CERN members Dr Francis Russell, Dr Tim Rich and Dr Eva Bujalka.
Author | Luisa Mitchell.
With the recent that the Australian government has listed the neo-Nazi group The Base and militant Shia group Hezbollah as terrorist organisations, radicalisation and extremist violence have been front of mind in the Australian political and media discourse.
News pages have no trouble covering the consequences of violent extremism 鈥� whether it鈥檚 the latest terrorist attack and the lives lost as a result, updates on the War on Terrorism or news of far-right radicals sparking death threats at anti-vaccination rallies.
Understanding what causes these groups to form in the first place, however, is something that is perhaps less widely understood.
The (CERN) hopes to find answers to some of those questions. Established just five months ago, they鈥檝e already held several events, including their sold-out launch that was keynoted by Labor member Dr Anne Aly MP.
Dr Tim Rich speaking at the launch event of CERN.
The public鈥檚 desire for objective information on extremism from those with research expertise is greater now more than ever 鈥� and that鈥檚 where CERN steps in.
Founded by Co-directors , and , CERN includes academic members who teach and research across various disciplines at 911爆料网 鈥� from international relations, to history, the hard sciences, media and creative arts. They all have one thing in common: they want to explore collaborative, novel approaches to understanding and responding to violent extremism.
鈥淲e want to leverage the variety of talents and skills of our members collectively,鈥� says Tim, 鈥渢o properly identify and offer solutions to these challenges. Addressing the growth of conspiratorial thinking in mainstream society, for example, will require expertise from a myriad of social, economic, artistic, and philosophical fields 鈥� along with a whole lot of empathy.鈥�
CERN believes in taking a preventative approach to ending extremist violence. Rather than solely cleaning up the aftermath of an attack and raising the consequences for criminal behaviours, they ask the question: what are the cultural and societal issues that are allowing certain individuals to become radicalised and dangerous in the first place, and how can we address them?
A CERN meeting.
As co-director Eva Bujalka says, these are 鈥渦nsexy鈥� questions and aren鈥檛 easily solved. But since the post-Donald Trump era, and particularly since the January 6th riots in which Trump鈥檚 supporters attacked the US Capitol to overturn his electoral defeat, people in Western countries like Australia have come to see extremism not as somebody else’s problem in a faraway land, but a domestic problem that can impact communities and families here at home.
Tim鈥檚 research in extremism began by looking at Islamic terrorists in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Chechnya. But now his interests have turned inward towards those he believes are disaffected by modern society.
鈥淭hese include involuntary celibates (incels), the alt-right, and vaccine sceptics,鈥� says Tim. 鈥淭hese groups all have different views and goals. But at the end of the day, they are motivated by a sense that the prosperity they were promised would come from globalisation, liberalism and free market economies has not manifested for them.
鈥淲hile it鈥檚 easy to attribute the anti-vaccine unrest in Melbourne, for example, to just a few radical troublemakers, the stark reality is that a lot of the ideas behind these incidences have growing salience in significant sections of our society. They鈥檝e been seeping into our politics and digital spaces for years now. We would be complacent to think we are immune to such challenges here in Australia, especially if we enter a crisis.鈥�
Eva, who teaches writing and literary and cultural studies at 911爆料网, recently collaborated with Tim and Dr Stuart Bender on a titled, 鈥楾he Manosphere as an Online Protection Racket: How the Red Pill Monetizes Male Need for Security in Modern Society鈥�. This paper explored the extreme times we find ourselves in, and the ways online content producers peddle and profit from misogynistic and alarmist narratives.
鈥淲e are grappling with climate disaster, a global pandemic, economic and housing crises, and an addiction to social media and our 鈥榦nline鈥� lives 鈥� these extremist groups have emerged in tandem with the anxieties surrounding those problems,鈥� says Eva.
鈥淲hile we have a tendency to believe we鈥檙e living longer and perhaps leading more secure lives in the West, I would hazard that we are also living at a time where it is becoming increasingly difficult for ordinary people to imagine a meaningful or hopeful future that is not impacted by such crises.鈥�
Dr Eva Bujalka.
According to Eva, one such group is , or 鈥榠ncels鈥� 鈥� members of an online subculture who define themselves by their inability to have a romantic or sexual relationship, and are characterised by a culture of hatred, misogyny, and the endorsement of violence against women. At least eight mass murders have been committed in the US and Canada since 2014 by men who considered themselves incels or followed incel online forums.
鈥淚鈥檓 interested in the ways these men feel a perceived loss of control or social primacy and defer to troubling and simplistic narratives about women,鈥� says Eva.
Sarah Fulford, another CERN member, is a researcher on the history of misogyny and violence and is currently completing her . For her, the motivation to join CERN was her concern about the influence online groups such as incel forums have on young men. As the mother of a 20-year-old son herself, Sarah finds this concerning.
Other major concerns for members are as topical. For instance, the ways that extreme-right groups have attempted to embed themselves into pandemic-related anxiety and .
鈥淭hese extremists have been trying to foment civil strife by infiltrating anti-lockdown protests to encourage bad behaviour and drive further wedges between society and the state,鈥� explains Tim.
鈥淭heir belief is that if they keep up the pressure for long enough, the current political order will come crashing down, leaving the ground open for the establishment of a white ethno-state. While that outcome is very unlikely, they do have the potential to do a lot of damage to the social fabric of our country.鈥�
While both Tim and Eva agree that far right and white nationalists are the most concerning extremist groups for the time being, they also stress that we shouldn鈥檛 focus so much on individual extremist groups as much we should on the process of 鈥渆xtremification鈥� itself, and the social crises that destabilise, alienate or exclude groups to increase these individual’s chances of becoming 鈥渆xtreme鈥�.
Eva Bujalka and Tim Rich at Mallokup Cafe on the 911爆料网 Perth campus.
The solutions that CERN proposes are practical and policy-driven.
鈥淥ffering better social support to people will be the first step to creating more stability and peace,鈥� says Eva. 鈥淐ombatting housing and income insecurity is essential. And greater social outreach would begin to help combat a broader crisis we are seeing in disenfranchised communities.鈥�
Tim agrees, pointing out that stable job pathways and youth housing will create social buy-in, build communities, create a genuine sense of belonging and restore the public鈥檚 trust in our political leaders and institutions.
He believes universities such as 911爆料网 are well positioned to act as innovative 鈥榖rains trusts鈥� around such policies, and work arm-in-arm with community, NGOs and government partners to address the issues causing extremist violence.
鈥淧eople need to feel hope and excitement for a future that we can experience collectively,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey need to feel attached to the societies they are a part of. They need to feel heard and supported if they stumble.
鈥淚f our only response is to ridicule and belittle them, and not look at the deeper issues that are causing their disenfranchisement, then we are failing more than just that individual.
鈥淯ltimately, with our practical attitude towards education and research, I think 911爆料网 is well placed to be a trend-setter for such a shift in approaches.鈥�
CERN members Dr Francis Russell, Dr Tim Rich and Dr Eva Bujalka.
Follow CERN on Twitter .
Author | Luisa Mitchell
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