Ethics and Methods When Researching Extremism

How can institutions better support researchers? The case of extremism and terrorism research

By Audrey Gagnon and Tamta Gelashvili

This article examines institutional practices for preventing, mitigating and responding to harm, threats and harassment of researchers. The findings emphasize the role of institutions in establishing a safe organizational culture, implementing safety tools and protocols and considering the intersectional nature of risks and challenges.

Researchers of the far right as intersectional subjects: three arenas for emotional labour

By Ov Cristian Norocel and Iris Beau Segers

This articles highlights the need for more attention to the ways in which unequal demands for emotional labour in the academic context perpetuate existing inequalities and that institutions should improve support for scholars whose work demands a high degree of emotional labour.

One of the Boys: On Researching the Far Right as a Woman

By Tamta Gelashvili and Audrey Gagnon

Drawing on 17 interviews with women researchers with experience of close-up research on the far right, this article investigates the challenges they face to ensure their emotional and physical safety and highlights the lack of guidance, support, and resources from institutions.

Reflections on racialisation’s impact on research: Insights from a study of Muslim radicalisation in Norway

By Uzair Ahmed

Ahmed identifies three patterns in which racialisation affects field interactions: accepting a racialising view, defending the racialised group and developing a shared story between a researcher and participants. 

Intersectionality and care ethics in researching the far right

By Iris Beau Segers, Tamta Gelashvili and Audrey Gagnon

Close-up research on the far right comes with inherent challenges related to issues of power, justice, and ethics, which are often gendered and intersect with other axes of inequality, like race, ethnicity, religion, and sexuality, adding complexity to research. 

Understanding Dehumanization: How Scholarship can Defend the Human in an Era of Illiberal Nationalism

By Cathrine Thorleifsson

Methods for Mapping Far-Right Violence 

By Jacob Aasland Ravndal and Anders Ravik Jupskås

Ravndal and Jupskås aim to critically assess existing datasets on far-right violence, identifying several methodological issues related to availability, representativity, measurement validity, replicability, and comparability within these datasets. To address these challenges, the authors propose and evaluate three strategies for improving data quality: crowdsourcing, internationally standardized police reporting, and victimization surveys. 

An Observational Study of the Norwegian Far Right. Some Reflections

By Katrine Fangen

In this chapter, Fangen reflect on her own ethnographic research of the Norwegian far right conducted between 1993 and 1994. Specifically, she addresses the challenges of gaining access, building rapport, and navigating ethical dilemmas, emphasizing the importance of informed consent, confidentiality, and respecting participant integrity.

Researching the Far Right - Theory, Method and Practice

Edited by Stephen D. Ashe, Joel Busher, Graham Macklin, and Aaron Winter

Researching the Far Right brings together researchers from across the humanities and social sciences to provide much needed discussion about the methodological, ethical, political, personal, practical and professional issues and challenges that arise when researching far right parties, their electoral support, and far right protest movements.