We are very pleased to announce that Routledge is publishing the Handbook of Online Violent Extremism on 29th September. The Handbook is edited by Suraj Lakhani (University of Sussex), Stuart Macdonald (Swansea University), Julian Droogan (Macquarie University), and Lydia Khalil (Deakin University). The volume, running to around 40 chapters and drawing on more than 50 contributors, grew out of the collective effort of the VOX-Pol network, bringing together researchers who have built and sustained the study of online violent extremism as a field over the past decade. In particular, we want to acknowledge the tireless work of Associate Professor Suraj Lakhani in leading this project.
The Handbook is intended as the first comprehensive reference work mapping both the problem of online violent extremism and the range of responses being developed to counter it, and as a foundation for an emerging area of study sitting at the intersection of terrorism studies, computer science, law, sociology, and criminology. Chapters address contested definitions of terrorism, extremism, and radicalisation; the reach and limits of platform regulation and content moderation, including GIFCT’s cross-platform initiatives; evidence for and against algorithmic radicalisation; and generative AI’s dual role in producing extremist propaganda and supporting counter-extremism efforts. Further chapters cover immersive technologies, gamification, nihilistic and apocalyptic online subcultures, accelerationism, ecofascism, incel communities, and gender dynamics in radicalisation. Case studies range from al-Qaeda and Islamic State to Al Shabaab and Boko Haram, Hindutva-linked digital agitation in India, the online lead-up to Myanmar’s Rohingya genocide, and disinformation surrounding Brazil’s 2022 election. The Handbook (ISBN 9781003517917) will be available in hardback and paperback from Routledge/Taylor & Francis. For more information, including a list of chapters and abstracts, and to pre-order, visit here.