Extremist Ideology Research Articles

Radicalisation studies: An emerging interdisciplinary field.

This research note provides an overview of Radicalisation Studies as an emerging interdisciplinary field aimed at developing more holistic understandings of how and why individuals and groups turn to extreme ideologies and political violence. It traces the evolution of radicalisation research across core social science disciplines, including sociology, psychology, anthropology, and political science. While this burgeoning scholarship has expanded knowledge, persistent gaps remain due to studying radicalisation in disciplinary silos. To address this fragmentation, the research note proposes an integrated Radicalisation Studies approach grounded in critical social theory and reflexivity. This paradigm synthesises concepts and mechanisms from across disciplines to investigate the complex interplay between individual vulnerabilities, group dynamics, and broader socio-political contexts in generating radicalisation. The note outlines theoretical foundations, guiding research questions, and methodological strategies for this new field focused on mixed-methods, multi-level analysis. Radicalisation Studies holds promise for advancing theoretical integration, contextualised explanations, critical perspectives on radicalisation discourse, and evidence-based preventative policies. While challenges remain in institutionalising this emerging field, Radicalisation Studies has the potential to steer research towards greater interdisciplinarity and the nuanced understandings necessary to elucidate this complex phenomenon. The research note aims to spur debate on constructing Radicalisation Studies as a viable scholarly enterprise.

Countering Extremist Ideology and Media Security of the State

National security in the media sphere is becoming a multifaceted task related to the implementation of Russia’s cultural sovereignty in the context of digital transformation. Strategic planning for the development of the national media space involves domestic political and diplomatic decisions of a conceptual nature that can ensure the unity of the international information space while countering threats: (1) propaganda of violent extremism, (2) popularization of destructive ideology, (3) reduction of cultural capital level of the party in power and opposition. Operational plans for ensuring media security quite often follow the logic of situational response to threats posed by enemies and implement protective measures in relation to the media space at the national level. In methodological terms, the media security of the state is characterized by systemic practices of ensuring information security (in formal legal analysis), and analysis of threats to cognitive and noospheric security (in the natural science study of communication processes). The research methodology involves the use of the method of participant observation inherent in noxology to classify threats emanating from the mass media. Among the main objectives of the article: analysis of modern Russian political and legal documents aimed at ensuring media security and countering extremism, characterizing the Russian policy of securitization of social problems in the media sphere, delimiting legal political struggle from criminal (extremist and destructive) practices of political communication. The objectives of the study include the analysis of foreign experience in ensuring national media security in the context of digitalization and the growing threat of violent extremism. The logic of competition in the digital cultural space practically excludes the use of secrecy, censorship and forcing the audience to watch propaganda in the process of ensuring media security. Public relations in the media sphere involves the choice of media content by the audience of the global information space, which means that the protection of national spiritual and moral values is implemented in the liberal paradigm and demands open dialogue between the party in power and the opposition on topical issues of national security.

Sex Sells Terrorism: How Sexual Appeals in Fringe Online Communities Contribute to Self-Radicalization

The past several years have seen rising hate crimes, terrorist attacks, and broader extremist movements, with news reports often noting that these movements can be traced back to fringe online communities. Yet the question remains why such online groups appear more likely to foster radicalization than those in other contexts. This netnographic case study demonstrates how sexual appeals in fringe online communities facilitate the development of extremist ideologies. Specifically, the cognitive effects of sexual arousal combined with the social norms of such communities contribute to the acceptance of hate speech and fringe ideologies while reducing the extent to which audiences evaluate rational arguments and competing points of view. Thus, sexual appeals paired with messaging or imagery that promotes fringe points of view, which can be more freely expressed in small online groups than in other contexts, are more likely to result in intended attitudinal and behavioral changes—in other words, extremism.

Auditing YouTube's recommendation system for ideologically congenial, extreme, and problematic recommendations.

Algorithms of social media platforms are often criticized for recommending ideologically congenial and radical content to their users. Despite these concerns, evidence on such filter bubbles and rabbit holes of radicalization is inconclusive. We conduct an audit of the platform using 100,000 sock puppets that allow us to systematically and at scale isolate the influence of the algorithm in recommendations. We test 1) whether recommended videos are congenial with regard to users' ideology, especially deeper in the watch trail and whether 2) recommendations deeper in the trail become progressively more extreme and come from problematic channels. We find that YouTube's algorithm recommends congenial content to its partisan users, although some moderate and cross-cutting exposure is possible and that congenial recommendations increase deeper in the trail for right-leaning users. We do not find meaningful increases in ideological extremity of recommendations deeper in the trail, yet we show that a growing proportion of recommendations comes from channels categorized as problematic (e.g., "IDW," "Alt-right," "Conspiracy," and "QAnon"), with this increase being most pronounced among the very-right users. Although the proportion of these problematic recommendations is low (max of 2.5%), they are still encountered by over 36.1% of users and up to 40% in the case of very-right users.

PREVENTING RADICALISM THROUGH RELIGIOUS MODERATION

As evidenced by the events that occurred in 2021, extremist ideology is still prevalent among religious devotees in Indonesia. Many groups working under the leadership of the government have made efforts to reduce this radical ideology, one of which being the Forum for Religious Harmony (FKUB). Aside from that, the Religious Harmony Forum was tasked with conducting a research to develop a strategy for defeating radicalism based on religious moderation. In this qualitative study, data mining was done through in-depth interviews, observations, and document studies on the management of FKUB Ciamis and the community. The research findings indicate that each representative of the religious assembly at FKUB has a reasonable religious understanding, which is evident in their attitude of respecting each other's religious beliefs and giving comfort for diverse persons in worship. To combat the ideology of radicalism, two techniques can be used: first, educate the public by conducting outreach on the importance and operationalization of moderate views in social relations. Second, the operation of religious organizations such as FKUB, which play a significant role in promoting religious unity.

Prevention of Higher Education Radicalism in Aceh: Perspectives of Constitutional Law and Islamic Law

Higher education actually plays a role in strengthening national insight and nationalism in an academic framework as evidenced by efforts to prevent radicalism. This study examines the efforts of universities in preventing several universities in Aceh, namely Syiah Kuala University, Ar-Raniry State Islamic University, Malikussaleh University, Teuku Umar University and Muhammadiyah Aceh University. This research uses empirical legal methods with an approach to constitutional law and Islamic law. The data collection techniques used were in-depth interviews and literature studies. The results of this study show that radicalism is not found in higher education institutions in Aceh. Internal and external factors can influence the difficulty of finding radicalism. Internal factors include a diverse understanding of university elements about radicalism and a lack of religious understanding among students and leaders. The external factor is that there is no regulation that provides indicators of radicalism and students joining various organizations, and it is difficult to distinguish which ones are radical. However, universities have made efforts to prevent radicalism, namely; prevent lecturers and students from having extreme ideologies, strengthen the concept of nationalism and nationality and encourage students to participate in non-academic activities. In the context of constitutional law, this effort is a strategic policy carried out by the state through universities to create stability and peace. In addition, in the context of Islamic law, these efforts are in line with the objectives of Sharia, namely preventing harm and creating the benefit of the nation and state.

Contextualizing involvement in terrorist violence by considering non-significant findings: Using null results and temporal perspectives to better understand radicalization outcomes.

Irrespective of discipline, the publication of null or non-significant findings is rare in the social sciences. For burgeoning fields like terrorism research, this is particularly problematic. As well as increasing the likelihood of Type II errors, the selective reporting of significant findings ultimately impedes progression, hindering comprehensive syntheses of evidence and enabling ill-supported lines of scientific enquiry to persist. This manuscript discusses several structural and individual-level variables which failed to produce significant, linear associations with involvement in terrorist violence in a dataset (N = 206) of right-wing and jihadist extremists active in Europe and North America. After considering methodological factors such as non-random distributions of missing data, we illustrate how certain variables are significantly associated with involvement in terrorist violence at particular periods in a radicalizing individual's lifespan, but not others (i.e., pre- or post-radicalization onset). Moreover, we demonstrate that while some static, binary constructs (such as whether or not a radicalizing individual was exposed to diverse viewpoints) are not associated with terrorist violence, their influence over time produces different associations. We conclude that radicalization may be less about individuals having pre-disposing risk factors, such as biographical stressors, and more about cognitive changes that allow individuals to re-evaluate their lives through the lens of an extremist ideology. We also underline the importance of taking a temporal, rather than static, perspective to better understand the variables associated with the outcomes of radicalization trajectories.

Malaysia and Indonesia of Women in Strengthening the Family for Prevention of Violent Extremism Through Tolerance and Peace Values

This research endeavors to examine the integral role of women in preventing violent extremism within the Lamongan district and Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaysia, utilizing a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach. Through collaborative engagement with the community, women actively participate in identifying issues, developing interventions, and collectively shaping strategies to counteract extremist ideologies. The PAR methodology ensures a bottom-up perspective, allowing women to take an active role in problem-solving and decision-making processes. The study reveals that women, particularly in Lamongan and Kuala Lumpur, are central in challenging and countering extremist narratives within their families, fostering empowerment and ownership in the process. Beyond households, women extend their influence to the broader public, imparting essential lessons on religious tolerance and the imperative of fostering peaceful coexistence. Based on these findings, it is recommended that future initiatives embrace participatory approaches, recognizing and leveraging the unique role of women in countering violent extremism, while supporting ongoing PAR initiatives to empower women and foster more harmonious and tolerant societies.

A compromising mindset? How citizens evaluate the trade‐offs in coalition politics

AbstractCoalition building depends on citizens having a ‘compromising mindset’: they must accept that parties need to compromise in order to gain influence and that this entails deviating from the original policy positions. In this study, we show that European citizens understand that compromise is essential for democratic governance and that they, holding everything else constant, prefer political parties that express a willingness to compromise. This finding appears to be independent from specific forms of coalition politics and to be widespread across different levels of political interest, formal education and even ideological extremity. Our analysis compares observational data from the Austrian National Election Survey (AUTNES) 2020 and an original survey from Denmark in 2021. We also present results from a conjoint experiment fielded in Denmark, which evaluates the effect of willingness to compromise on vote choice. Our finding is good news for European democracies where coalition politics and thus compromise is a necessity for governance. Yet, for vote‐seeking politics, the situation is complex as citizens might sometimes punish parties for compromising, but sometimes also punish them for not compromising.

A new variation of modern prejudice: young Korean men's anti-feminism and male-victim ideology

In South Korea, anti-feminism is now rapidly spreading online among young men, who have started to identify themselves as a social minority or “victims” of female power. Despite its ramifications, theoretically, anti-feminism is indistinct from the racism and sexism of White men that emerged more than half a century ago. In view of this, it shares the same root as typical modern racism or sexism, although it appears to be a novel phenomenon. Such a hypothesis was buttressed by quantifying the attitudes of anti-feminists toward various outgroups based on the transference of prejudice theory. Moreover, the subtle sexist undertones hidden in their arguments have been discussed using various psychological theories and empirical data/statistics. Additionally, various potential factors that may shape or accelerate their attitudes or behaviors have been discussed on the basis of the threat-defense theory. Through comprehensive literature review based on this theory, this study proposes the features related to Korean anti-feminism, encompassing behavioral/situational (overindulging violent or degrading Internet contents, verbal aggression), relational/epistemic (ostracism, attachment insecurity, pseudo-rationalism), and group-level (provocative interactions, polarization) attributes, some of which may also influence groups other than young men and ingrain or exacerbate the extreme ideologies of other groups, including young women. Scrutinizing Korean online anti-feminism and male-victim ideology may improve our understanding of the psychological origins of various social extremities or radical ideologies beyond cultural barriers.

Роль сетей крайне правых в культурной войне и международных отношениях в Европе

The author analyzes the internationalization of European far right civil societies as non-traditional political actors that engage in international relations creating ideological networks. The purpose of the article is to reveal the role of European fascist civil societies in international ideological activism as a response to a perceived cultural war against globalism and cultural Marxism of left internationalists. The article analyzes and comprehensively defines the issue of the cultural war in the West and describes the characteristics of Spanish fascist civil societies as non-traditional political actors exposing their perspective as cultural war revolutionaries. Attempts to create international far right networks by Spanish actors are studied based on the analysis of The Militant – The Cultural War, the manifesto published by the Spanish fascist civil society European Future in February 2023. A discourse analysis of this document exposes the ideological narratives of this group that can help to create a theoretical framework of the cultural war concept for European far right politics. The results demonstrate that European far right activists consider there is an ideological war against Marxists and other leftist groups. Activists of the European Future see themselves as far right revolutionaries capable of causing an ideological revolution in European democracies. The manifesto serves as a tool to call out to other European far right activists of the continent to join them. The results can contribute to future research of ideological extremism and European far right activism.

How terrorist attacks distort public debates: a comparative study of right-wing and Islamist extremism

ABSTRACT Previous research has shown how terrorist attacks attract media attention and influence public opinion and decision-makers. However, we lack a comparative assessment of the extent to which extremist ideologies matter and how they matter. Therefore, this paper compares mass media debates over extreme right and Islamist terrorist attacks. Theoretically, it innovates by linking research on discursive critical junctures and issue-specific discursive opportunity structures, emphasising the systematic differences between the two ideologies. Empirically, the study is based on an original, large-scale content analysis of mass media debates on all seven fatal attacks in Germany since 2015 (N = 9047). It combines relational quantitative content analysis with frame and network analyses. The results show how ideologies behind terrorist attack shape political reactions and the framing of the key security threat. Notably, both types of attacks provide favourable conditions for the far right, and political elites play a central role in the diffusion of far-right frames. In contrast, victims and ethnic or religious minorities have little voice in public debates. Overall, the study contributes to a better understanding of the impact of terrorist attacks on Western democracies by emphasising the impact of ideology and distorted threat perceptions in public debates.

A Re-Evaluation of the Grievance Studies Affair

During 2018, three academics employed what they referred to as “reflective ethnography” to examine the hypothesis that many disciplines (e.g., sociology, educational philosophy, and critical race theory) are motivated by extreme ideologies, as opposed to generating knowledge. The authors published, or had accepted, seven “hoax” articles in a number of peer-reviewed journals. When the story broke in the Wall Street Journal, the authors stated that the articles advocated a number of ludicrous, inhumane, and appalling ideas. For example, one argued that men should be trained like dogs with shock collars. Their acceptance for publication was therefore taken as evidence for the kind of ideas that many academic disciplines will advocate. In the present article, I will show that the central aspects of the hoax articles do not match with how they were later described by the hoax authors and many other commentators (e.g., journalists). Despite the vast amount of media coverage, this has (virtually) gone unnoticed. I will suggest that the widely accepted narrative of the so-called Grievance Studies affair is incorrect.

Strategies for resilience: results from a German pilot project to prevent far-right radicalisation within the police

ABSTRACT Preventing and countering potential far-right radicalisation within police forces is a major concern in many countries. Specific interventions such as anti-racism or intercultural competence training programmes for police officers are seen as key to build resilience against the lures of extremist ideologies and milieus. However, a dearth of empirical research investigating the factors that influence receptivity or rejection by the target group – police officers – impedes the design and implementation of effective interventions. This study presents findings from a formative evaluation accompanying a pilot project within the state police of the southern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg called ‘Strategy Sponsorship for Democracy and Tolerance’. Drawing on three focus groups, five individual problem-centred interviews, and 603 feedback reports, the study finds that peer-to-peer approaches, voluntary participation, leadership support, freedom in topic selection and intervention planning, as well as budgetary independence positively impact the acceptance of interventions and motivation to engage. Age of participants, resource constraints and administrative challenges, as well as reservations about project aims and contents were found to increase the risk of rejection. Implications for optimising interventions for police forces are discussed.

Legal Culture and Legal Awareness of the Youth of the Kursk Region (According to a Sociological Study)

Relevance. Corruption, the ideology of nationalism, extremism, xenophobia, criminal behavior, and other negative social phenomena are actively promoted in the modern information and communication environment, which, in conditions of ensuring universal free access to information, has an extremely negative impact on the formation and development of a teenager's personality. Modern youth assimilates the wrong patterns of behavior, imitates the wrong ideals, as a result of which the younger generation develops a distorted perception of legal values, phenomena, wrong views, beliefs and ideas about law and its role in the life of society and the state are formed. As a result, research is becoming particularly relevant, allowing not only to detect problems of formation and development of legal culture, but also to identify possible ways to increase the level of legal culture and legal awareness of young people.The purpose. The purpose of the study is to identify the main problems of the formation of legal culture and legal awareness in the modern youth environment and propose ways to solve them.Objectives. Tasks: to diagnose the state of legal culture and legal awareness of modern youth (on the example of schoolchildren and students of the Kursk region); to determine what problems are encountered in practice in the process of forming legal culture and legal awareness among young people; to formulate proposals to improve the level of legal culture and legal awareness among young people.Methodology. In the process of working on the study, the following methods were used: a survey in the form of a questionnaire, comparative methods, as well as a method of synthesis and analysis, generalization and systematization.The results of the study are distinguished by an integrated approach to the study of this problem, as well as the practical orientation of theoretical generalizations on the topic under consideration.Conclusion. Currently, there is an acute need to improve the formation of the legal culture of schoolchildren and students. To accomplish this task, it is necessary to create special pedagogical conditions aimed at educating a harmoniously developed and socially responsible person on the basis of spiritual and moral values, historical traditions and democratic principles of the Russian state.

Pancasila Internalization Model in Overcoming Radicalism Within the Bureaucracy


 
 
 
 Pancasila holds a pivotal role in the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia, but its maintenance has faced challenges through historical events like the G30S/PKI incident and the TII DI event. These instances serve as benchmarks illustrating the potential changes that could occur if Pancasila's significance is not upheld by society. In the modern era, recurrent radicalism poses a threat to Indonesia's unity. This study aims to propose an internalization model for Pancasila values that garners acceptance across all societal segments, fostering adherence to these values. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach through literature review, including various journals, and utilizing relevant applications and websites, the study underscores that radicalism often contradicts Pancasila principles and human rights, encompassing terrorism and ideological extremism. Effective countermeasures necessitate collaborative endeavors involving governmental bodies, citizens, and institutions. Recognizing the need for bureaucratic reform, the study suggests the integration of Pancasila values to align ethical conduct with national principles. The P4 Pancasila program demonstrates intricate bureaucratic dynamics, highlighting the equilibrium between authority and unintended outcomes. The study identifies the inculcation of Pancasila values from a young age as instrumental in nurturing a generation dedicated to national ideals, proficient in mitigating radicalism, and advancing ethical governance.
 
 
 

АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ВОПРОСЫ ПРОТИВОДЕЙСТВИЯ ИДЕОЛОГИИ ЭКСТРЕМИЗМА И ТЕРРОРИЗМА В ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНЫХ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯХ ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

This article examines issues of building a comprehensive system of countering the ideology of extremism and terrorism in educational institutions, education of patriotism and citizenship. The possibility of creating an atmosphere of intolerance to extremist ideas within the framework of educational, research and educational activities is analyzed in this work.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AS A MEANS OF DEVELOPING TERRORIST IDEOLOGY IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: PROBLEMS OF COUNTERACTION AND PUNISHABILITY

The article deals with the problem of countering the terrorist ideology spread in the Russian Federation using digital technologies that have now reached the quality of artificial intelligence technologies. The purpose of the study is to develop proposals on countering and punishability of terrorist ideology in the Russian Federation, identifying essential features of its characteristics, analyzing interaction with extremist activity and the impact on these processes of development of information and digital technologies, and introducing amendments to the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation aimed at countering this ideology. Materials and methods. The research is based on the dialectical method of cognition. The research methods are: critical analysis, content analysis, systematic, formal-legal, comparative-legal, historical-legal. The results of the study. The content and features of the spread of terrorist ideology in the Russian Federation, from the moment of a special military operation, are considered. The author analyzes the process of development of terrorist ideology interacting with extremist activity through the use of digital technologies, which is carried out on the basis of the help of special services and organizations of a number of foreign states, and at the same time Russian public (legal and prohibited) associations and individuals controlled by them are used. Terrorist and extremist ideologies presented in external sources create a symbiosis of interaction, which allows them to form appropriate motivation of various kinds. Conclusions. The author substantiates that the ideology of terrorism as a historically changeable, illegal system of views, opinions aimed at eliminating opponents by physical destruction, accompanied by intimidation, mental violence, etc., will spread through artificial intelligence technologies. The author identifies two main stages of the involvement of individuals in terrorist associations, and the subsequent version of their organizational genesis. The article suggests measures to improve the Russian criminal legislation aimed at countering the ideology of terrorism.

Correction to: The Conditional Association Between Populism, Ideological Extremity, and Affective Polarization

Correction to: The Conditional Association Between Populism, Ideological Extremity, and Affective Polarization

A systematic review on political ideology and persuasion

AbstractIncreasing political polarization in the United States and worldwide necessitates understanding of the key factors that can help shift different political groups' attitudes and behaviors regarding vital issues. In this article, we provide a systematic review of the research literature on political ideology and persuasion. By organizing the literature at three levels (self, social, and system), we propose an organizing framework for thinking about various persuasive factors that can encourage attitude and behavior change among conservatives and liberals. Our review highlights that considering the three levels at which persuasion operates can guide future theory and research, as well as provide practical tools for marketers and policymakers wishing to decrease ideological extremity and foster attitude and behavior change across both sides of the political divide.