Date: Monday 14 October 2024
Time: 20:00 (drinks from 19:30)
Location: Kantine Walhalla, Veerlaan 11, Rotterdam
Admission: €10,- (regular), €6,- (reduced)
Language: English
Across the world and within Europe, far-right parties are advancing: climbing steadily up the polls, shaping the policies of centrist movements and the mainstream right, and occupying ministerial roles in coalition governments. Whether in Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Finland of France, parties that were once outcasts are fast gaining respectability – and power. So how did we get here? Why has extremism become so appealing to so many people? And what can be done to counter populist narratives and far-right radicalization?
As the 2024 United States presidential election approaches we welcome Cynthia Miller-Idriss – one of the world’s most acclaimed scholars of extremism and radicalization – on the occasion of her new book Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right. In this book she shows how far-right groups are swelling their ranks and developing their cultural, intellectual, and financial capacities in variety of mainstream settings, from college campuses and mixed martial arts gyms to clothing stores, online gaming chat rooms, and YouTube cooking channels. Miller-Idriss seeks answers on the how and why of far-right radicalization in these physical and virtual spaces, and reveals innovative strategies we can use to combat radicalization.
Miller-Idriss will be joined by Dr. Eviane Leidig, researcher of the far right, gender, and tech regulation on online extremism. She is an expert member of the EU’s Radicalisation Awareness Network, and author of The Women of the Far Right: Social Media Influencers and Online Radicalization.
Participants
Cynthia Miller-Idriss
Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss is the founding director of the Polarization and Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) at the American University in Washington, DC, where she is also a Professor in the School of Public Affairs. She regularly testifies before the U.S. Congress or briefs policy, security, education and intelligence agencies in the U.S., the United Nations, and other countries. She is the author of six books and writes frequently for mainstream audiences with recent by-lines in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Politico, The Guardian, and Le Monde.
Eviane Leidig
Dr. Eviane Leidig is a researcher of the far right, gender, and tech regulation on online extremism. She is an expert member of the European Research Community on Radicalisation for the EU’s Radicalisation Awareness Network, a member of the Christchurch Call Advisory Network, and an associate fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism in The Hague. She regularly gives talks and consults for policymakers, practitioners, and security and intelligence agencies in Europe, North America, and the United Nations, as well as advises tech companies.
Geert Maarse
Geert Maarse is a journalist and programme-maker. Having worked for Erasmus University for over five years, he is specialized in connecting scientific research to public debate. He has a background in Business Administration and Cultural Studies. He is the founder and regular host of Studio Erasmus, a monthly science magazine broadcasted by OPEN Rotterdam. He worked on a documentary and published in a number of online and offline media (de Volkskrant, Vers Beton, Erasmus Magazine).