Building resilience against violent extremism digitally: trialing a new gender-based approach among gamers

Published by Frontiers


EXTREMISM AND ONLINE GAMING

The rise of online gaming as a dominant social and entertainment space has increasingly attracted attention as a potential vector for radicalisation to violent extremism. However, given the challenges of completely eradicating harmful content from these vast community spaces, we also need to focus on strengthening the resilience of individuals active there. To effectively build that resilience, we must first define and understand the current state of resilience among gamers, then identify the factors that contribute to it. This article seeks to do that by building upon the mostly offline-focused Building Resilience Against Violent Extremism framework to explore its applicability in the digital environment and specifically within the highly gendered parameters of gaming spaces and experiences. This article builds upon the wider data collection and findings of a project exploring socialisation in gaming spaces with a nexus to radicalisation through a gender lens.

Authors

  • Galen Lamphere-Englund, RUSI,
  • Mike Wilson, Love Frankie, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Jessica White, RUSI
  • Claudia Wallner, RUSI
  • Rachel Kowert, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
  • Nitchakarn Kaewbuadee, Love Frankie, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Petra Regeni, RUSI
  • Alex Bradley Newhouse, Department of Political Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States

Galen Lamphere-Englund

RUSI Associate Fellow, Terrorism and Conflict

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Dr Jessica White

Acting Director of Terrorism and Conflict Studies

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Claudia Wallner

Research Fellow

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Petra Regeni

Research Analyst and Project Officer

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