To Understand Violent Extremism, We Must Acknowledge the Role of Gender

Abstract

The connection between misogyny, masculinities and violence have received increasing media attention lately, especially in the context of violence linked to the incel phenomenon. But acknowledging the role of gender in all violent extremism is necessary for understanding it. In our report Trends of Radicalisation in Finland, we analysed three different cases of violent radicalisation in Finland: a school shooting in 2007, a radical Islamist stabbing in 2017, and a deadly assault by a neo-Nazi in 2018. The three hotspots were chosen to show the scale and nature of political violence in Finland in the 21st century, and are representative of several veins of violent extremism. Interestingly, we found that misogyny or violent masculinity played a crucial role in all of them...