Experts conducted research in more than a dozen countries to analyse the impact radical messages had on the youth. Part of a Horizon 2020, the project also investigates the differences between the functioning of right-wing and Islamic extremism.

The researchers conducted detailed interviews with people from 13 countries who declared interest in radical ideologies, focusing on respondents of 15-30 years of age. One of the conclusions is that right-wing radicals are far less likely to be actively religious than their Muslim counterparts. In Malta, the number stood at 13%, Great Britain – 24%, Poland – 27%, and Spain – 30%. Russia and Greece diverged here, where the numbers reached 89-90%. At the same time, religion remains a far ore decisive factor among Islamic extremists. There, Norway and Germany scored 100% of all respondents, the Netherlands – 92%, Russia – 85%, and Great Britain – 79%. Belgium scored the lowest at 50%. Romain from France (which scored 61%), one of the Muslim respondents, stated:

– For me, Muslims are family. I don’t know them, but I don’t need to. Just by reading the Qur’an, I know them already. From the moment someone confirms their faith, I will defend his relatives. A Muslim, it doesn’t matter whether they are from France, the U.S. or elsewhere, is more valuable than an infidel, even if we have the same mother. What
connects us is our faith, Islam – argues the respondent.

The researchers from several universities, including the schools in Manchester, Leiden, and Oslo as well as Poland’s Collegium Civitas, argue that religion is not the main issue here. Young people’s radicalisation is driven by the ideologisation of economic, political, and social deprivation. Religion is merely a tool of and a space for expression for the sense of alienation, marginalisation, and social frustration. In some cases, religious leaders inspire and organize dissent grounded in such conditions, note the researchers from the Dialogue about Radicalisation and Equality (DARE) project.

>>Investing violence with spirituality circumvents the taboo

Religion in not the source of violence. The political interpretation of religion and its use as a tool increases the effectiveness of radicalisation and recruitment, notes Dr Paulina Piasecka, who researches international terrorism and information warfare. Religion is used to invest violence with a spiritual dimension in order to circumvent the taboo that most cultures have about harming other human beings. For nationalists, a similar justification of violence can be grounded in the presumed need to defend the nation or the desire for racial purity in the face of “immigrant hordes”. Terrorism as such is thus not connected to any specific religion or ideology, but the latter can be mobilized as part of the narrative of besieged fortress that needs to be defended by the use of violence.

Dr Piasecka notes that the DARE project helps governments and state institutions counteract terrorism. The research also shows that certain public policies work while others do not. Individual countries do not thus need to test all possible solutions and can instead focus on those that actually work.


>>Young people become radicalised on YouTube

The experts emphasize that social media play a major role in the youth’s radicalisation. For both content creators and consumers, the platforms prove to be more reliable and effective than traditional media. Those surveyed by the project’s researchers claim that venues such as Facebook are more loosely policed and provide a greater freedom of expression. At the same time, any attempts to curb certain kinds of expression are branded by the users as surveillance and attacks on freedom. Alfred from Malta, a member of a right-wing organisation, explains why he prefers social platforms over older media:

– Facebook and YouTube are the pillars for social dialogue everywhere because they cannot be controlled. I used to comment regularly on the Times and Malta Today, because, you know that’s why the comments section is there, or should be there, but then they deleted my comments or never uploaded them. Even in the media you need to know someone to have a voice. At least on Facebook I can speak and no one will stop me. They try, but it’s more difficult – claims the young man.


>>Malta, Greece, Poland and Russia trending radical

The project’s scientists also correlate their findings with the Economist Group and Gallup reports and focus on the countries that DARE researched. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index suggests that Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, and Great Britain rank the highest for their appreciation of democracy. Malta, Greece, Poland and Russia are at the bottom of this list. Parallel to this, Gallup’s Migrant Acceptance Index reports that Norwegians, Germans, and Dutch citizens are the most welcoming to the migrants from other countries. Like in the Democracy Index, the negative perception of the migrants can be found in Malta, Greece, Poland and Russia.


>>Dialogue about Radicalisation and Equality – researching three continents

The Dialogue about Radicalisation and Equality project ran for four years and spanned more than a dozen countries, including – beyond Europe – Tunisia, Israel, and Türkiye. The research primarily relied on qualitative methods and involved on-site interviews and document analysis. The initiative was financed by the Horizon 2020 framework.