The role of the Internet in fostering extremism is set to be the focus of expert debate next week as the University of Leicester hosts an open discussion which is free to attend for members of the public.
Running under the banner ‘Violent online radicalisation: weighing up the role of the Internet in contemporary terrorism’, the discussion takes place next Wednesday (9 February) at 3.30 pm in Lecture Theatre 3 within the university’s Attenborough Building.
Organised by the University of Leicester’s Department of Media and Communication, the debate features visiting speaker Dr Maura Conway of the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University.
Terrorism and the Internet
Maura Conway’s principal research interests lie in the area of terrorism and the Internet, including academic and media discourses on cyber terrorism, the functioning and effectiveness of terrorist websites and online radicalisation.
Dr Conway has been published in First Monday, the Journal of Information Warfare, Current History and elsewhere and is currently working on a book tentatively entitled ‘Islamists, the Internet and International Relations’.
Speaking about the upcoming debate, Dr Conway told SMT Online: “My presentation will ask: ‘Is it possible for people to be radicalised online?’ In particular, can online content, either violent or non-violent, cause individuals to become violently radicalised?’
According to Dr Conway, there appears to be a “growing consensus” among legislators and others that the Internet now plays an increasingly prominent role in violent radicalisation (as evidenced by the raft of legal measures introduced worldwide since 9/11 to counter terrorists’ use of cyber space).
Media attention on this issue has also increased significantly in recent years as a result of the Internet’s role in prominent events such as the Christmas Day airline bomb plot affecting Detroit and the Fort Hood attack (among others).
Cyberspace and radicalisation
“The significance of the role of the Internet in processes of radicalisation is open to contestation,” continued Dr Conway.
“Some scholars insist that the Internet’s role is significant and increasing, whereas others submit that the role played by the Internet in violent radicalisation is minimal.”
The learned academic’s presentation will weigh the role of the Internet in violent radicalisation. It shall include a review of the relevant academic literature with a view to identifying the major strands of research in this area, and the theory and evidence underlying it.
Dr Conway’s presentation connects with current research being undertaken within the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Leicester.
A lecturer at the University of Leicester, Dr Paul Reilly has a specific research interest in terrorism and the Internet, and is currently working on a paper with Dr Conway entitled: ‘Twitter and Terrorism: A Preliminary Exploration of the Hamas Presence in the Tweetsphere’.
The findings or this paper will be presented at the British International Studies Association’s Annual Conference in Manchester, which runs from 27-29 April.
This particular project is using a variety of research methodologies (including analysess of Twitter feeds) to investigate the public relations and propaganda functions of Twitter for Hamas.
Religion and online social media
Also at the University of Leicester, Dr Farida Vis has a research focus on religion and forms of online social media, and was recently invited to speak at a seminar in Copenhagen on ‘exploring daily Islam’.
In her presentation on YouTube and Islam, Dr Vis highlighted Dr Conway’s work to enable her to start making an argument not only for methods, but more so for not simply focusing on extremism (which is more about knowledge practices in general).
Dr Vis is also currently writing a grant proposal (Islam on YouTube) that will explore this subject in greater detail and link with two other key UK researchers examining this subject.
