Samantha Jones, Lecturer Policing and Security Studies
The changes in the terrorism threat level in Australia described by ASIO chief Mike Burgess are due to several issues that have occurred over the past few years on a domestic and international scale. Since COVID-19, there has been an ongoing spike in terrorism incidents occurring, which can happen during times of crises that have an element of fear attached to them. Numerous protests taking place give organisations a platform to develop, gain recruits and expand their capabilities. In addition, violent attacks that have been occurring that are not terrorism-related are being hijacked by extremist organisations to incite and fuel the continuation of violence. Furthermore, the economic strains within Australia have created an ongoing disruption in social cohesion whereby extremists are creating environments where people can come together to ‘vent’; however, the organisations are then creating narratives with covert undertones to refocus people’s thoughts and opinions to develop and direct highly volatile emotions at specific issues that extremists are currently fighting. This has created a disassociation with institutions and democracy and further fractures the social cohesion within society. Extremist organisations have been learning from past issues and have started taking a more strategic approach whereby they become versed in policy and legislation to create an ongoing impact without being shut down.
The online developments of extremism are continuously increasing rapidly as material is released and circulated quickly. When the factors in which social cohesion, social, political and economic crises occur, this reinforces extremist views that there are specific reasons as to why this is happening, and as the radicalisation process continues, there comes the point when there is a shift from the online world into the real world. Whereby attacks are strategically planned and executed, sometimes in which real-time footage is used to inject a sense of societal fear that governments are unable to protect citizens. This can create momentum within not just one extremist organisation but many. Working collectively, camaraderie and networking are significant elements that have become present across many extremist organisations. They are continuously learning, evolving, and adapting to the rapid pace at which the world and social issues are changing. Terrorist organisations are built around specific ideological milieus, symbols, narratives and shared belief systems, which create social cohesion and endorse a sense brotherhood within those networks. As such, during crises where people want to feel connected, this can inadvertently open avenues for radicalising people. However, it should be noted that extremist organisations can be very selective in terms of who they will accept. It is a misconception that those radicalised have server mental health issues. However, my research is finding that terrorist groups are recruiting more stable and disciplined people to mitigate any potential security risks. Recruits are selected and trained on a model similar to those preparing for war. Extremists organisation will use specific training tactics not dissimilar from those of conventional armies. The psychology profile of terrorists recruits are similar to those use by conventional military. This is especially prevalent amongst right wing extremist who favour recruits with military experience. This year has been marked by significant violence and social unrest, especially within politics, due to the vast number of elections and the increase in change of governments on a global scale. History continues to show that waves of terrorism occur when there is political and social unrest, as it gives organisations an avenue in which to rise.