Rise of the Reactionaries: Panel Discussion

Summary

On December 9, 2021, the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University and the National Counterterrorism, Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) held a virtual event to accompany the release of its newest report, Rise of the Reactionaries: Comparing the Ideologies of Salafi-Jihadism and White Supremacist Extremism, authored by Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, Blyth Crawford and Valentin Wutke. The study provides an in-depth assessment of the ideological similarities between white supremacist extremists and jihadists. It explores the underlying reactionary and violently intolerant nature of both movements, arguing that they can be understood as the products of very similar political impulses which are gaining traction around the world.

Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, Research Director at the Program on Extremism moderated a discussion on the report’s findings and more. Speakers included:

• J.M. Berger, Research Fellow with VOX-Pol, Ph.D. candidate at Swansea University's School of Law, member of the advisory board of the RESOLVE Network, and the independent advisory committee of the Global Internet Forum for Counter Terrorism
• Blyth Crawford, Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and a Ph.D. candidate at King’s College London
• Julia Ebner, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and author of the bestselling books Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists and The Rage: The Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism
• Christopher Wall, PhD candidate at King’s College London’s and author, with the late Walter Laqueur, of The Future of Terrorism