In recent years, many European countries have been grimly reminded of the threat from far-right violence motivated by hatred towards migrants and minorities. Amongst other events, the attacks on Oslo and Utøya in July 2011 and the discovery of the National Socialist Underground in Germany have fed the fear that right-wing violence is on the rise, and raised questions about whether this form of extremism has been a blind spot for European policy makers and security officials.

This briefing will set out the results of a 2-year research project, funded by the European Commission, to assess policy and practitioner approaches to far-right extremism across 10 EU countries (UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovak Republic), and enhance European cooperation and sharing of good practice. Drawing on interviews with over 100 individuals across Europe, from those writing National Action Plans to counter extremism to those carrying out one-on-one interventions with far right supporters, the presentation will set forth key challenges and recommendations for prevention, intervention and response to far-right extremism and hate crime.

Speaker: Vidhya Ramalingam, Institute for Strategic Dialogue