Category: Research

Other Authors

Martin Kahl

Description

Islamist-motivated terrorism has been the focus of media, politics, and society for years. State and civil society measures against Islamism range from prevention and legislative and institutional changes to state coercive measures. However, although dealing with Islamism always addresses fundamental questions of liberal and pluralistic societies, there is a lack of studies that examine when and what measures were taken and how they were justified. This volume addresses these research gaps and offers the first comprehensive overview of how Islamism is being dealt with in Germany and its legitimacy.

Full Citation:

Junk, J., & Kahl, M. (Eds.). (2025). Wie Deutschland mit Islamismus umgeht: Bestandsaufnahme und Trends seit 2001. Campus Verlag.

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Other Authors

Linda Schlegel; Lars Wiegold; Constantin Winkler.

Abstract

The last 4 years have seen a stark increase in research on extremist activities in digital gaming spaces, particularly on gaming- and gaming-adjacent platforms. However, one area that has not received much attention so far are mod forums. While a large number of mods with hateful content have been created over the last two decades, the forums used to disseminate and discuss such mods have not yet been examined by extremism researchers. Considering the popularity of modding and mod forums among gaming communities, this is a crucial gap in our current understanding of extremist activities in digital gaming spaces. In an effort to address this research gap, this article offers an exploratory analysis of hateful and extremist posts on the popular mod forum Mod DB, including right-wing extremist, jihadist, antisemitic and mixed-ideology content. We seek to provide a preliminary glimpse into this under-researched digital space, complementing existing research on extremist activities on other gaming (−adjacent) platforms. Our research thereby broadens the current state of knowledge regarding the various gaming-related platforms frequented by extremist actors and radicalized individuals and contributes new insights about a thus far under-explored digital space.

Full Citation:

Schlegel, L., Wiegold, L., Winkler, C., and Junk, J., (2025) Exploring the digital extremist ecosystem: a preliminary analysis of hateful posts on Mod DB. Front. Psychol. 15:1502098. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1502098

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Description

This book offers a detailed understanding of ‘enemy images’, which are used in political rhetoric to dehumanize adversaries for various purposes, such as to legitimate violent conflicts.

Applying theoretical models to a strong catalogue of historical and recent examples – from blood libel narratives in medieval manuscripts, to state-sponsored children’s board games in Nazi Germany and social media posts about the wars in Gaza and Ukraine – the book identifies how ‘enemy images’ have led to the development of dominant socio-political paradigms by providing justifications for and reinforcements of violent conflicts both within and between societies. In doing so, the work offers an up-to-date, accessible and authoritative overview of how to identify, analyse, and counteract energy images – which will be key to fostering social environments of reconciliation and peacebuilding for the future.

This book will be of much interest to students and scholars of peace and conflict studies, International Relations, history, political sociology, and communication studies. 

Full Citation:

Steiner, K., & Önnerfors, A. (2024). Enemy Images: Emergence, Consequences and Counteraction. Routledge.​

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Description

The P/CVE landscape in Europe may have diversified, but state actors retain dominance as practitioners, as new survey data suggests. Still, they exhibit similar diversity as observed internationally.

Full Citation:

Rahlf, L. (2024). P/CVE in Europe: Still dominated by the state. IAPSS Review, 1, 18–19. Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST). https://crestresearch.ac.uk/comment/p-cve-in-europe-still-dominated-by-the-state/

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Abstract

Climate Change disinformation is causing lasting damage to both sociopolitical spheres and our very own biosphere. The present article identifies the meaning-making mechanisms of Climate Change conspiratorial discourse on social media by analysing the YouTube video Why I Said Global Warming is the Biggest Fraud in History, which had reached more than 758,000 views (May 2023) before the channel was deleted (August 2023). A qualitative empirical semiotic analysis was carried out focusing on discourse in which Climate Change denial is understood as conspiracy theory, that is, a mode of interpretation. The analysed conspiracy discourse creates identities and shapes social relations in the form of dichotomic oppositions/conflicts between those who spread illegitimate information (the enemy) and those with access to the truth (a symbolic elite). In this context, the fragmentation of science into “real” and “fake” is as dangerous as the scientific community’s loss of authority. The analysis of this video shows how Climate Change is represented as a fraud and how possible policy responses to it are therefore represented as scams. The main effect of such discourse is deproblematization, for it provides people with reasons to reject proposals for actions that seek to mitigate the climate crisis.

Full Citation:

Piva, H. C. (2024). Guiding interpretation towards deproblematization: A video interview with a Climate Change denier analysed as conspiracy theory. Sign Systems Studies, 52(1–2), 256–283. https://doi.org/10.12697/SSS.2024.52.1-2.10

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Other Authors

Michael Jensen.

Description

Michael Jensen and Julian Junk discuss the creation of a transnational meta-database for international collaboration on the prevention of violent extremism.

Full Citation:

Jensen, M., & Junk, J. (2024). The case for establishing a global research meta-database. IAPSS Review, 1, 26–27. CREST: Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats.

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Abstract

As the search for new ways of preventing violent extremism through education (PVE-E) continues, the question arises as to what the creative arts can offer. This paper argues that Forum Theatre inspired by Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, is a useful strengths-based approach to PVE-E. By allowing students to intervene and change the plot in a re-run of a play on radicalisation, Forum Theatre supports students in understanding the complexity of radicalisation and reflecting on protective factors as well as intervention possibilities. It offers opportunities to take on different perspectives and experiment with, question and explore the consequences of behavioural decisions in certain contexts. However, there are some conditions for Forum Theatre to fully exploit its potential for PVE-E. Among others, the creative intervention requires a safe environment where students’ learning is not impaired by self-censorship. It should also be noted that while Forum Theatre can empower students to take preventative action themselves, its sole purpose should not be to turn students into prevention actors. Adequate training for teachers and external artistic professionals as well as preparation and follow-up for students are also indispensable. Now, it is time to expand the evidence base for such a participatory education method to assess whether it lives up to the theoretical expectations and whether such conditions are met in practice.

Full Citation:

Rahlf, L. (2024). Participatory theatre for preventing violent extremism through education – Reflections on prospects and preconditions. Journal for Deradicalization, (39), 77–93. https://journals.sfu.ca/jd/index.php/jd/article/view/909

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Other Authors

Susanne Johansson.

Description

The term evaluation comes from the French (évaluer) and means to determine, evaluate, and judge. The questions of what evaluation and evaluation practice mean in the context of political education, for whom and from whose perspective, and how it is practiced, reveal a broad spectrum of possibilities for reflection and discussion, all of which are also gathered under the title of this issue, “Why Evaluation?”

The term “impact” is the most frequently encountered term in the issue, with more than 25 hits. While it is understandable that this term is associated with particular expectations, not only in political education, it does not, however, leave the field without a mandate to address its significance for practice and research, given the current political upswing and anticipated austerity measures.

Limiting evaluation to impact alone is too narrow for the diversity of political education, as the focus articles at the beginning of the issue make clear. How evaluation can be classified and critically examined in political education can be seen here. This is followed by practical contributions that demonstrate how evaluations are used operationally in the various fields of political education and what potential and challenges they encounter.

The issue makes it clear that, despite its recent surge in popularity thanks to federal programs such as the “PreVal” research and transfer project, evaluation has always been a central topic in the field, and for good reasons, given the perspectives of its target audience.

Full Citation:

Johansson, S., & Junk, J. (2024). Möglichkeiten, Spannungsfelder und Herausforderungen von Evaluation im Handlungs- und Forschungsfeld politische Bildung: Zwischenbilanz aus dem Projekt „PrEval“. Journal für politische Bildung, (2).

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Abstract

Anti-vax conspiracy theories are major drivers of “vaccine hesitancy”, a top-10 threat to global health according to the WHO. This paper investigates the interpretative mechanisms and discursive conditions of anti-vax discourse on Twitter (X), through the analysis of seven tweets posted by an anti-vax influencer. Mixed methods of discourse analysis are employed, focusing on the strategic character and potential social effects of discourse. As a set of relations, the code-text of anti-vax conspiracy theories is characterized by a conflict between authority and freedom. The archetype of the enemy is diffuse and composed of different elements (government, mainstream media, medical/scientific community) that are all totalized into one-and-the-same evil: “the authorities.” Overall, when facing the increasing deconstruction of epistemic authority on social media, the form (independently from content) with which anti-vax discourse seeks to provide argumentation (by framing identities and social relations in the shape of dichotomic oppositions) is fundamentally undesirable.

Full Citation:

Piva, H. C. (2024). Breakdown of knowledge authority: Semiotic analysis of an anti-vax conspiracy theory influencer on Twitter. Social Semiotics, 34(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2024.2341398​

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Other Authors

Reem Ahmed; Stephen Albrecht; Lea Brost; Hendrik Hegemann; Susanne Johansson; Martin Kahl; Mona Klöckner; Janina Pawelz; Isabelle Stephanblome; Clara-Auguste Süß.

Description

In Germany, democratic institutions are losing trust and authoritarian and extremist groups are gaining support. This poses a lasting challenge to peaceful conflict resolution and democratic coexistence. Long-standing manifestations of extremism remain present. However, there is also an increasing emergence of complex ideologies, actor constellations, and activities that cannot be clearly classified into established categories and address diverse issues.

Full Citation:

Ahmed, R., Albrecht, S., Brost, L., Hegemann, H., Johansson, S., Junk, J., Kahl, M., Klöckner, M., Pawelz, J., Stephanblome, I., & Süß, C.-A. (2024). Democracy under pressure: Political extremisms and hybrid ideologies. In BICC, PRIF, IFSH, & INEF (Eds.), Friedensgutachten 2024 (pp. 135–150). transcript Verlag, Bielefeld.

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