Events

As an early career researcher, engaging with practitioners and policymakers can be challenging. From knowing how to communicate your work to identifying the right avenues for engagement, translating research into policy‑relevant insights is often daunting. However, ECRs frequently conduct cutting‑edge research with clear policy relevance. In this dual-perspective session, we hear from Research to Practice…

Research on the contemporary far right has largely prioritised party-centred and electorally driven explanations, often overlooking the ideological, organisational, and relational infrastructures that sustain far-right mobilisation beyond formal political arenas. This seminar advances a transnational social movement perspective, conceptualising the far right as a networked ecosystem of parties, movements, cultural actors, and informal organisations operating…

This presentation explores how gendered grievances shape both everyday and extremist forms of violence, drawing on research into perpetrators of domestic abuse and online incel communities. Though usually treated as distinct issues, both groups share similar narratives: that men are entitled to control women and that violence can restore a lost status or authority. Findings…

When studying terrorist campaigns, analysis typically centres on the two principal protagonists: the state and militant organisations. This narrow focus reflects a persistent assumption that, in moments of political exigency, violence constitutes the most effective instrument for achieving social and political change, rendering non-violent alternatives naïve or ineffective. This roundtable challenges that assumption by examining…

In the years following the Arab Spring, a number of Islamist insurgent groups conquered swaths of territory across the Middle East and North Africa and began governing civilian populations. These groups have been faced with the complexities of administering justice, collecting taxes, and providing public services such as health care and education. How do Salafi-jihadist…

What happens when hate speech becomes so routine in a cultural space that it’s treated as unremarkable background noise? This talk examines how digital gaming environments have normalized extreme hate speech (particularly misogyny) to the point where it is often dismissed as “just part of gaming culture.” Drawing on recent research, I’ll trace how this…

Research evidence shows that terrorist actors often ‘leak’ their intent towards planning and carrying out terrorist violence to those close to them – partners, family members or close friends (Gill et al, 2014), just as perpetrators of other types of mass targeted violence, such as ‘school shooters’, do. These ‘intimate bystanders’ are thus often the…

Tufyal will analyse how UK counter-terrorism has expanded to address extreme violence that falls outside established definitions of terrorism. Focusing on the 2024 Southport killings, it examines the Prevent programme’s shift from targeting ideological extremism to managing individuals characterised by fragmented beliefs, personal grievance, or fascination with violence. Drawing on Prevent referral data and recent…

The University of Southampton’s Centre for Criminology in the Digital Age is Excited to Convene an Event Dedicated to Supporting the Next Generation of Researchers Working at the Cutting Edge of Sensitive, Ethically Complex Research. This Session Brings Together Leading Research Centres and Networks Committed to Fostering Community, Sharing Resources, and Strengthening Ethical Practice Across…

This session will discuss the findings of a recent project funded by the Scottish Council on Global Affairs (SCGA) which examined the needs and priorities of researchers, policymakers and practitioners working on issues relating to counter-terrorism (CT) and countering violent extremism (CVE) in Scotland. Drawing on a review of relevant literature and a small-scale survey…

Public violence, including mass public shootings and terrorist attacks, accounts for a very small fraction of overall homicide, yet it produces an outsized psychological and social impact, reshaping how people experience public space, safety, and one another. The radius of psychological injury far exceeds that of physical harm. Research shows that warning signs are often…

In this talk, Professor Gavrielides will share insights from his work on restorative justice, which opens up new possibilities to address the challenges facing current models for preventing and controlling violent radicalisation and extremism. Gavrielides taps into the combined strengths of restorative justice, positive criminology, and positive psychology to set out a new model for prevention and control of…