Young People and Violent Extremism

Introduction

Young people’s involvement in violent extremism is a rare, if shocking event (Five Eyes, 2024). Young people’s involvement in cyber attacks, gun or knife attacks and other incidents of serious or mass crime motivated by extreme ideology including misogyny or racism receive high-profile media attention even if their prevalence is largely unknown. International data on young people’s involvement in violent extremism are limited, making it difficult to understand the extent of the phenomenon. Largely viewed from the counter-terrorism or security perspective, academic research on the most appropriate and effective prevention and response mechanisms is limited, as is the analysis of the issue from a children’s rights or indeed a youth justice concern.

Five Eyes Insights Briefing

In 2024, the law enforcement and security agencies of the Five Eyes nations of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States tried to bridge this gap by taking the exceptional step of publishing a report that draws attention to the rising incidents of young people’s involvement in violent extremism (Five Eyes, 2024). Calling for collective action to combat the concerning trend, the briefing cites the particular vulnerability of young people (who they define as under 25 years), as well as the risks to national security that such violent extremism can pose. Importantly, the Insights briefing makes the case for a whole of society response to help identify and deal with the radicalization of young people. Presenting case studies of young people whose actions were intercepted resulting in either successful diversion or imprisonment, the Five Eyes briefing seeks to raise awareness of the variety of circumstances in which such radicalization of young people can occur, while pointing to some of the common threads of the cases that come to the attention of the security and law enforcement services in these countries. It concludes with a series of resources available in the Five Eyes jurisdictions that aim to increase understanding about radicalization and identify where to access further support. This edition of International News considers the Five Eyes call to collective action while placing the issue of radicalization of young people in the wider context of youth justice research.

It is clear from the Five Eyes briefing that the original focus of attention in this area was on the recruitment and radicalization of young people into extremist terrorist ideologies and actions. In particular, increased interest by young people in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL) caliphate saw ‘many young people’ seek to join or undertake actions inspired by ISIL in their home countries. Since then, however, the risk appears to have widened to young people engaging in a wider range of violent extremism, including not only terrorist activity but also extreme violence motivated by racist and misogynistic ideologies. While the briefing acknowledges that the number of young people involved in counter-terrorism fluctuates, the level of activity observed by the Five Eyes agencies and the level of risk posed by this activity by young people is clearly serious enough as to warrant them bringing this matter to international attention.

The briefing is clear about the complexity of this activity and the challenges it poses, highlighting five issues relevant to investigating young people’s involvement. First, it notes that young people are frequent and adept users of technology, using multiple platforms and applications for different purposes. Second, it highlights that the online environment allows young people to interact with adults and with each other, to view and disseminate violent extremist content, which can lead to further radicalisation of themselves and others. It is further problematic that these online environments, particularly encrypted ones, provide users with ‘a large degree of anonymity, complicating efforts to identify individuals radicalised to violence’. Third, the briefing acknowledges that it is more complex to engage with young people in this context than adults, and that ‘the unique characteristics of adolescent development require agencies to factor in additional considerations’ (p 2). In particular, it notes that the difficulty determining young people’s intent, especially those who spend a lot of time online. The fourth issue to which the briefing draws attention is the need for a ‘renewed whole-of-society approach’ to addressing the radicalisation of young people to violent extremism. Acknowledging that this is not something governments or communities can address alone, the briefing notes the importance of adopting preventive interventions – including mental health, community supports, social services, and education interventions – in order to counter radicalisation before security and policing responses are required. Finally, the briefing notes that young people’s vulnerability (highlighting mental health and neurodiversity characteristics as examples) impacts their radicalisation to violent extremism in very challenging ways. In this regard, the Five Eyes agencies highlight the importance that their work in this area is informed by the latest research on these issues.

It is clear from the Five Eyes briefing that the online environment provides a challenging backdrop to young people’s involvement in violent extremism, operating as a vehicle for the spread of extremist ideologies, as a network that supports the radicalisation of young people through the sharing of ‘grievances and narratives’ and other ‘violent extremist content’ that the agencies consider ‘more accessible, more digestible and more impactful than ever before’. The online environment, according to the agencies, provides an avenue ‘for first approaches’ to young people through ‘seemingly innocuous social media and gaming platforms, such as Discord, Instagram, Roblox and TikTok’ where violent extremism is made more accessible and content can be created within the platforms themselves (p 2). They highlight concern with young people who spend large amounts of time online, noting the particular vulnerability to radicalisation of young people who are socially isolated and keen to find a key social outlet online (p 3). Factors of mental health, adolescent development and other characteristics can increase the vulnerability of such young people to extremism. A related trend observed by the Five Eyes agencies is the increasing normalisation of violent behaviour in online groups, including ‘joking about carrying out terrorist attacks’ which complicates the role of counter-terrorism agencies in seeking to distinguish this behaviour from genuine online threats.

The Five Eyes briefing identifies the measures being taken by the security and law enforcement agencies to respond to the radicalisation of young people by engaging with their established partners, while also reaching out beyond their traditional relationships of counter-terrorism. They highlight the academic research underway across the five jurisdictions and recognise that it is crucial to engage with educational institutions and experts to better understand vulnerability factors around the radicalisation of young people and other factors, such as mental health and neurodiversity, which may impact investigations (p 3). Interestingly, the briefing also highlights the importance of diverting young people ‘before the threat becomes so grave that law enforcement and security agencies need to act’ (p 3) and notes that agencies ‘may take early action to understand the level of threat a minor may pose’ in order to provide a point for early intervention or diversion before the threat escalates (p 3). The Five Eyes agencies also highlight the importance of those close to young people remaining vigilant as to any signs of radicalisation bearing in mind that it can start with ‘moderately objectionable material containing violent extremist narratives which then intensifies in its support for violence’ (p 3). In this respect, the briefing acknowledges the vital role of the young person’s care givers in understanding their children’s online activities, so they can identify if they are engaging with content that may lead to radicalisation. They also highlight the agencies’ need to promote available community and government-based programmes in order to ensure that both the young person and the family unit are supported during any intervention. In this respect, they highlight that many agencies, documented in the briefing, have published resources designed to raise awareness among those who care for and engage with young people about the signs of radicalisation, and where to access support and guidance.

The briefing provides a number of case studies from the Five Eyes nations – Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States – which indicate the range of scenarios in which young people may become radicalised, the forms that radicalisation may take and the ways in which the resulting extremist violence may manifest. The case studies include a young person as young as 14 years, with evidence of a wide range of extremist activity including involvement in the manufacture of explosive devices, participation in online groups espousing misogynistic and racist ideologies, links with terrorist organisations and the glorification of violence. The cases studies also presented links with high levels of online activity, evidence of social isolation and in some instances mental health difficulties. They reveal an attentiveness on the part of the agencies of the particular vulnerabilities of the young people concerned and a clear willingness to explore diversionary, preventive and supportive interventions, rather than an exclusively criminal justice response. The briefing concludes by noting that protecting young people and the public from violent extremism by young people is complex challenge that can only be successfully addressed through a whole-of-society approach with all stakeholders – law enforcement, security and government agencies, education, mental health and well-being services as well as communities and technology companies – playing a role.

Analysis

As Barton (2024) notes, it is ‘remarkable’ and indeed a measure of the grave concern about the issue that the intelligence community of the Five Eyes nations has taken the step of publishing its first ever report on youth radicalisation. Its seriousness is also clear from the fact that, according to the Australian Federal Police, ‘every single one of the counter-terrorism cases in Australia this year’ (Barton, 2024) has involved children or very young adults. Barton notes however that by the time law enforcement become involved, it is often too late to avoid ‘life changing prosecution and legal action’, making this report from the Five Eyes agencies a ‘wake up call’. Identifying some of the possible signs of radicalisation, Barton draws attention to the circumstances of young people who may make them especially vulnerable to grooming or radicalisation online including social isolation and a need for acceptance and friendship that may be absent in their lives. The risks of the online environment, including the power of social media, are clearly important drivers of this activity but, as Barton notes, ‘it is not social media in itself, nor even extremist content, that causes the problem. It’s the relationships they form online’. For this reason, he notes, that while there is a logic in limiting the access of young teenagers to social media – a reference to the recent Australian law prohibiting the access by children under 16 years to social media – it is important not to ‘cut off lines of communication and drive them underground’. Ultimately, it is relationships and good communication that will allow early intervention in the lives of young people, before they become too hard to reach.

Barton draws the analogy between radicalisation and sexual exploitation insofar as in both situations an adult-led grooming process is designed to exploit vulnerable young people. In the context of the online environment, however, Roberts and Wescott (2024) note that it is the automated (but man-made) algorithms that drive what they call ‘misogynist radicalisation’. They cite research studies from Australia and Ireland that evidence how algorithms push misogynist content to boys and young men even when they seek content typically associated with masculine gender norms for their age, like sport and video games. In this respect, like the Five Eyes report, they suggest that misogyny should be treated as a form of extremism and as an ideology. Like Barton, Roberts and Wescott query whether a social media ban is the most appropriate or effective response to these behaviours. They too highlight the importance of education and awareness – by children and adults – as well as the need to maintain open relationships and judgement-free communication with young people that enables the exploration of their online experiences and their views.

Conclusion

The Five Eyes report makes very clear that the participation of young people in violent extremism is a very serious concern for young people and for the public. Their focus on the importance of a whole-society and whole-government approach is reassuring acknowledgement that even in these most extreme cases the particular circumstances of young people inform the responses to transgressive behaviours. While the report deserves credit for thrusting this complex issue into the spotlight, it is clear that international standards and indeed international research lags behind. The report makes clear the importance of research into the circumstances, the impacts and the effective responses to youth radicalisation and violent extremism. Others have drawn attention to the need of adolescent specific research in order to better understand the factors and circumstances leading to youth radicalisation (Bronsard et al., 2022). Youth justice research must also now quickly catch up. Particular focus here should be placed on understanding how the justice system – so frequently reserved for minor offences – should operate so that children involved in violent extremism enjoy their rights as children, under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including access to justice and treatment that is adapted to their needs and particular circumstances.