Call for Papers to VOX-Pol Conference on Violent Extremism, Terrorism, and the Internet: Present and Future Trends

VOX-Pol’s third biennial conference will take place at the University of Amsterdam on 20 – 21 August 2018, with post-conference workshops taking place on 22 August 2018.

The organizers are seeking panels and papers describing and discussing in-depth and cutting-edge research on the intersections of violent extremism and/or terrorism and the Internet.

Perspectives from all academic (sub-)disciplines are welcome, particularly communications, computer science, criminology, cultural studies, data science, ethnography, international relations, internet studies, law, linguistics, media studies, philosophy, politics, psychology, sociology, and terrorism studies.

The following topics are of particular interest:

• History and evolution of violent online extremism and/or terrorism and the Internet;
• Online radicalisation;
• The Internet and recruitment into violent political extremist and terrorist groups;
• Instructional (e.g. re. attack types, targeting, etc.) online content;
• Children/youth, violent political extremism or terrorism, and online content;
• Women/gender, violent political extremism or terrorism, and online content;
• Public attitudes to violent extremism and/or terrorism and the Internet and responses to it;
• Case studies of particular (sub-)groups’ cross-platform use of the Internet and social media;
• Case studies of the use of the Internet by violent extremists and/or terrorists in particular countries or regions;
• Case studies of the manifestation(s) and workings of violent political extremism or terrorism on specific online platforms, particularly less-studied platforms (e.g. 4Chan, Internet Archive, JustPaste.It, Reddit, Telegram, VKontakte);
• Case studies of particular online mediums or Internet-related technologies (e.g. video, mobile telephones, etc.) and their roles in violent online extremism;
• Methodologies, including mixed methods approaches, for violent political extremism and terrorism-related Internet research;
• The role of online crowdsourcing in violent political extremism and terrorism and/or countering activity;
• The role of user generated content in violent political extremism and terrorism and/or countering activity;
• Online audience reception of violent political extremist or terrorist content;
• Policy/legislative and other responses to violent online political extremism, including online CVE, takedown activity, etc.;
• Future trends in violent extremism and/or terrorism and the Internet and/or in countering the latter, including the use of dedicated platforms and apps, the use of messaging apps, gaming, blockchain technologies, crypto currencies, live streaming, Darkweb, etc.
• Ethical issues surrounding online extremism-related research;
• Freedom of speech, privacy, and other concerning aspects of online disruption and CVE activity;
• Evaluative or ‘taking stock’ analyses.

Find out more about the conference here.