Beyond Definitions

The document assesses the contemporary UK landscape of hate and extremism, highlighting a shift toward 'hybridised' threats where ideological boundaries blur and online ecosystems drive real-world violence. It identifies the extreme right as the most dynamic threat, particularly among youth, while noting that Islamist extremism remains the dominant terrorism threat. The report also details the rise of anti-LGBTQ+, anti-migrant, and antisemitic hate, often amplified by international conflicts and hostile state actors from Russia, Iran, and China. To counter these, the authors propose a unified policy framework that integrates social cohesion, a rights-based definition of extremism, and a public health model of violence prevention, moving away from siloed counter-terrorism approaches.

• The extreme right wing (XRW) is the UK's most dynamic extremism threat, with a significant trend of youth involvement; 95% of minors arrested for counter-terrorism offences recently were associated with extreme-right ideologies.
• Islamist extremism continues to be the primary terrorism threat in the UK, with the Israel-Gaza conflict increasing risks and facilitating the spread of official branded terrorist content on platforms like X, where 90% of such content remained online months after October 7.
• The Israel-Gaza conflict has caused a massive surge in hate speech: antisemitic comments on YouTube videos about the conflict increased 50-fold, and anti-Muslim hate speech on fringe alt-tech platforms rose 10-fold.
• Authorities face 'hybridised' extremism threats where radicalisation is driven by online ecosystems, aesthetics of violence, or nihilism rather than a single coherent ideology, often falling into the 'Mixed, Unclear or Unstable' (MUU) category of Prevent referrals.
• Hostile state actors, particularly Russia, Iran, and China, are increasingly intersecting with domestic extremists to exacerbate polarisation; Iran has specifically been linked to at least 15 foiled plots against UK-based targets, including Jewish communities.
• Conspiracy movements that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic have pivoted to target LGBTQ+ communities and climate-related issues, such as the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London, often using narratives of 'climate lockdown' to justify harassment.
• Northern Ireland Related Terrorism (NIRT) remains a persistent threat, with dissident Republican groups and loyalist paramilitaries continuing to operate, and the UK government recently raising the threat level from moderate to substantial.
• Hate crime in England and Wales rose by 26% in the year ending March 2022, with transgender hate crimes seeing a 56% increase.

APA

Comerford, M., & Rose, H. (2024). Beyond Definitions. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BeyondDefinitions-TheNeedforaComprehensiveHumanRights-BasedUKExtremismPolicyStrategy.pdf

Chicago

Comerford, Milo, and Hannah Rose. Beyond Definitions. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2024. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BeyondDefinitions-TheNeedforaComprehensiveHumanRights-BasedUKExtremismPolicyStrategy.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Comerford |first1=Milo |last2=Rose |first2=Hannah |title=Beyond Definitions |publisher=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |date=2024 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BeyondDefinitions-TheNeedforaComprehensiveHumanRights-BasedUKExtremismPolicyStrategy.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{comerford2024beyond, author = {Comerford, Milo and Rose, Hannah}, title = {{Beyond Definitions}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2024}, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BeyondDefinitions-TheNeedforaComprehensiveHumanRights-BasedUKExtremismPolicyStrategy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }