Project
Countering Radicalisation
Unit(s) of assessment: Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Research theme(s): Safety and Sustainability
School: School of Social Sciences
Overview
Countering Radicalisation addresses key issues in societal polarization as well as security concerns over extremist and terrorist offending. The initiative draws on psychological and educational concepts and combines several directions of research to deliver recommendations to a range of audiences and stakeholders.
The initiative is led by Jens Binder with support from Nottingham Civic Exchange and a team of researchers across NTU. Dr Jens Binder is available to discuss collaborations or to provide expert advice in relation to countering radicalisation in the UK and abroad.
Why?
Societal safety and sustainability require ongoing monitoring, awareness, and openness to change on the part of citizens, educators, policy makers, and researchers. Radicalization threatens sustainable societies as a divisive force, accelerated by evolving rhetoric and online dynamics. NTU has unmatched expertise to inform and develop ways of countering radicalization as a threat to individual and collective safety while preserving the freedom that we need to thrive.
Our challenge
Countering radicalization requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the problem at different stages and different levels of severity. The same processes that can lead to extreme outcomes, such as terrorist attacks and mass unrest, are at work in polarized political discourse, erosion of trust in institutions and societal discord.
Work at NTU continues to address this challenge with different social groups in focus:
- Professionals groups falling under Prevent Duty. A review and assessment of the impact of the Prevent Duty on the professional groups affected
- The general public and young Internet users. Expert advice and input on media literacy for Ofcom’s Making Sense of Media Programme.
- Terrorist offenders. An ongoing investigation of radicalization pathways for terrorist offenders in England and Wales. Ministry of Justice Report 2021 , Ministry of Justice Report 2022 .
Publications
- Kenyon, J., Binder, J. F., & Baker-Beall, C. (2024). An analysis of terrorist attack perpetrators in England and Wales: Comparing lone actors, lone dyads, and group actors. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management.
- Binder, J. F., & Kenyon, J. (2022). Terrorism and the internet: How dangerous is online radicalization?. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 997390.
- Kenyon, J., Binder, J., & Baker-Beall, C. (2022). Understanding the role of the Internet in the process of radicalisation: An analysis of convicted extremists in England and Wales. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 1-25.
We make a difference in UK Government
Our work has helped to reassess the role of the Internet and online engagement in radicalisation processes. Outputs from Countering Radicalisation have informed current UK Government Guidance on the Prevent Duty. The have been used by the Independent Reviewer of UK TACT legislation in work presented to Parliament, and they continue to influence practice at the Prison and Probation Service.
We reach out beyond university walls
Past events and appearances include Ofcom’s 4-Nation event on Gaming (Dundee, 2023), the Counter-Terrorism Expo (London, 2024), and public lecturing on mental health and terrorist offending (in Dec 2024 for the Institute of Forensic Psychiatry, Canada). Further information can be found in podcasts, magazine pieces and webinars:
- Pool Re podcast - Totally Terrorism, Episode 4 - Dr. Jens Binder - Should Online Radicalisation Be Our Biggest Concern?
- Locked Up Living podcast - Episode 15, Jens Binder: Causes and Consequences of online radicalisation .
- Counter-Terrorism Professional Magazine - The problem with online mis-/dis-information – and how to protect Internet users from radicalisation.
- Forensic Psychiatry Institute - Canadian Institute of Forensic Psychiatry Lecture Series.
- NTU Cope webinar.