The threat of covid 19-related extremism
Channel: Norsk utenrikspolitisk institutt NUPI
Date: 2021-11-16

One of the more salient aspects of the current pandemic is the deep distrust in governments and elites it has exposed. In this seminar Teun van Dongen investigates this ‘resistance movement’ that opposes the Covid-19 restrictions.

One of the more salient aspects of the current pandemic is the deep distrust in governments and elites it has exposed. While such sentiments are not in themselves dangerous or misguided, the hostile rhetoric, the outlandish conspiracy theories and the occasional violence this leads to, are reasons for concern. In this seminar Teun van Dongen will speak about what we are to make of the more extreme segments of the self-styled ‘resistance movement’ that opposes the Covid-19 restrictions. In what way and on what scale is this a problem? And in what respects can we indeed speak of Covid-related extremism? And how should we respond? By addressing these and other questions, this seminar will shed some light on a social movement that is in need of a more thorough understanding.

Main speaker: 
Teun van Dongen is a Senior Research Fellow and the Programme Lead, Current and Emerging Threats at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism. In this capacity he leads the ICCT’s efforts to monitor, analyse and research various forms of extremism and terrorism, including the ideologies, structure and modus operandi of the groups and movements involved. Previously, he worked as a policy analyst at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) and as a Senior Researcher at the Verwey-Jonker Institute. He has also been a lecturer at Leiden University, the Free University and the Inholland University of Applied Sciences. Teun regularly writes for academic journals, newspapers and international affairs magazines and frequently appears in the media to talk about current events in his field of expertise. He gained a PhD degree from Leiden University with a doctoral dissertation on counter terrorism effectiveness. He published two books (both in Dutch), one about terrorist motivation and one about the effects of post-9/11 counterterrorism in the West.

Moderator:
Eviane Leidig is a Research Fellow in Current and Emerging Threats at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) in The Hague, Netherlands. Her research specializes on the far right, gender, and online extremism. She is an affiliate at the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) at the University of Oslo, an Associate Fellow at the Global Network on Extremism & Technology, and was a founding member of the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right. For more see her personal website: evianeleidig.com.