Funding Success: Local CVE capacity addressing far-right extremism in Australian rural and regional communities: Protections, vulnerabilities, needs and resources

Professor Michele Grossman, Dr Mario Peucker and Professor Hass Dellal AO have been awarded $217,647 for a CRIS project titled: “Local CVE capacity addressing far-right extremism in Australian rural and regional communities: Protections, vulnerabilities, needs and resources” by the Department of Home Affairs.

About the project

The emergence and escalation of far-right extremist mobilisation has changed the flow and pattern of where RWE recruitment and mobilisation are now occurring in Australia. While metropolitan-based violent extremist networks and targets remain a threat, we are now also seeing increased far-right extremist activity in rural and regional areas , including recruitment and training in both online and offline contexts. While we have a reasonably strong grasp of how metropolitan-based communities are resourced and educated in relation to the challenges of violent extremism, we know far less about protective factors and vulnerabilities in regional and rural communities in relation to far-right extremism. 

This includes how local community networks around people who may be at risk of radicalising to violence in rural and regional areas understand the early warning signs of radicalisation to violence; the boundary line between legitimate dissent and illegitimate violent action; what local or other resources local communities can leverage for support and intervention; where to turn for information and support if they are concerned about someone they know, and how willing or otherwise they might be to share such concerns or information with authorities. 

CRIS Director, Professor Michele Grossman, says, ‘Conducting a targeted qualitative research program to explore these issues can help pinpoint both existing assets and vulnerabilities in how rural and regional communities are placed in relation to recognising and responding to the potential for or presence of violent extremist mobilisation in their local areas. This knowledge will assist both communities and government in targeting appropriate support and resources for building capability in rural and regional areas that may not have previously dealt in any significant way with radicalisation to violence in their local settings.’