Trajectories into Far-Right Extremism

Recent terrorist attacks, such as those in Christchurch, Halle and El Paso, demonstrate the increasing prevalence with which some far-right extremists turn to violence based on ethnic nationalism. The Internet appears to be a major facilitator, allowing would-be attackers to draw inspiration from extremist tracts and increasingly numerous violent ‘role models’. But even though it is much more common nowadays for the average random social media users to encounter far-right extremist content (in part due to the of the popularity of internet memes and effective use of hashtags and algorithms), these extremist ideas do not resonate with everyone. Why do some get involved in far-right extremism and others not? This paper contributes to an understanding why people decide to become and stay active within the far-right extremist movements, by using 36 life-history interviews with far-right extremists in the Netherlands to explore the backgrounds, what preceded their participation in this movement and why they continued to be active members. Among other was examined who they are, what preceded their participation in the far-right extremist movement, why they continued to be active members and their attitudes towards justifying violence. Although every life-history is unique and interviewees are not a homogenous group, results indicate several common denominators in terms of involvement trajectories.