Blog

By Sean McCafferty and Marjuka Binte Afzal Bangladesh’s recent political turmoil has sparked interest from Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda (AQ), both seeing the regime change as a strategic opportunity. With the government in transition, security reforms needed, and jihadist propaganda targeting Bangladesh, there is a risk of increased jihadist activity during the country’s democratic ...

Anthony English, The Open University For some, the shocking scenes of violence which have erupted across dozens of locations in England and Northern Ireland will evoke an all-too-real concern – could someone close to me get involved in the violence? Alongside those directly affected by the act of rioting itself, there are another set of ...

Sara H Wilford, De Montfort University Look closely at the pictures of the violent unrest that has spread across England and Northern Ireland and you will notice something that is not being spoken about. The rioters seen fighting, attacking police and setting fire to buildings are often middle aged – people in their 40s, 50s ...

By Jonathan Collins This blog offers a condensed version of a recently published article in Social Media + Society. To read the full version, click here. The increased participation within far-right alternative platforms (Alt-Tech) is generating significant attention from scholars interested in the community’s communication patterns and dynamics. Perhaps unsurprising for a movement seeking or ...

Welcome to Volume 11, Issue 9 of the monthly VOX-Pol Newsletter. VOX-Pol ON LINKEDIN VOX-Pol is now on LinkedIn. Please like and follow our new page!  We are still on X @VOX_Pol with live updates, and check out our YouTube channel for videos of our events and workshops. VOX-Pol UPCOMING EVENT You are invited to an open source intelligence (OSINT) workshop, being held ...

By Arthur Bradley An assailant injured at least five people with a knife in a tea garden in Sehit Rustem Demirbas Park, Eskisehir, northwestern Turkey, on 12 August. Police apprehended the 18-year-old suspect within a few minutes of the violence starting. He was dressed in camouflage trousers and an assault vest, helmet, goggles and skull mask, and also reportedly carried ...

The VOX-Pol Blog publishes weekly on a Wednesday, and takes a break in August, when we share the top 5 most-read post of the year. This year, VOX-Pol has published a total of thirty-two posts, covering the online far-right, incels, online jihadism, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We also featured Blogs on legislation and research methodology. ...

Welcome to Volume 11, Issue 8 of the monthly VOX-Pol Newsletter. VOX-Pol YEAR IN REVIEW The new Violent Extremism and Terrorism Online in 2023: The Year in Review, compiled for RAN Policy Support was published on the VOX-Pol website in July. The 2023 Year in Review is written by VOX-Pol Members Maura Conway, Ashley A. Mattheis, Sean McCafferty, and Miraji H. Mohamed. The report ...

By Anne Craanen In 2021, two members of The Base (a neo-Nazi accelerationist organisation) were arrested in the Netherlands for membership of a terrorist organisation as well as attempting a terrorist plot on former Prime Minister, Mark Rutte. On Friday 26 July 2024, the European Union (EU) sanctioned The Base as a terrorist organisation under ...

By Katy Vaughan, Hadley Middleton, and Evan James The biennial Terrorism and Social Media (TASM) conference took place at Swansea University’s Bay Campus on 18th and 19th June 2024, with over 250 delegates from more than 20 countries. The event brings together a range of researchers, policymakers and practitioners from a number of different countries ...