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 minds of politicians, social networking sites and the media who must ask themselves what part they should play to defuse this ideology. Amidst the soul-searching they should also wonder if they have somehow fed this beast.
Practitioners in the UK’s countering violent extremism strategy, Prevent, approach extremism with an agnosticism that adapts to local threats, including radical right extremism. We recognise that it appeals to people for a broad range of social and psychological reasons and so grappling with the ideology alone is insufficient.
Fractures of identity and a diminished sense of belonging are common. We have seen family bereavements drive people into the arms of a surrogate ‘family’ of extremists who seize an opportunity to exploit their grief. Some feel they are victims of an unjust system and seek solace in online ecosystems which draw them into perpetuating cycles of conspiracy and mistrust. We see deeply personal grievances framed as part of an existential struggle against an ‘other’.
