Exploring neutralisation in extremist narratives: a study of Brenton Tarrant’s ‘the great replacement’

In this paper, we argue that Sykes and Matza's. neutralisation theory can make a significant contribution to terrorism studies. Neutralisation techniques are justifications for violence that offenders develop before committing acts of terrorism. While such techniques have been challenging to study, we show that terrorist manifestos, such as Brenton Tarrant’s manifesto, provide data that is particularly well-suited to study justifications. This approach allows us to advance our understanding of terrorism without relying on rational choice or subculture theory, but in terms of narratives that explain why offenders find it acceptable to deviate from dominant social norms regulating violence in specific circumstances.