Researching Forms of Mixed and Mutable Extremism: Risks, Challenges and Best Practices
1:00pm - 5:00pm /
Tuesday 10th June 2025
/ Venue: Register for Online Link School of Law & Social Justice
Type: Workshop /
Category: Department
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- Suitable for: PGR Students and UoL Staff
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The research network and project Conceptualising, Understanding and Preventing Mixed Forms of Extremism (CUPMFE) network is pleased to invite you to the three-phase workshop
Researching Forms of Mixed and Mutable Extremism: Risks, Challenges and Best Practices (June 10th, 2025; July, 8th; September 10th)
The event is funded by the Methodological Innovation and Development Award Scheme (MIDAS).
The focus of national security efforts over the last two decades in Western society and elsewhere has been oriented toward the threat presented by Islamist and Far Right extremism. While academic research has largely mirrored this focus, there is now awareness of a growing number of individuals who are engaging with mixed forms of extremism that draw across multiple ideologies, including misogynistic, Incel and QAnon.
Researching in this nascent but expanding area presents various challenges and risks. Researchers have to grapple with practical and moral dilemmas surrounding accessing hard-to-reach and potentially vulnerable populations, whilst also navigating complex University ethical approval processes. Researching mixed and mutable extremism also comes with psychological and safeguarding challenges. The exposure to hateful content is emotionally taxing and can impact on researchers’ mental health. Researchers have to face the risks of doxing and online/offline harassment by those promoting hate. This risk is significantly heightened for female(-presenting), queer, trans, gender-nonconforming, and BIPOC researchers. Postgraduate and early career researchers here face the additional challenge of maintaining safety while also developing the online professional visibility required to succeed in the academic job market.
The three phase workshop project aims to facilitate deeper understanding of the methodological, ethical, safeguarding and psychological challenges of researching mixed extremism. The workshop is open to all CUPMFE members and colleagues working in the area of mixed extremism, but is aimed specifically towards postgraduate, post-doctoral and ECRs in academia.
Through a mix of input talks from experts and interactive workshops, participants will discuss challenges, risks and best practices. Further, the series will serve to map out the practical resources necessary to equip researchers to successfully and safely conduct research on mixed extremism. This will provide the basis of an Interactive Researcher Toolkit that will be made freely accessible to the wider research community.
The initial hybrid workshop will take place June 10th 2025, 1-5pm, at the SLSJ Building at the University of Liverpool / online via MS Teams, link to follow.
The workshop will start with lightening talks by international experts in the field:
Dr Allysa Czerwinsky, University of Manchester
Dr Joe McCauley, University of Oxford
Ms Tamta Gelashvili, University of Oslo
Professor Stephane Baele, UCLouvain
Talks will be followed by an open discussion session concentrating on the key challenges and risks and sharing of best practices.
After the initial workshop, participants will be invited to collaborate in the second phase of collaborative production as co-authors of the Interactive Researcher Toolkit, which will be published via the University of Liverpool. Two online workshops will take place July 8th and September 10th (duration 90minutes, time TBA due to consideration of time zones of participants).
Please note that participation in the initial workshop does not constitute commitment to engage in the second phase of the workshop and you are free to attend this event only if you wish - although we hope that you can join us for all three, of course!
If you have any questions, please contact CUPMFE@liverpool.ac.uk
Researching Forms of Mixed and Mutable Extremism: Risks, Challenges and Best Practices (June 10th, 2025; July, 8th; September 10th)
The event is funded by the Methodological Innovation and Development Award Scheme (MIDAS).
The focus of national security efforts over the last two decades in Western society and elsewhere has been oriented toward the threat presented by Islamist and Far Right extremism. While academic research has largely mirrored this focus, there is now awareness of a growing number of individuals who are engaging with mixed forms of extremism that draw across multiple ideologies, including misogynistic, Incel and QAnon.
Researching in this nascent but expanding area presents various challenges and risks. Researchers have to grapple with practical and moral dilemmas surrounding accessing hard-to-reach and potentially vulnerable populations, whilst also navigating complex University ethical approval processes. Researching mixed and mutable extremism also comes with psychological and safeguarding challenges. The exposure to hateful content is emotionally taxing and can impact on researchers’ mental health. Researchers have to face the risks of doxing and online/offline harassment by those promoting hate. This risk is significantly heightened for female(-presenting), queer, trans, gender-nonconforming, and BIPOC researchers. Postgraduate and early career researchers here face the additional challenge of maintaining safety while also developing the online professional visibility required to succeed in the academic job market.
The three phase workshop project aims to facilitate deeper understanding of the methodological, ethical, safeguarding and psychological challenges of researching mixed extremism. The workshop is open to all CUPMFE members and colleagues working in the area of mixed extremism, but is aimed specifically towards postgraduate, post-doctoral and ECRs in academia.
Through a mix of input talks from experts and interactive workshops, participants will discuss challenges, risks and best practices. Further, the series will serve to map out the practical resources necessary to equip researchers to successfully and safely conduct research on mixed extremism. This will provide the basis of an Interactive Researcher Toolkit that will be made freely accessible to the wider research community.
The initial hybrid workshop will take place June 10th 2025, 1-5pm, at the SLSJ Building at the University of Liverpool / online via MS Teams, link to follow.
The workshop will start with lightening talks by international experts in the field:
Dr Allysa Czerwinsky, University of Manchester
Dr Joe McCauley, University of Oxford
Ms Tamta Gelashvili, University of Oslo
Professor Stephane Baele, UCLouvain
Talks will be followed by an open discussion session concentrating on the key challenges and risks and sharing of best practices.
After the initial workshop, participants will be invited to collaborate in the second phase of collaborative production as co-authors of the Interactive Researcher Toolkit, which will be published via the University of Liverpool. Two online workshops will take place July 8th and September 10th (duration 90minutes, time TBA due to consideration of time zones of participants).
Please note that participation in the initial workshop does not constitute commitment to engage in the second phase of the workshop and you are free to attend this event only if you wish - although we hope that you can join us for all three, of course!
If you have any questions, please contact CUPMFE@liverpool.ac.uk