International Criminological Research Unit hosts colloquium to progress research into exploring and preventing mixed forms of ideological extremism
The School of Law and Social Justice’s International Criminological Research Unit hosted an inaugural research and practice colloquium, which brought together academics, practitioners working in prevention, and intervention roles and civil society actors to exchange knowledge about how best to tackle an emergent and growing security challenge in the UK and elsewhere - the threat posed by mixed ideological extremism.
The event, entitled ‘Conceptualising, Understanding, and Preventing Mixed Forms of Extremism’ (CUPFME) provided a platform for multi-stakeholder participants to share insights and reflect on the development of practical techniques and approaches toward countering the rise of mixed extremism in Europe, North America, and Oceania.
Data gathered by radicalisation prevention programmes shows an unsettling increase in individuals exhibiting signs of mixed and mutable extremist ideologies rather than singular perspectives. This trend is reflected in the rising number of individuals referred to counter-extremism programs, as well as rises in hate crime and terrorism-related charges.
The lead investigator, Dr Laura Naegler, explained: “We began planning this initiative back in September 2023 with colleagues at Monash University, Australia. It was really important to us to make this a truly international project. Rising evidence of the damage caused by engagement with ideologies such as Incel culture, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and conspiracy theories across the globe since this point has underlined the need for deeper and more evidence-based understandings of the roots and drivers of this problem that is vexing academics and security practitioners”.
During the course of the two-day hybrid colloquium over 100 participants from five continents gave presentations and debated pressing issues, including the challenges of studying mixed forms of extremism, the ethical issues involved in primary data collection and the importance of safeguarding vulnerable young people exposed to mutating extremist ideologies.
Speaking of the event’s success and the next steps for the project, Dr Laura Naegler commented: “The colloquium provided the space for network members to present and engage with new research findings, share best practices in risk prevention and determine the next steps for the network. To establish a footprint and develop an ongoing legacy, we will be leading editorship of a Special Edition of an international journal in the field”.