Katalin Petho-Kiss

The global pandemic has offered extraordinary opportunities for extremists and terrorists to mobilize themselves and revive as more powerful actors in the security landscape. But could these threat groups actually capitalize on the coronavirus crisis and advance their malevolent agendas? Utilizing the largest COVID-19-related terrorism database, the book presents an analysis built upon a quantitative and qualitative comparison between the nature of both the radical Islamist and the far-right-related threat in 2018 and 2020. It provides, for the first time, a true picture of novel trends since the pandemic outbreak.

Petho-Kiss and Gunaratna understand the nature of the threat posed by the far right because of their findings and they propose effective provisions and mechanisms for detecting and countering it. The book undertakes a consistent procession and empirical examination of available information to arrive at the recognition that in order to dissolve the complexity of the associated threat, we need to scrutinize the functioning of far-right threat groups. In-depth and consistent analysis on their mode of operation and mindset enables us to identify ways to detect and counter their malicious efforts and activities. The theoretical framework for the analysis lies upon the concept of wave theory. The main question that this book examines is whether far-right terrorism constitutes a new wave of global terrorism. One question emerges from this statement that requires further elaboration. Is far-right terrorism a novel wave of terrorism? If yes, how is it novel and what are the novelties or developments in it? This book is for scholars as well as practitioners in the counter-terrorism (CT) and the prevention/countering violent extremism (PCVE) field. Through specific case studies students studying CT and/or PCVE could gain insight into the operational functionalities of far-right threat groups. This may help them to get a more accurate understanding of the threat posed by these entities. Examining the recruitment, funding, communication practices, and modus operandi of worrisome threat actors equips us to design the most effective countermeasures and identify the hiatuses in applicable legislative regimes.

Petho-Kiss and Gunaratna understand the nature of the threat posed by the far right because of their findings and they propose effective provisions and mechanisms for detecting and countering it. The book undertakes a consistent procession and empirical examination of available information to arrive at the recognition that in order to dissolve the complexity of the associated threat, we need to scrutinize the functioning of far-right threat groups. In-depth and consistent analysis on their mode of operation and mindset enables us to identify ways to detect and counter their malicious efforts and activities. The theoretical framework for the analysis lies upon the concept of wave theory. The main question that this book examines is whether far-right terrorism constitutes a new wave of global terrorism. One question emerges from this statement that requires further elaboration. Is far-right terrorism a novel wave of terrorism? If yes, how is it novel and what are the novelties or developments in it? This book is for scholars as well as practitioners in the counter-terrorism (CT) and the prevention/countering violent extremism (PCVE) field. Through specific case studies students studying CT and/or PCVE could gain insight into the operational functionalities of far-right threat groups. This may help them to get a more accurate understanding of the threat posed by these entities. Examining the recruitment, funding, communication practices, and modus operandi of worrisome threat actors equips us to design the most effective countermeasures and identify the hiatuses in applicable legislative regimes.

The global pandemic has offered extraordinary opportunities for extremists and terrorists to mobilize themselves and revive as more powerful actors in the security landscape. But could these threat groups actually capitalize on the coronavirus crisis and advance their malevolent agendas? Utilizing the largest COVID-19-related terrorism database, the book presents an analysis built upon a quantitative and qualitative comparison between the nature of both the radical Islamist and the far-right-related threat in 2018 and 2020. It provides, for the first time, a true picture of novel trends since the pandemic outbreak.