ASIO has warned that far-right groups pose an elevated threat to national security. Parliament needs more oversight of how Home Affairs decides which terror groups are listed on the national register.
My assessment is that there are about 150 to 300 core right-wing activists in New Zealand. This might sound modest – but proportionate to population, it’s similar to extremist numbers in Germany.
To understand the threat better, we need to devote more resources to monitoring and tracking far-right forums and social networks and a national database tracking hate crimes.
Bin Laden’s extremist group had less than a hundred members in September 2001. Today it’s a transnational terror organization with 40,000 fighters across the Middle East, Africa and beyond.
Social media companies struggle to identify and remove hate speech when it’s posted. What can computer science reveal about how hate-filled texts and videos spread online?
The arguments of far right commentators who conflate Islam with extremism are flawed. In the rich and complex tradition of Islam, extremists are a small minority who often target other Muslims.
Research shows that unrest, even terrorism, can erupt in poor countries with a surplus of young people and not enough jobs. Can Niger, a once-peaceful sub-Saharan African nation, handle its baby boom?
While nationalism is a dirty word, we often underestimate the power of its ideal in contemporary societies. We live in a world of nations, which provide identity and belonging for many people.