Shortly before opening fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on July 28th, the now deceased gunman posted two photos to a recently created Instagram account. Although the posts were quickly removed after being linked to the attack, screen captures had already made their way onto other parts of the web. One of the photos was of the… Continue reading “The Influence of Might is Right in the Gilroy shooting”
The 2019 European Parliament Elections provided an important case where the far-right Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) performed electorally well. However, we argue that there is a core tension within the AfD’s party strategy. This tension lies at the regional level, with a clear split ideologically within the party between Western and Eastern Germany. We… Continue reading “East v. West? The Internal Battle within the Far Right in Germany”
We need to empathise with those we fundamentally disagree with. Is society ready for that? In a year that marks the twentieth anniversary of the London Nail Bomber’s campaign of terror, two recent terrorist incidents, the Christchurch Mosque and San Diego Synagogue tragedies, have reinforced the deadly reality of neo-Nazi conspiracies and sharply focused the… Continue reading “Preventing radical right extremism requires honesty, empathy and a whole society approach. Are we doomed to fail?”
In the early morning hours of May 20, 2017, Sean Urbanski murdered Richard Collins III on the University of Maryland’s campus for refusing his demand for Collins to step out of his way on the sidewalk. Collins was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. He was celebrating his impending graduation from Bowie State… Continue reading “Far Right Terrorism & the Problematic Case of Spontaneous Attacks: A Quantitative Study”
The Christchurch mass murderer acted alone, but the core ideas in his manifesto are widely shared by Islamophobic actors in Europe and beyond. Almost eight years since the Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, killed 77 people on July 22, 2011, his ideas and methods inspire right wing extremists in Europe and beyond. Despite the difference… Continue reading “Lone actors with shared ideas”
While the bodies of victims from the Christchurch shooting last Friday were still warm, including those of 3 and 4-year-old children, social media platforms were busily taking down livestreamed footage from the alleged killer. Due to morbid curiosity and maddening algorithms that saw the terrorist propaganda ‘trending’, Facebook alone removed the video 1.5 million times in 24 hours.… Continue reading “On Lone wolf terrorism, past, present and future”
To date, the notion of gateway organizations has in the most part been used to help explain processes of radicalization in relation to Islamic extremist Islam. Since September 11, 2001, the radical right has been on the rise in terms of popularity and reach across Western states. The 9/11 attacks, the subsequent war on terror… Continue reading “Gateway Organizations: Understanding the Lure of the Radical Right”
German neo-Nazi bands attempt to appeal more broadly to an audience that is opposed to the government’s position on asylum seekers. Plato once wrote, in an argument postulating the banning of music, that “any musical innovation is full of danger to the whole State.” While an extreme position to adopt in its own right, the… Continue reading “Tracking German Neo-Nazism Through Music”
The relatively new party known as the Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland, AfD) and its relationship to right-wing extremism have been the subject of a great deal of intensive discussion among political and social scientists. While one stream of research focuses primarily on the strategic aspects of the AfD, such as its populist rhetoric… Continue reading “The antisemitic turn of the “Alternative for Germany” party”
This month the former head of counter terrorism policing, Sir Mark Rowley, called for politicians, the media and the public not to underestimate the threat posed by far-right groups, highlighting as an example the step-change in organisation and sophistication represented by the proscribed National Action group. This is not about being alarmist, but we have… Continue reading “Time to “wake up” to the threat of the radical right”