Moving beyond Islamist Extremism: Assessing Counter Narrative Responses to the Global Far Right(3 Analyzing Political Violence)

Traditionally, far-right terrorism has been the black swan of terrorism studies-receiving less attention than Jihadi extremism. In this book, William Allchorn takes a deep dive into multiple geographical locales and the online space of far-right movements, uncovering the crisis narratives that are animating violent far-right extremist milieus and presenting solutions on what we can do to stop them. Using eight country case studies and the results of an online pilot project, this is the first book-length presentation and discussion of counter techniques to far-right narratives-exploring their effectiveness, the ethics of such techniques, and their ability to disrupt pathways from radicalism towards violent extremism. Coming at a time of a renewed global wave of far-right violence, this book is of use to scholars as well as practitioners in the fields of far-right studies, terrorism studies, and strategic communications.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Stochastic Far-Right Terrorism & The New Fifth Wave of Violent Extremism; The Journey of (Contested) Concepts: Narratives, Counter Narratives and its Application to Far-Right Extremism; Far-Right Extremist Narratives and Counter-Narratives in Western Europe: The Cases of the UK and Germany; Far-Right Extremist Narratives and Counter-Narratives in North America: The Cases of the US and Canada; Far-Right Extremist Narratives and Counter Narratives in Australasia: The Cases of Australia and New Zealand; Testing the Words vs. Deeds Nexus: A Facebook Pilot Study of UK Far-Right Counter Narratives in the Online Space; Concluding Remarks: Immunised Democracy & the Role of Counter Narratives within a Broader Counter-Terrorism Framework.

About the Author :
Dr William Allchorn is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Leeds and Associate Director at the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right (CARR). He is an expert on anti-Islamic radical-right social movements in the UK and Western Europe. He is the author of Anti-Islamic Protest in the UK (Routledge, 2018). In 2019, he started a new research project—with Hedayah CVE—looking at violent far-right extremist narratives and counter narratives globally.

Review :
“Moving Beyond Islamist Extremism: Assessing Counter Narrative Responses to the Global Violent Far Right highlights the urgency with which we must turn our attention to the emergent fifth wave of far-right terrorism. Daringly, Allchorn takes the leap not only in identifying gaps in countering violent extremism but also in proposing specific counter narratives tailored to each individual context, taking into account the historical, social, and political elements at play. He does not shy away from engaging with troublesome areas of study, such as misogynist and victimhood narratives, to make practical and realistic recommendations. While many books on the far right are problem-centric, this contribution also offers timely solutions, using examples and forecasting short- and long-term effects. The emphasis on democratic values and processes is a compelling exhibit on the reality of countering violent extremism and how it may be achieved by the celebration of the diverse, united, and historically complex nation rather than with the restriction of liberties. Written in an accessible style, Moving Beyond Extremism provides the reader with an easy-to-follow roadmap on the importance of far-right narratives, how they manifest in certain geographic and online ecosystems, and how they may be countered. Allchorn effectively bridges the divide between academia and practice producing a resource which will be of value to counter terrorism practitioners, policy makers, and scholars for years to come.”—Arie Perliger, Professor of Criminology, University of Massachusetts Lowell “An extremely helpful addition to the current literature on extremism, and especially far-right extremism. William Allchorn has been involved in initiatives to look at the power of counter narrative techniques to dissuade and undermine the far right. We desperately need to develop and implement techniques that allow us to minimize the threat of the far right, and counter narrative techniques provide one important strategy that has been proven to work. The book discusses this option and what works—and what does not.”—Dr Paul Spoonley, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Massey University New Zealand “Moving beyond Islamist Extremism: Assessing Counter Narrative Responses to the Global Far Right is a must-read text to scholars and practitioners who desire to enhance their proficiency in the current landscape of the violent far right as well as with one of the essential tools available for law enforcement and policy agencies to counter its expansion, that of counter narratives. The book proves to be an important resource on the possibilities of non-violent measures for improving security.”—Dr Kristy Campion, Assistant Professor of Terrorism Studies, Charles Sturt University, Australia