– Which research project are you working on the most right now?
– I am currently completing a book on extreme right-wing terrorism. The book, the result of many years of research into political violence, examines the evolution of mass casualty terrorism as a particular form of extreme right violence. I started to write the book in response to the Christchurch attacks in New Zealand in 2019 but as someone who trained as a historian, I was also particularly interested to understand the legacy of previous terrorist attacks and how they informed this tragic event too – strategically, tactically and ideologically.
– What do you want to find out?
– I was interested in two things. Firstly, to understand the legacy that the terrorist attacks here in Norway on 22 July 2011 had had upon the terrorist in New Zealand. In his manifesto, which was a calculated piece of propaganda, the perpetrator of the Christchurch attacks had claimed that he was given a “blessing” by his Norwegian predecessor. I knew this to be false but at the same time I also wanted to understand precisely how the 22 July attacks were influencing a new generation of extreme right terrorists. Secondly, I also wanted to understand how the Christchurch attacks in 2019 itself was becoming a new vector for violence, sparking a chain reaction of terrorism, the consequences of which we are still seeing today.
– Why is this important?
– There are many reasons why I think that this is important but one which I am currently grappling with is that extreme right violence is often viewed as a static phenomenon. Sadly, it is not. It is a constantly evolving threat. This has become increasingly apparent as I have been writing the book. The rapid evolution of digital technology and the affordances of various social media platforms and applications have resulted in rapid developments both for committing but also inciting violence and terrorism that were not available in 2011. This is underscored by the cumulative momentum of violence inspired by the Christchurch attacks since 2019. These attacks as well as a plethora of plots (and the regularity with which they are being detected) highlights that whilst extreme right terrorism it is not perhaps an acute threat to liberal democracy it is certainly a chronic problem and one with devastating consequences for those who are targeted by extreme right terrorists.
– Who do you collaborate with?
– Whilst this book is a solo-authored project I have been lucky enough to collaborate with numerous fantastic scholars both here at C-REX but also in the United Kingdom and the United States on a range of topics related to extreme right political violence. I have collaborated particularly closely with Joel Busher as well as scholars like Gareth Harris, Donald Holbrook and Julia Ebner on issues related to the dynamics of violent escalation and how far right groups modulate their own violence.
– What do you look for when choosing partners?
– This varies from project to project though my choice of collaborators often involves choosing those with skillsets or disciplinary perspectives that complement my own so that we can generate new theoretical, empirical or methodological insights. Terrorism and political violence are social and political problems that can only really be understood through genuinely interdisciplinary collaboration.
– What other research projects are you involved in?
– I am currently working to complete two other book length projects relating to the transnational networks of the far right which are still poorly understood both theoretically and moreover empirically. I am also working with several other researchers to understand how extreme right violence is converging with other online milieu that promote extreme violence, misanthropy, and nihilism, which is becoming an increasing concern.
– What do you find most interesting about being a researcher?
– There are so many things I find interesting about being a researcher but perhaps the most important is the opportunity I am given to explore, analyse and discuss politically and socially important issues, often ones that have a devastating human cost, and through my work to contribute to a better understanding of such phenomena and hopefully help to counter it.
– What is the most common question you get about your job when you are with others?
– Normally, when people have recovered from learning about the unremittingly bleak nature of what I research, the most common question I am asked is “what can we do?” That people respond optimistically; that there is a solution to such horror, is, I think, is heartening.