Violent Extremism Research Articles

Perceptions of Far-Right Extremist Violence as Terrorism: Exploring Influences on Public Perception in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT This article presents the results of an empirical inquiry into the complex dynamics of public perception of Far-Right Extremism (FRE). The instrument of data collection was an online questionnaire which produced a rich dataset comprising both quantitative and qualitative data. This study investigates the extent to which the United Kingdom’s (U.K.) public associates Far-Right violence with terrorism and whether media consumption, trustworthiness of media reporting of FRE incidents and social identity—age, gender and ethnicity—influence whether individuals attribute a terrorist label to FRE case studies. Statistical analyses revealed a significant relationship between Social Media and TV News Programmes consumption and the trustworthiness of TV News, Tabloid and Broadsheet Newspapers reporting on the labelling of several FRE incidents as terroristic or not. Statistical analysis also revealed that respondents’ age and gender significantly influenced whether three of the four case studies were classified as acts of terrorism, whereas ethnicity had no impact. The research advances the current depth of understanding on labelling of FRE incidents as terrorism by conducting a much-needed empirical investigation and elucidating the diverse range of influences on public perception of FRE.

Selling Violent Extremism

Why do people join domestic violent extremist organizations? This paper examines an understudied reason: organizational outreach. I study how the inflow of new members to the Oath Keepers, until recently America’s largest paramilitary organization, changes when the group’s leadership employs three tactics: showcasing their ideological zeal through armed standoffs with the government, membership discounts, and sports sponsorships. Using a variant of the synthetic control method, I find that standoffs increase new memberships by 150 percent, discounts increase new memberships by over 60 percent, and sports sponsorships decrease new memberships. Membership is less responsive in counties with higher income inequality, but more responsive in politically conservative counties. The findings provide new insights into ways extremist groups attract potential recruits.

Suicidal Behavior in Women as a Risk Factor Generated by the Invisibilization of Their Affective Sexual Diversity, Gender Identity and LGTBphobia.

Introduction: Suicidal manifestations during the invisibilization of sex-gender diversity arise from various factors. The link between internalized and externalized LGBTphobia and suicide is crucial, as both forms of discrimination can increase suicidal behaviors. Informal social networks are vital, offering support and community, but they can also exacerbate isolation if not managed properly. Research Objective: To analyze the manifestations of suicidal behaviors experienced during the period of invisibilization of gender diversity, considering the interrelation between internalized/externalized LGBTphobia and the role of informal support networks in addressing the issue under study. Methodology and Study Design: A qualitative, explanatory, and descriptive methodology was used, involving 40 Andalusian women from the LGBTQ+ community aged 40-70years. The techniques employed included in-depth interviews/life histories and participant observation. Data exploitation was carried out using the ATLAS.ti 24 software. Results and Analysis: All participants concealed or denied their sex-gender diversity to avoid rejection. 72.5% reported suicidal ideation, primarily during adolescence, linked to LGBTphobia. After overcoming obstacles, they lived their identities openly without further suicidal thoughts. 10% experienced failed suicide attempts associated with extreme violence. 27.5% did not experience suicidal manifestations due to support from friends and family. Discussion: Suicidal behavior in women is closely tied to invisibilization and LGBTphobia, exacerbated by systemic discrimination. Addressing these risks requires strengthening public protection systems to ensure comprehensive services and assistance for the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, professionals in social-healthcare, psychological, and educational fields must receive specialized training to provide culturally competent care, fostering inclusion and mental health support. Conclusions: Invisibilization and LGBTphobia can lead to suicidal ideation, which worsens in violent contexts. Visibility is crucial to recognizing diversity and combating oppressive structures.

Terrorism Early Warning and Intelligence Fusion for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism

Intelligence fusion centers are one approach to providing intelligence, indicationsand warning, and analytical support to government agencies at all levels of government, andacross jurisdictional boundaries, to address a range of issues , including terrorism and violentextremism. This article provides a case study of the Los Angeles Terrorism Early WarningGroup (LA TEW). The LA TEW was a pioneer in developing and providing comprehensive, all-source intelligence support to a metropolitan region. The TEW model included lawenforcement (police and corrections), fire service, emergency medical services, public health,and emergency management agencies, along with a network of subject matter experts toprovide insight into terrorist threats, extremism, critical infrastructure protection and emergingthreats. The LA TEW also developed a range of analytical models and approaches to provideintelligence support for civil protection and counterterrorism that are reviewed in this article.

MITIGATING YOUTH RADICALIZATION AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM: THE CASE OF TÜRKİYE

Today, the problems of violent extremism and radicalization in Türkiye and its neighbouring geography need to be addressed in the context of rapid political and social changes and transformations. On the other hand, Türkiye, which has been the target of radicalism-induced violence and terrorism for many years and has lost many of its citizens and paid a high price for it, needs evidence-based and reliable information that will serve as the basis for developing policies and strategies to combat violent extremism, radicalization and terrorism. This study, which aims to contribute to the limited national literature on violent extremism and radicalization, focuses on radicalization trends among young people and examines the preventive measures taken by public institutions against violent extremism and radicalization and other related studies. Within the scope of the research, focus group interviews were conducted with experts working in public institutions in Turkey that directly work with young people. The interviews were used to explore awareness, knowledge, experience and institutional memory of radicalization in public institutions. The results of the interviews and data from the literature review were analysed and evaluated. It is expected that the findings and recommendations of the study will contribute to policy and strategy development studies of relevant institutions and organizations.

The consequences of Apathy: How Nyayo House becomes an actor for intergenerational solidarity amid the absence of state justice in Kenya

In the basement of Nyayo House, a government office tower in downtown Nairobi, hide abandoned torture chambers, built during the Moi Era to imprison political dissidents and enforce his authoritarian regime. Despite decades of memorial advocacy since the end of the Moi Era in 2002, these former torture chambers remain derelict and the recommendations of the Kenyan Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission (2008–2013) to memorialise the site continue to go unrealised. In 2024, youth-led protests against the current government erupted across Kenya, facing extreme state violence that echoed the ‘dark days’ of the Moi Era. From this, it is clear that transitional justice has been ineffective in Kenya; continuities between past and present injustices dominate the political landscape and manifest in both the youth calls for justice and the government’s response. In this context, how might Nyayo House, as a site of violence and memory, function towards justice? This article argues that the absence of official memorialization turns Nyayo House into a discursive symbol for a lack of justice . As such, the site is untethered from its specificity, becoming an ‘unbound symbol’ that mnemonically organises intergenerational and intersectional forms of resistance to state violence today. Drawing on Achille Mbembe’s concept of ‘disenclosure’ alongside qualitative interviews with survivors and young social justice advocates, this article proposes that this ‘unbinding’ capacity of an unmemorialised site of atrocity under a regime of ongoing state violence makes it a powerful force for claims for justice beyond a transitional justice paradigm.

Religiously Motivated Terrorism: A Systematic Review Exploring Causal Pathways

Religiously inspired terrorism is a broad and contested notion. In the literature it includes reference to acts including 'Islamist', ‘ultra-Zionist’ and 'Christofascist’ violence. A systematic review of quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods studies published between September 2001 and April 2018 highlighted 1275 papers of which twelve research studies met the inclusion criteria. CRITICAL FINDINGS Findings indicate both religious and nationalist motivators for terrorist activities, rooted in a sense of grievance, often fuelled by geopolitical sensitivities. Religious motivators tend to be associated with lower educational attainment, but education has a positive impact upon modifying violent extremist beliefs. IMPLICATIONS OF THE REVIEW FOR POLICY, PRACTICE AND RESEARCH Prisons form a ready setting for such educational activity although it should target the individual since group disengagement from terror networks is rare. There are significant methodological limitations to the retrieved evidence which presents a pressing need for further research to improve both conceptual understanding and effective responses to the phenomenon of religiously inspired terrorism.

What’s in a Word? Revisiting the Role of Ideology in the Practice of and Scholarship on Countering Violent Extremism

ABSTRACT Within the field of terrorism studies, the role of ideology as motivational driver in radicalization processes leading to violence is controversially discussed. Only very few attempts to move the discourse beyond a binary and narrow framing of ideology as a doctrinal belief system exist so far. Terrorism research, it appears, has yet to discover the rich and valuable insights from political psychology and philosophy that have studied ideologies for many decades. Similarly, the study and practice of preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE), including deradicalization and disengagement, have also so far mostly operated with only a very rudimentary, binary and outdated understanding of ideology in the context of motivations to quit extremism and terrorism. This article charts the research landscape on ideology in political psychology and philosophy. It suggests a more nuanced understanding of ideology, which allows for P/CVE researchers and practitioners to access the intricate inner mechanisms of ideologies and to make significantly improved strategic decisions about which intervention methods with what goals and purposes can and should be applied to initiate and sustain motivation for deradicalization and disengagement through the use of the so called “ideological triangle” in combination with Michael Freeden’s morphology of ideologies concept.

Copilot in service: Exploring the potential of the large language model-based chatbots for fostering evaluation culture in preventing and countering violent extremism

Copilot in service: Exploring the potential of the large language model-based chatbots for fostering evaluation culture in preventing and countering violent extremism

Book Review of McAleer, Tony. (2019). The Cure for Hate: A Former White Supremacist’s Journey from Violent Extremism to Radical Compassion. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press.

Book Review of McAleer, Tony. (2019). The Cure for Hate: A Former White Supremacist’s Journey from Violent Extremism to Radical Compassion. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press.

Spotted! Remote camera traps used in a novel design reveal a perilous situation for the Critically Endangered Northwest African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki) in a conflict‐affected protected area in Benin

Abstract Large mammals play critical roles in ecosystems, yet 60% are threatened with extinction and populations continue to decrease. Declines are particularly precipitous in conflict‐affected areas, disrupting ecosystems and reducing chances of post‐conflict recovery. Large carnivores are disproportionately impacted by armed conflict, yet information on population status is lacking in areas affected by insecurity because the intense survey effort required poses risks to human safety. The globally important W‐Arly‐Pendjari (WAP) ecosystem is increasingly affected by conflict and supports one of the four known remaining populations of the Critically Endangered, yet poorly documented, Northwest African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki). We used camera traps in a novel dual placement design over three biennial surveys to generate reliable and repeatable estimates for cheetah in Pendjari National Park and its surrounding hunting zones. Our design ensured detection of sufficient individuals and recaptures to allow density estimation and could be adapted for other rare, low‐density species. The two best multi‐session hybrid mixture spatially‐explicit capture recapture (SECR) models estimated a density of 0.26 ± 0.10 SE individual/100 km2 across the 4839 km2 survey area, or 0.51 ± 0.16 SE individual/100 km2 in Pendjari National Park and zero density in the adjacent hunting zones. The sex ratio was female‐biased, and females moved over more than twice the area of males, in agreement with studies elsewhere. Cheetahs showed strong crepuscular activity patterns, but males were also active before sunrise and after sunset. Practical implication: Our results indicate that Pendjari National Park is likely to be a core area for cheetah in this ecosystem and may be an important source population for the WAP Complex; however, the cheetah population is worryingly small. Violent extremism and insecurity are widespread across the remaining distribution of A. j. hecki and hence, we recommend that our approach, which minimises on‐the‐ground fieldwork, be used to provide vital data to prioritise and assess conservation interventions. We also recommend targeted protection and financial support to bolster the remaining key core population of A. j. hecki and their prey. Our results highlight the urgent need for effective and coordinated action to prevent the loss of this iconic cheetah subspecies.

Young People and Violent Extremism

Young People and Violent Extremism

PROTOCOL: Government-Led Communication Campaigns for Reducing Violent Extremism - A Systematic Review.

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The main objective of this project is to gather, critically appraise, and synthesize evidence about the effectiveness of government-led communication campaigns geared toward preventing violent extremism.

‘Dust off the Dirt of Laziness and Break the Shackles of the Dunya’: The Language of Female Extremists in Daesh (ISIS) Propaganda Magazines

Taking a discourse historical approach to critical discourse studies, this study examines the narratives of female members of Daesh, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), in online propaganda magazines. It discusses four themes: female members’ motivations for joining Daesh and the vulnerabilities that led them to do so; challenges female recruits have faced when traveling to the conflict zone; mistakes and transgressions committed by the female audience; and directives and recommendations to this audience, outlining their expected roles and responsibilities. Findings include the prevalence in this discourse context of discussions about discrimination and calls to abandon past beliefs, values, and practices. This study's results provide insight into how the public, especially women, can be lured into joining violent, extremist causes, and may be useful in efforts to prevent violent extremism, ultimately aiding in the promotion of societal resilience against extreme ideologies.

Civic Education and the Prevention of Violent Extremism: Evidence from Indonesian Schools

The purpose of this study is to describe the Prevention of Terrorism and Radicalism in Indonesia in Schools. This study uses a qualitative approach with a literature study method by collecting relevant data and analyzing and studying it in detail and in depth, and conducting discussions to discuss the context related to the material in the journal. From this study, the results were found, namely (1) Radicalism in schools is caused by various structural and cultural factors, including past political pressure, repressive education, and minimal critical literacy. (2) Prevention efforts have been made by schools, the government, and the community, but are still sectoral and not optimally coordinated. (3) Social media has become a new channel for the spread of radical ideology, especially for students who are looking for their identity. As an implication of this research, it is understood that character education is not enough if it is not accompanied by strengthening digital literacy and active parental involvement. Then, in other aspects, teachers need continuous training to be able to recognize early symptoms of radicalism and respond in an educational and non-repressive manner. For that, policies are needed that are not only top-down, but also flexible to adjust to the socio-cultural characteristics of each region.

The base: an analysis of recruiting, vetting, and motivations of potential members

ABSTRACT North American White supremacist/neo-Nazi accelerationist group The Base has become known for several high-profile arrests, hate crimes, and communication leaks. Among these leaks were 127 calls between members of The Base, including leader Rinaldo Nazzaro, and potential recruits. To understand the stated and implied motivations of the people seeking membership in the violent extremist group, how those were shaped, and unique and/or emergent elements of these conversations, we developed an analytic framework to evaluate these calls. This initial paper serves as part of our team’s broader programmatic research into the motivations and selection processes involved in hate group recruitment. One of the goals of this research is to develop data-informed avenues for practitioners working to stem the appeal and recruitment of violent extremist organizations.

Forgotten Cape – Extremist violence in Northern Mozambique

Aim: The aim of the study is to provide an overview of the violent extremist insurgency in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province with a special emphasis on developments in 2023 and 2024. Methods: The study is based on the review of secondary literature, open source information, as well as Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project’s (ACLED) relevant data. Findings: The study confirms the recommendations of previous research regarding the importance of a holistic approach to anti-insurgency operations. The study found that despite achieving successes on the battlefield, the government of Mozambique has failed to address the root causes of the insurgency and to pursue a well-rounded policy which in turn allowed the insurgents to rebuild and conduct more operations in the first months of 2024. The study outlines the importance of adapting one's approach to the devising and the implementation of an anti-insurgency strategy in response to changing circumstances and new information Value: By 2021, both scholarly and mainstream media took notice of the violent extremists’ activities which by that point had displaced over 800,000 people. However, with Mozambique’s call for help to the international community and a string of victories on the battlefield, the insurgency essentially disappeared from mainstream discourse. This study fills this gap and provides an up-to-date summary of the insurgency’s activities as well as tentative confirmation of the validity of previous research.

Elfeledett tartomány – szélsőséges erőszak Észak-Mozambikban

Aim: The aim of the study is to provide an overview of the violent extremist insurgency in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province with a special emphasis on developments in 2023 and 2024. Methods: The study is based on the review of secondary literature, open-source information, as well as Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project’s (ACLED) relevant data. Findings: The study confirms the recommendations of previous research regarding the importance of a holistic approach to anti-insurgency operations. The study found that despite achieving successes on the battlefield, the government of Mozambique has failed to address the root causes of the insurgency and to pursue a well-rounded policy which in turn allowed the insurgents to rebuild and conduct more operations in the first months of 2024. The study outlines the importance of adapting one's approach to the devising and the implementation of an anti-insurgency strategy in response to changing circumstances and new information Value: By 2021, both scholarly and mainstream media took notice of the violent extremists’ activities which by that point had displaced over 800,000 people. However, with Mozambique’s call for help to the international community and a string of victories on the battlefield, the insurgency essentially disappeared from mainstream discourse. This study fills this gap and provides an up-to-date summary of the insurgency’s activities as well as tentative confirmation of the validity of previous research.

Law Enforcement Patterns Against Radical Groups in Denpasar City

The purpose of this study is to determine the description of the appropriate law enforcement pattern to be implemented by the Denpasar City Government in overcoming the spread of radicalism or radicalism. Activities to overcome radicalism in Indonesia are regulated in Presidential Regulation Number 7 of 2021 concerningNational Action Plan for the Prevention and Handling of Violent Extremism Leading to Terrorism 2020-2024. The formulation of the problem in this study is: what factors hinder the Denpasar City Government in overcoming the spread of radicalism and what is the role and appropriate enforcement pattern to be implemented by the Denpasar City Government to overcome the spread of radicalism. This study uses empirical legal research methods and descriptive qualitative data analysis. The resolution of the factors that hinder the Denpasar City Government in overcoming radicalism in Denpasar City, namely: weak regulatory or regulatory factors, lack of synergy between institutions and budget constraints, then the appropriate law enforcement pattern to be implemented by the Denpasar City Government in overcoming the spread of radicalism, namely: preventive patterns, repressive patterns and also deradicalization.

Reconciling Jekyll and Hyde: The future of masculinity research within the domestic violent extremism context.

Violence among young men in the United States has escalated in recent years, leading to two contrasting perspectives of young men-either as (a) agentic aggressors or (b) by-products of societal shifts that have caused disadvantage. The first perspective characterizes men as entitled and reactionary, prone to aggression when their societal expectations are unmet. This view aligns with the frustration-aggression hypothesis where unmet desires lead to hostile behaviors, particularly among individuals who perceive a loss of status and significance. Conversely, the second perspective views men as victims of rapid societal changes, such as job displacement, educational disparities, and shifting gender roles. This lens sees men as isolated and struggling to adapt to a new social landscape, leading to feelings of alienation and increased susceptibility to extremist ideologies. Social disconnection models, particularly those focused on ostracism, provide a framework for understanding these dynamics, highlighting the emotional and psychological toll of isolation. This article attempts to reconcile these contrasting views, providing an integrated perspective that can help clarify the phenomenon more fully and guide ongoing attempts to alleviate it. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).