This brief provides an overview of Hedayah’s International Research Conference & Global Communications Expo 2024 (RCxEXPO24) by summarizing thematic panels and demonstration presentations and highlighting recommendations for countering extremism, violent extremism and terrorism aimed at informing researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and any other relevant stakeholders. More detailed content from these discussions…

This paper explores the relationship between economic variables, social integration and susceptibility to extremism in Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. By analysing 415 interviews conducted with young people, activists and practitioners between 2021 and 2023, we have discerned patterns in the influence of economic conditions on radicalisation….

Researchers of risky topics have benefitted from a burgeoning literature on researcher safety, including that specifically focused on researching the far right. Much of this literature has focused on tackling urgent concerns and providing practical advice, targeting the individual and the institution. Drawing on 21 interviews with researchers of the far right and manosphere, this…

Research indicates both similarities and differences in the rhetoric employed by far-right and violent jihadi extremists. This article employs natural language processing and linguistic analysis to investigate identity construction in selected far-right (FR) and jihadi extremist (VJE) English material. We assess inter-group differences at the level of the subject, e.g….

In the early 2000s, governments’ need to understand and prevent the process of radicalization and violent extremism created a strong demand for knowledge. Within a few years, a new field was developed within a range of formal institutions, including governments, universities, the media, and outside of it by private and…

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are harms that affect children directly (e.g. physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect) and indirectly through their living environment (e.g. conflict between caregivers, witnessing domestic abuse, and caregiver substance abuse, incarceration, or mental illness). There is a growing literature on the link between ACEs and the…

This paper explores the paradox at the core of modern terrorism. Despite years of evidence showing that terrorist campaigns rarely meet their strategic goals, groups keep using terrorism as a primary tactic. The continued use of terrorism is less about its external success and more about internal organisational benefits, such…

No longer confined to conflict theatres nor the periphery of adult-led organisations, recent years have seen a sharp rise in domestic cases of independent teenage attack-plotters, self-initiated travellers to terrorist-held territory, and digital extremist content creators. Despite this trend in organic, self-directed offending, children’s motivations for terrorist engagement are frequently…

The study of at-risk and radicalised youth has emerged as an area of academic interest. However, there are few models or theories to explain the process of youth radicalisation. This paper sets out a theoretical model for youth radicalisation drawing on Life-Course Theory and Situational Action Theory. The theoretical model…

Far-right extremism is rapidly becoming a primary security threat in both the UK and Australia. By adopting a comparative case-study approach, this article examines how misogyny and gendered narratives espoused through online channels can serve as motivators towards violent extremism through transnational networks. We argue that gendered narratives specifically play…

Violent radicalization linked to conspiracy belief has gained increasing attention over the last few years, yet little is known about these dynamics in youth. In this study, a latent profile analysis was conducted to better understand violent radicalization in the context of conspiracy belief among youth aged 16–25. Participants were…

Prevention strategies for terrorist attacks commonly incorporate all aspects of radicalization, aiming to deter terrorist attacks by countering radical beliefs. In this article, however, we argue that the cognitive aspect of radicalization is not necessarily interconnected with its behavioral aspect and thus cannot reliably predict terrorist violence. It is therefore…