• عربي
  • Fr
  • Es
No Result
View All Result
European Eye on Radicalization
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
      • Editorial board and staff
      • Contributors
    • Vision
  • Analysis
  • Opinion Pieces
    • EER Editorials
    • Contributors’ Opinions
  • Reports
  • Reading Radicalization
  • Events
    • EER Events
    • Events EER attends
  • Interviews
  • Videos
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
      • Editorial board and staff
      • Contributors
    • Vision
  • Analysis
  • Opinion Pieces
    • EER Editorials
    • Contributors’ Opinions
  • Reports
  • Reading Radicalization
  • Events
    • EER Events
    • Events EER attends
  • Interviews
  • Videos
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
European Eye on Radicalization
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion Pieces Contributors’ Opinions

Overcoming the Obstacles to Studying the Far-Right

26 August 2021
in Contributors’ Opinions, Opinion Pieces
Overcoming the Obstacles to Studying the Far-Right
406
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Editor’s Note: This article is cross-posted from The Times Higher Education

 

Article author: William Allchorn

William Allchorn, associate director of the Centre for the Analysis of the Radical Right

On 20 April, the UK government banned the US-based neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division.

Home secretary Priti Patel said she was taking action “to protect young and vulnerable people from being radicalised”. Recent statistics from the UK’s counter-radicalisation programme, Prevent, do indeed show increasing numbers of people from the radical right referred to it, while Home Office figures indicate that a sizeable proportion of those referred are young. We can also point to a steady global rise in radical-right political violence—with the 2019 Global Terrorism Index reporting a 320 per cent increase in far-right terror attacks across Western societies over the previous five years.

Understanding why could not be more important. Hence, at this time of renewed threat, the UK-based Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right, in partnership with Richmond, the American International University in London, is launching the UK’s first MA in terrorism, security and radical-right extremism. This is designed to train the next generation of security professionals, researchers and journalists. It will give students access to a range of summer internships with thinktanks, non-governmental organisations and policymaking bodies around the world. It will also allow students to receive a joint UK and US degree as part of the dual accreditation of the course.

Yet while it is essential to research and teach this crucial subject, there are obvious sensitivities and dangers. For example, researchers in extremism studies have reported instances of intimidation and bullying, as well as trauma from examining appalling imagery for extended periods. There is also a special duty of care for students—especially those from minority backgrounds—looking into the morass of racist, xenophobic and anti-democratic messages typical of radical-right ideology and discourse. Furthermore, there is a clear physical security dimension.

So what measures need to be put in place?

The first safeguard in teaching about extremism and terrorism is close supervision of the primary source material that students come into contact with. Tutors should make sure that graphic imagery or deeply offensive diatribes are used sparingly and that exposure is properly managed even when students embark on their own research projects. While keeping in mind the legal dimension—it is illegal to access and distribute manifestos and other material produced by lone right-wing terrorists in many countries—we must also ensure that the emotional and psychological toll on staff and students is treated as seriously as any other mental health issues that arise within universities.

The second safeguard is making sure that classes are not accessible to malign extremist actors, who might want to disrupt and intimidate faculty and students. The safest option here is to avoid publicly sharing the locations and times of courses. Researchers in particular should avoid revealing where they’re going and where their offices are located, and only report on events after the fact.

In the light of the Covid crisis, when so much teaching has moved online, faculty may also need to dial down our online presence and beef up the cyber-security of students and staff to ensure that malign actors can’t “Zoom bomb” course meetings, while putting in place safeguards (such as virtual private networks and Tor browsers) to reduce the chances of staff or students’ personal information falling into the wrong hands.

Furthermore, universities should have memorandums of understanding with the police and protocols in place to deal with possible instances of malign actors showing up in person. These may require enhanced physical measures (such as barriers and secure sections in buildings) as well as security personnel on site to monitor those moving in and out of key parts of the university’s real estate.

The final and most important point in teaching about extremism and terrorism is not letting the extremists and terrorists win. While safeguards should be thought about and contingency plans put in place, these mustn’t be allowed to get in the way of proper teaching and research. In recent years, radical-right actors are never far from the headlines, but we shouldn’t overplay their success nor create undue paranoia and such nervousness around the topic that people are scared to engage with it. The key, as we hope our new MA will demonstrate, is to give the next generation of practitioners and researchers the tools to tread the line between sensitivity and boldness, and so increase our understanding of the issues without inflaming them further.

 

European Eye on Radicalization aims to publish a diversity of perspectives and as such does not endorse the opinions expressed by contributors. The views expressed in this article represent the author alone.

Related Posts

The Muslim Brotherhood: Divided and Struggling for Survival
EER Editorials

The Muslim Brotherhood: Divided and Struggling for Survival

24 June 2022
The Rise of Jihadism in Africa: Revisiting the Poverty-Terrorism Nexus
Contributors’ Opinions

The Rise of Jihadism in Africa: Revisiting the Poverty-Terrorism Nexus

21 June 2022
The “Salafist” Construction and the Danger to Democratic Rights of French Muslims
Contributors’ Opinions

The “Salafist” Construction and the Danger to Democratic Rights of French Muslims

16 June 2022
What the Ongoing Diplomatic Row Tells Us About Right-Wing Extremism in India
Contributors’ Opinions

What the Ongoing Diplomatic Row Tells Us About Right-Wing Extremism in India

13 June 2022
The Case for Repatriation: Bring Dutch Women and Children Back from the Syrian Camps
Contributors’ Opinions

The Case for Repatriation: Bring Dutch Women and Children Back from the Syrian Camps

10 June 2022
Germany’s Evolving Counter-Extremism Policy Towards the Muslim Brotherhood
EER Editorials

Germany’s Evolving Counter-Extremism Policy Towards the Muslim Brotherhood

3 June 2022

Latest from Twitter

Popular

Islamist Extremism and Jihadism in Latin America: A Longstanding and Underestimated Phenomenon

Islamist Extremism and Jihadism in Latin America: A Longstanding and Underestimated Phenomenon

14 April 2022

Muslim Brotherhood and Khomeinism in Italy: The Told and the Untold

6 May 2022
Becoming Ansar Allah: How the Islamic Revolution Conquered Yemen

Becoming Ansar Allah: How the Islamic Revolution Conquered Yemen

24 March 2021
The History and Structure of Islamic Organizations in the United States

The History and Structure of Islamic Organizations in the United States

30 October 2020
Islamist Extremism and Jihadism in Latin America: A Longstanding and Underestimated Phenomenon (Part 2)

Islamist Extremism and Jihadism in Latin America: A Longstanding and Underestimated Phenomenon (Part 2)

17 June 2022
Radicalization in the Service of the Revolution: Iran, Hezbollah, and the Shi’ite population in Europe

Radicalization in the Service of the Revolution: Iran, Hezbollah, and the Shi’ite population in Europe

7 June 2022

© 2018 EER - Copyright © European Eye on Radicalization.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
      • Editorial board and staff
      • Contributors
    • Vision
  • Analysis
  • Opinion Pieces
    • EER Editorials
    • Contributors’ Opinions
  • Reports
  • Reading Radicalization
  • Events
    • EER Events
    • Events EER attends
  • Interviews
  • Videos
  • Contact
  • عربي
  • Fr
  • Es

© 2018 EER - Copyright © European Eye on Radicalization.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.