Researching Forms of Mixed, Unclear and Fluid Extremism: A Practical Toolkit for Researchers

The focus of national security efforts over the last two decades in Western society and elsewhere has been oriented toward the threat presented by Islamist and far-right extremism. While academic research has largely mirrored this focus, there is now awareness of a growing number of individuals who are engaging with mixed, unclear and fluid forms of extremism that draw across multiple ideologies, including misogynistic, Incel, far-right, and conspiracist perspectives. Researching in this nascent but expanding area presents various challenges and risks. Researchers have to grapple with practical and moral dilemmas surrounding accessing hard-to-engage and potentially vulnerable populations, whilst also navigating complex University ethical approval processes. Researching mixed, unclear and fluid extremism comes with psychological and safeguarding challenges. The exposure to hateful content can be emotionally taxing and can impact on researchers’ mental health. Researchers have to contend with the risks of doxxing and online/offline harassment by those promoting hate. This risk is significantly heightened for minoritised and marginalised researchers, including female(-presenting), gender non-conforming, neurodiverse, disabled, LGBTQ+ and racialised researchers. Postgraduate and early career researchers face the additional challenge of maintaining safety while also developing the online professional visibility required to succeed in the academic job market. This Toolkit is designed by a team of international and interdisciplinary scholars as well as practitioners working in preventing extremism roles, all of whom at various stages of their careers and with diverse intersectional identities in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality, neurodiversity, and disability. It was designed in a collaborative process and draws from our professional, personal, and collective experiences of navigating the risks and challenges that come with researching extremism in its various forms. It further draws from discussions and knowledge exchange within the Conceptualising, Understanding, and Preventing Mixed Forms of Extremism (CUPMFE) Project and Network, an international and interdisciplinary network of over 150 academics, practitioners, and civil society actors. With this Toolkit, our aim is to facilitate deeper understandings of the methodological, ethical, safeguarding, emotional and psychological risks of researching mixed, unstable and fluid extremism, with particular awareness of the impact of intersecting (marginalised) identities and the challenges for early career and PhD researchers. Importantly, the Toolkit will provide researchers, supervisors/mentors and institutional actors with targeted guidance and advice to equip them to successfully and safely conduct their work. While our focus is on contemporary forms of extremism as they manifest along mixed, unstable and fluid change lines, the structured advice and best practices detailed in this Toolkit have been designed to be applicable and transferable across all forms of extremism, both existing and those that have perhaps not manifested yet The Toolkit is organised around three mains sections: Safeguarding, Self-Care and Collective Support Structures, Navigating Professional Visibility, and Methodological and Ethical Challenges and Institutional Frameworks. Within each, you will find structured advice, examples of best practices, and checklists. If you click on highlighted phrases, these will lead you to the relevant section for further guidance and/or explanation.