitative method was used to generate data for this study, and the qualitative descriptive method was used to analyse the collected data. The study revealed a correlation between the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing and the rise of female terrorism in West African nations. The study recommended adequate public enlightenment, strengthened responsive counterterrorism strategies, enhanced women’s participation in counterterrorism efforts and genuine empowerment of women and girls through education and economic opportunities.

Formation of a safe type personality In preschool children as a means of preventing extremism

The article reveals the importance of forming a safe type of personality in preschool children for the prevention of extremist activities and involvement in such activities in the future. The guidelines for the teacher are described, including groups of tasks in the work of a teacher and a psychologist with preschool children in the framework of the prevention of extremism.