'Extremism and Its Support: Developing More Effective Policy Responses'

Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in extremism, though mainly al-Qaeda or 'AQ'-inspired terrorism. This emphasis on preventing violent extremism (PVE), and countering processes of radicalization within Muslim communities, has marked a logical response to the events of September 11th 2001, subsequent terrorist attacks in cities such as London and Madrid, and the priorities of national security services. However, at the same time, there has emerged a view among policymakers that the heavy focus on one particular 'type' of extremism has left them with a less developed understanding of alternative forms of extremist ideology, activity and support.

One particularly neglected area that has recently acquired increased policy relevance is right-wing extremism. Across several European democracies, radical and extreme right-wing parties continue to rally relatively durable electoral support. At the same time, the resurgence of interest in right-wing extremist ideology and support has been fuelled by the emergence of non-electoral forms of mobilization (such as the English, Scottish and Welsh Defence Leagues), and the atrocities that were committed in Norway by a 'lone wolf' activist who had passed through the radical right-wing Norwegian Progress Party and was connected to right-wing extremist blogs (such as the Gates of Vienna).

Against this backdrop there has emerged a consensus among policymakers: while there is a relatively well-developed understanding of AQ-inspired terrorism and underlying processes of radicalization, the task of developing an effective policy response to right-wing extremist organizations, their ideological appeals and supporters is lacking. This gap in the existing work is best reflected in the most recent Prevent strategy (2011), which devotes only four paragraphs to right-wing extremism and notes how the current understanding of this challenge 'is inevitably less developed than it is for terrorism associated with Al Qa'ieda'.

This knowledge exchange project will directly contribute to addressing this gap by facilitating the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to increase its knowledge base and understanding about right-wing extremism. Principally, through a six-month placement at DCLG (that will support a conference and expert workshops), the applicant - an early career researcher - will focus on exchanging knowledge on: the social and attitudinal profile of supporters of extreme right-wing groups; the ideological appeals and motivational vocabularies offered by the extreme right; non-electoral forms of mobilization; and possible policy responses. With active support from DCLG and the Home Office, the placement will promote the application of accumulated academic knowledge in this area, which (but is not limited to) ESRC-supported research.

What are the potential applications and benefits? A placement in a national-level policy community will enable the applicant to directly inform policy development at DCLG and also across government more widely. Specifically, the project will deliver the following benefits to policymakers and the wider social science community: a synthesis of current and past academic research; ensuring that policy is anchored in this evidence base; databasing key publications; producing accessible summaries for policy audiences; help identify gaps in current and future work; produce 'in house' publications; contribute to the general development of a research cluster in the area above; and organise and co-host a knowledge exchange conference and four expert workshops that will build or strengthen networks between policymakers and the social science community. When seen as a whole, the project will transfer academic knowledge on an issue that is currently of high policy interest and relevance, strengthen policymakers' understanding of an oft-neglected form of extremism and contribute directly to the development of more effective policy responses

As detailed in the 'Academic Beneficiaries' section, the proposed project would benefit a number of different academic communities. More broadly, however, the proposed knowledge exchange would also directly benefit public policymakers at both the national and local level who are attempting to deliver effective responses to various forms of extremism. By extension, the project holds potential to indirectly benefit wider communities of decision-makers, both within government, local authorities and the voluntary and third sector.

As made clear in the attached Letter of Support, recent years have seen an upsurge of interest among policymakers in right-wing extremism, and integration issues more generally. This has owed much to the observation that existing policies have focused almost exclusively on only one form of extremism, namely al-Qaeda or 'AQ'-inspired radicalization and terrorism. While there is considerable interest in right-wing extremism within the Department for Communities and Local Government and other agencies (such as the Home Office and Domestic Extremism Unit), current understanding of this challenge is generally weak, and lacks sufficient linkage to wider academic research. Through a six-month placement, conference and expert workshops, the proposed project will directly benefit this audience of policymakers by:

-strengthening and updating the research of policy teams that is relevant to the core project areas
-synthesising past and present academic research through accessible summaries for policy and academic audiences
-Ensuring that their policy-based work is fully informed by the most recent research findings
-Providing them with a database of key national and international publications on the topic above
-Helping to develop their research capacity, by: identifying key journals; e-mail lists; scholarly networks; conferences; seminars; and training opportunities (particularly those that strengthen academia-policy relations)
-identifying gaps in current and future research plans in terms of topics, methods and advising on how to close such gaps
-Producing several 'in house' publications
-Strengthening links between them and a wider academic research community through a period of sustained interaction and engagement

Over the longer-term, and through this activity, the potential for impacts arising from the proposed project include:

-a stronger understanding among national level policymakers about right-wing extremism, including its ideological appeals and supporters;
-a more informed and balanced approach to tackling extremist activity that includes improved knowledge of an oft-neglected form of extremism;
-the development of more effective and evidence-based policy responses;
-the transfer of knowledge from a national level policy community to local authority level;
-and clear, direct and strong links to academic researchers that can ensure the continual exchange of knowledge over the long-term.