Young People, Socialisation, and the Online/Offline Interface: Exploring the Formation of 'Mixed' Extremist Ideologies

To date, contemporary research on extremism has largely focused on patterns of violent Islamist radicalism and Far-right radicalisation. Such research has highlighted issues of identity, belonging, alienation, marginalisation and inequality as being issues of concern. In addition, lived social and environmental contexts and exclusionary discourses based on race, ethnicity, religion and gender have also been found to be salient factors that may incline people toward adopting problematic viewpoints. This work has, however, tended to prioritise various 'drivers' that lead to the development of extremist views and has concentrated on post-hoc analyses of what is known - or uncovered - about perpetrators in the aftermath of atrocities.
Despite this work, the processes underpinning the development of extremist views amongst young people remain under-researched. In particular, the presence of new forms of extremism including incels and misogynistic-driven violence within prevailing notions of masculinity and the 'manosphere', and the prevalence of 'mixed, unstable and unclear' ideologies remain relatively unexplored. These individuals, who may exhibit an amalgam of multiple ideologies (mixed), shift between different ideologies (unstable), or who may still pose a terrorism risk despite having no coherent ideology (unclear) are grouped together and the possible differences between is either oblique or elided.
Crucially, social media has become a powerful mechanism for individuals and online communities who use this medium to propagate extremist ideals and attract and motivate like-minded individuals. Indeed, the ubiquitous and pervasive nature of the internet has enabled social media to become a communicative facilitator and multiplier of extremism, and the coalescence between the online and offline realms has increasingly blurred the boundaries between the real and the virtual worlds. Yet, little is known about how online exposure and interactions with material influences 'real-world' behaviours, values and interpersonal relationships. The purpose of this research project is to excavate this space. Arguably, exploring the range of factors underpinning the potential influence of online spheres in forming extremist views, and the way in which these factors contribute to, and impact upon the socialisation processes shaping individual experiences and behaviour(s) of young people, is crucial in understanding pathways into extremism.
Via an established partnership with ConnectFutures, this project will directly engage with young people, and explore their perspectives on their offline and online behaviour(s), to enable a consideration of the extent to which 'toxic' online environments normalise online extremist linguistic styles including racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, sexism and misogyny. It will further explore the educative strategies that may be developed to counter processes inclining young people toward problematic attitudes and beliefs. Ultimately, this approach may afford one way of understanding how to counteract the normalisation of extremist language, beliefs and attitudes.
It is hoped that the findings of this project will lead to enhanced academic knowledge, facilitate understandings of the role of mixed, unstable and unclear ideologies in fuelling extremist perspectives, and inform evidence-based policy making and the evolution of professional engagement practices for those involved in working with young people.