A holistic approach to Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) in the Internet Environment and Social Media is essential. This thesis focuses on gender and context consideration in online approaches to CVE through use of a literature review and samples of online counter-narrative campaigns. This has led to determination of the extent to which gender and context have been considered in online approaches to CVE and identifying what they mean for CVE online, while highlighting full participation of women in online approaches that are aimed at countering violent extremism as well as the critical role of contextual factors in online approaches to CVE. In addition, the thesis shows that more research is needed to fill the gaps identified. These gaps are the role of women in online CVE campaigns as well as contextual factors that are associated to violent extremism. More so, online narratives should be all rounded since this study found that CVE narratives have failed to identify a predictable psychosocial trajectory to explain de-radicalization processes that are crucial to disengage radicals.

Denna systematiska litteraturstudie ämnar undersöka vilka åtgärder som kan vidtas för att förebygga lone wolf terrorism. Denna form av terrorism har blivit allt mer uppmärksammad de senaste åren och anses vara ett växande problem som utgör ett allvarligt hot mot samhället. Lone wolf terrorism är en brottstyp som är väldigt svår att förebygga, främst på grund av att lone wolf terrorists, i jämförelse med terrorister som agerar i grupp, inte i lika stor utsträckning kommunicerar med andra individer angående sina planer att begå terrorbrott. Ett antal åtgärder med potential att förebygga lone wolf terrorism har dock identifierats. Bland dessa åtgärder kunde två teman urskiljas; internet/sociala medier och samarbete myndigheter och lokalsamhälle/allmänheten. Åtgärder på temat internet/sociala medier baserades på att lone wolf terrorists trots allt ofta använder internet för att kommunicera med likasinnade angående sina radikala åsikter och/eller intentioner att begå brott. Därutöver använder de internet för att bland annat införskaffa radikaliserande material och ritningar över potentiella mål. Därmed kan åtgärder med internet i fokus, såsom övervakning av extremistiska hemsidor och chattforum, spela en viktig roll i det brottsförebyggande arbetet riktat mot lone wolf terrorism. Att involvera lokalsamhällen i det brottsförebyggande arbetet är också viktigt eftersom det är i dessa miljöer individer ofta radikaliseras. Av särskild vikt är att involvera allmänheten då familj, vänner och andra bekanta vanligtvis befinner sig i den bästa positionen för att upptäcka varningssignaler som antyder att någon i deras närhet har radikala åsikter och/eller avsikt att begå terrorbrott. / This systematic literature review aims to investigate what measures can be taken to prevent lone wolf terrorism. This form of terrorism has gained increasing attention in recent years and is considered to be a growing problem that poses a serious threat to society. Lone wolf terrorism is a type of crime that is difficult to prevent, mainly because lone wolf terrorists, compared to terrorists acting in groups, not to the same extent communicate with other individuals regarding their plans to commit acts of terrorism. However, a number of measures with the potential to prevent lone wolf terrorism have been identified. Among these measures two themes could be distinguished; internet/social media and cooperation between authorities and local communities/the public. Measures on the theme internet/social media were based on the fact that lone wolf terrorists after all often use the internet to communicate with likeminded regarding their radical opinions and/or plans to commit acts of terrorism. Additionally, they use the internet to, among other things, obtain radicalising material and drawings of potential targets. Consequently, measures with a focus on the internet, such as monitoring of extremist websites and chat rooms, can play an important role in the attempt to prevent lone wolf terrorism. To involve local communities in crime prevention efforts targeted at lone wolf terrorism is also important since it is in these environments individuals often become radicalized. Of particular importance is the involvement of the public since family, friends and other acquaintances usually are in the best position to detect warning signs that indicate that someone close to them has radical views and/or intentions to commit acts of terrorism.

It is important to direct resources to effective evidence- and value-based counter-radicalization strategies, especially within prisons. With the increasing threat ofviolence and terror from various violent extremist groups, such as Daesh, thefocus on prisons should be intensified. While radicalization within prisons was nota significant problem a decade ago, the new recruitment strategies from e.g.Daesh now pose a new challenge for prisons. This thesis identifies contemporaryliterature on radicalization, deradicalization, and violent extremism within aprison context. From this seven recurrent themes were identified: overcrowding,religious chaplains, sectioning, risk assessment, monitoring and supervision,rehabilitation programs and education of staff. This was then used to develop anassessment model, which was based on the Canadian Risk-Need-Responsivitymodel’s three core principles, for evaluating and conducting counterradicalizationstrategies. The assessment model was then used as a framework fora comparative analysis of the Danish and Swedish Prison and Probation Services’counter-radicalization strategies within prisons. The results show that bothcountries adhered to a degree to the assessment model and current literaturewithin the field. The results further reveal that there is a lack of empiricalevidence and data on radicalization and counter-radicalization within prisons, andthat the data available is somewhat outdated.

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The research conducted in this thesis will focus on incels’ violence, the media coverage of it, and incels’ debatable connection to extremism. Using a comparative case study on incel violence enables an examination of how media presents the coverage, identifying similarities, differences, and patterns from a transnational perspective by analyzing news articles from two selected newspapers in the US and two newspapers from Sweden over a specific period. A systematic content analysis is conducted to identify and analyze key themes in the media coverage related to incel violence. The analysis includes examining how the coverage was presented, what language tone was used, the focus on the coverage, and the characteristics of perpetrators and victims presented by the newspapers. The findings reveal that there are consistent similarities but also differences in the media coverage of incel violence across the four newspapers analyzed. Four out of five identified themes in the coverage were consistent among the newspapers, indicating a shared approach in the portrayal of incel violence. However, there may also be some contextual and cultural differences influencing the coverage, which require further exploration. This study contributes to a better understanding of the media representation of incel violence and highlights the consistent themes observed in the selected newspapers. The findings suggest that there is a shared narrative and coverage of incel violence, transcending national boundaries.

Radicalization is as a formidable challenge for several nations. While radicalization continues to flare across the world, empirical evidence and consensus regarding its determinants remain scarce. This cumulative dissertation aims to contribute to understanding the determinants of radicalization based on three research papers. The first paper undertakes a systematic review of the existing scientific literature on radicalization. The second paper empirically tests the predictive power of the most plausible factors identified in the systematic review. The third paper empirically investigates the existence of non-linearities in the relationship between radicalization and socioeconomic factors.:1. Introduction 2. Understanding the Determinants of Radicalization: A Systematic Review 3. An Empirical Assessment of the Determinants of Radicalization: Evidence from North-Western Pakistan 4. Socioeconomic Factors and Radicalization in Pakistan: A Non-Linear Exploration 5. References

The Swedish Police Authority currently categorise 61 urban areas in Sweden as vulnerable areas, where there is an increased risk of becoming a victim of crime or violence to both females and males living in those areas. In these places the feeling of insecurity and the lack of trust and confidence in the judiciary system is more common than in other urban parts of Sweden. Due to this negative trend and development local power factors have evolved, and the risk of parallel social structures enforced by criminal activity and violent extremism is higher than in other places in Sweden. This thesis investigates the connection between Swedish criminal networks and violent Islamic extremism to create a better understand of why individuals from the vulnerable areas in Sweden join criminal networks and, or violent Islamic extremist groups

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This thesis intends to revise and update devoted actor theory (DAT) by introducing a neglected dataset—female suicide bombers. DAT provides one such theoretical framework for understanding extremist group behavior and, to a lesser extent, suicidal bombing. DAT is largely satisfying: its claims and conclusions address relevant issues and provide compelling answers to critical questions. However, it is not without its analytical and empirical gaps. Crucially, DAT does not explicitly account for the narratives and characteristic motives of female suicide bombers—which often differ in logic, content, and tone from those of their male counterparts. In addition, DAT assumes that people who are fused with extreme groups are willing to self-sacrifice for their group, but the theory does not account for how this fusion process transpires. Therefore, I propose two amendments to DAT that not only address theoretical issues, which arise partially from the lack of female terrorist accounts, but also creates a narrative that bridges the gap that would explain how an individual progresses from bonding to a group to making the decision to die for it. Accordingly, I also propose to theorize a psychosocial process that links the way in which individuals, specifically females, become fused to a group and edge closer to the most extreme of extremist decisions: to annihilate their bodies and selves, while at the same time annihilating or wreaking havoc upon the lives of others whom they have deemed enemies of themselves or their group.

The main research question of this thesis is how history is used for political gain by the far-right in Finland. The aim is to study not only the use of history but, rather, specifically, the patterns of that use. Two theories have been utilized. The first is the far-right as a milieu, as presented by Colin Campbell in the cultic milieu theory, which would shed light on the fragmentation of the milieu. And the second is the waves theory by David C. Rapoport, which would shed light on the persistence of far-right violence and militancy through time. I have utilized Pieter Geyl’s analysis of the use of history in identifying patterns of use even though it is not considered a theory per my knowledge. Methods applied are content analysis, netnography, comparative and discourse analysis. Through the utilization of these theories and methods applied to the source material, I have found that the Finnish far-right uses history in six different ways, which are centralized around both the use of national history and the predecessor’s history.