Young People, Socialisation, and the Online/Offline Interface: Exploring the Formation of 'Mixed' Extremist Ideologies

迄今为止，当代对极端主义的研究主要集中在暴力伊斯兰激进主义和极右翼激进主义的模式上。这类研究突出了身份认同、归属感、疏离感、边缘化和不平等等令人担忧的问题。此外，生活中的社会和环境背景以及基于种族、民族、宗教和性别的排他性话语也被发现是可能使人们倾向于采用有问题的观点的显著因素。然而，这项工作倾向于优先考虑导致极端主义观点发展的各种“驱动因素”，并将重点放在对暴行后已知或未发现的肇事者的事后分析上。尽管如此，支撑年轻人极端主义观点形成的过程仍未得到充分研究。特别是，在男子气概和“男子气概”的主流观念中存在着新形式的极端主义，其中包括男性气概和厌女症驱动的暴力，以及“混合、不稳定和不明确的”意识形态的盛行，这些问题仍然相对未被探讨。这些人可能表现出多种意识形态的融合(混合)，在不同意识形态之间转换(不稳定)，或者尽管没有连贯的意识形态(不清楚)，但仍可能构成恐怖主义风险(不清楚)被聚集在一起，可能的差异要么是间接的，要么是有限的。关键是，社交媒体已经成为个人和网络社区的一种强大机制，他们使用这种媒体来传播极端主义理想，吸引和激励志同道合的个人。事实上，互联网的无处不在和无处不在的性质使社交媒体成为极端主义的交流促进者和倍增器，线上和线下领域之间的融合越来越模糊了现实世界和虚拟世界之间的界限。然而，关于在线曝光和与物质的互动如何影响“现实世界”的行为、价值观和人际关系，我们知之甚少。本研究项目的目的就是挖掘这一空间。可以说，探索支撑网络领域形成极端主义观点的潜在影响的一系列因素，以及这些因素对塑造年轻人个人经历和行为的社会化过程的贡献和影响的方式，对于理解走向极端的途径至关重要(S)。通过与ConnectFutures建立的合作伙伴关系，该项目将直接与年轻人接触，并探索他们对线下和在线行为的看法(S)，以使我们能够考虑在多大程度上“有毒”的网络环境使包括种族主义、伊斯兰恐惧症、同性恋恐惧症、性别歧视和厌女症在内的在线极端主义语言风格正常化。它将进一步探讨可以制定的教育战略，以应对年轻人倾向于有问题的态度和信念的过程。归根结底，这种方法可能提供了一种理解如何对抗极端主义语言、信仰和态度正常化的方法。希望该项目的调查结果将有助于增进学术知识，促进对混合、不稳定和不明确的意识形态在助长极端主义观点方面的作用的理解，并为参与青年工作的人制定以证据为基础的政策和专业参与做法的演变提供信息。

To date, contemporary research on extremism has largely focused on patterns of violent Islamist radicalism and Far-right radicalisation. Such research has highlighted issues of identity, belonging, alienation, marginalisation and inequality as being issues of concern. In addition, lived social and environmental contexts and exclusionary discourses based on race, ethnicity, religion and gender have also been found to be salient factors that may incline people toward adopting problematic viewpoints. This work has, however, tended to prioritise various 'drivers' that lead to the development of extremist views and has concentrated on post-hoc analyses of what is known - or uncovered - about perpetrators in the aftermath of atrocities.Despite this work, the processes underpinning the development of extremist views amongst young people remain under-researched. In particular, the presence of new forms of extremism including incels and misogynistic-driven violence within prevailing notions of masculinity and the 'manosphere', and the prevalence of 'mixed, unstable and unclear' ideologies remain relatively unexplored. These individuals, who may exhibit an amalgam of multiple ideologies (mixed), shift between different ideologies (unstable), or who may still pose a terrorism risk despite having no coherent ideology (unclear) are grouped together and the possible differences between is either oblique or elided.Crucially, social media has become a powerful mechanism for individuals and online communities who use this medium to propagate extremist ideals and attract and motivate like-minded individuals. Indeed, the ubiquitous and pervasive nature of the internet has enabled social media to become a communicative facilitator and multiplier of extremism, and the coalescence between the online and offline realms has increasingly blurred the boundaries between the real and the virtual worlds. Yet, little is known about how online exposure and interactions with material influences 'real-world' behaviours, values and interpersonal relationships. The purpose of this research project is to excavate this space. Arguably, exploring the range of factors underpinning the potential influence of online spheres in forming extremist views, and the way in which these factors contribute to, and impact upon the socialisation processes shaping individual experiences and behaviour(s) of young people, is crucial in understanding pathways into extremism.Via an established partnership with ConnectFutures, this project will directly engage with young people, and explore their perspectives on their offline and online behaviour(s), to enable a consideration of the extent to which 'toxic' online environments normalise online extremist linguistic styles including racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, sexism and misogyny. It will further explore the educative strategies that may be developed to counter processes inclining young people toward problematic attitudes and beliefs. Ultimately, this approach may afford one way of understanding how to counteract the normalisation of extremist language, beliefs and attitudes. It is hoped that the findings of this project will lead to enhanced academic knowledge, facilitate understandings of the role of mixed, unstable and unclear ideologies in fuelling extremist perspectives, and inform evidence-based policy making and the evolution of professional engagement practices for those involved in working with young people.