Recent Developments of Anti-Government Threats: Online Activities and Transnational Connections

This report explores recent evolutions of anti-government extremism (AGE), particularly in Europe, with a focus on their online activities and transnational connections. It builds on the findings from our previous report, Anti-Government Threats and their Transnational Connections, published in March 2024.

This report focuses on the two following points in particular: (1) How has the milieu evolved in the post-COVID-19 era (given that the movement was largely boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic)? (2) How do these movements react and adjust to the election of political figures (or their electoral success) that have openly embraced some of their key narratives? The report is based on an in-depth analysis of a large number of AGE Telegram accounts.

The report demonstrates that AGE is a persistent phenomenon which was able to adapt to the post-COVID-19 reality. Rid of the pandemic, which provided the movement with an early booster, it is clearly looking for the next binding narrative. To some extent, it looks for an inspiration in the far-right milieu as it increasingly focuses on the anti-immigrant and nativist rhetoric, and embraces pro-Russian narratives. While AGE is mostly active online, with interesting transnational connections that are highlighted in this report, notably through a social network analysis, there are some rare but serious offline outbursts of violence, as demonstrated by recent terrorism-related arrests and prosecutions in European countries, including France, Germany, and the Netherlands. This demonstrates the continuous relevance of this issue, domestically and internationally.

This publication represents the views of the author(s) solely. ICCT is an independent foundation, and takes no institutional positions on matters of policy unless clearly stated otherwise.

Photo credit: Timeckert/ Shutterstock