Countering extremist ideologies: What are the synergies between the EU’s internal and external action?
| Published date | 01 June 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/20322844231164094 |
| Author | Julia Burchett |
| Date | 01 June 2023 |
Special Issue Article
New Journal of European Criminal Law
2023, Vol. 14(2) 138–156
© The Author(s) 2023
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DOI: 10.1177/20322844231164094
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Countering extremist
ideologies: What are the
synergies between the EU’s
internal and external action?
Julia Burchett
Universit´
e Libre de Bruxelles (ULB –Institute for European Studies), Belgium
Abstract
Countering the propaganda of terrorist groups has gradually become a central focus of efforts to
prevent terrorism. The aim is ultimately to prevent the dissemination of violent ideas that are likely
to encourage a process of radicalisation, which, in turn, is conducive to terrorist action. This
objective has attracted more attention given changes in terrorist modus operandi, marked in
particular by the use of modern online communication tools to incite/glorify terrorist acts, to
provide training for terrorist purposes or to recruit candidates around the world. The EU and its
Member States are working on several fronts to tackle the different facets of the ideological allure of
extremist groups. This article discusses the fight against extremist ideologies as a new major focus of
the EU’s terrorism prevention policy. The aim will be to shed the light on this evolving priority while
identifying possible synergies between internal and external efforts to counter extremist
propaganda.
Keywords
Terrorism, extremist ideologies, propaganda, online content, police and judicial cooperation,
private actors, Europol, Eurojust
Introduction
While there is a long history of terrorism in Europe, combatting the spread of extremist ideologies
has only emerged as a priority on the European agenda recently. Unlike the terrorist groups that
prevailed in the late 1970s (for which strong ideological motivation but rather modest means of
dissemination were hallmarks), contemporary terrorist groups are taking advantage of the expansion
Corresponding author:
Julia Burchett, Universit´
e Libre de Bruxelles, 39 av. Franklin Roosevelt, Bruxelles 1050, Belgium.
Email: julia.burchett@ulb.be
of the Internet and social media platforms to spread their propaganda and enlist new recruits across
the world on an unprecedented scale.
1
In the last two decades, the ‘fight against extremist
ideologies’has emerged, alongside the objective of combatting the ‘root causes’of terrorism, as
a key focus of the EU’s counter-terrorism policy and continues to be a key element of its prevention
component. The objective of combatting the spread of extremist propaganda is based on the
premise - albeit controversial - that extremist ideology is one of the many factors like ly to play a role
in the process of radicalisation leading to terrorism.
2
Although not always labelled as such,
3
countering extremist ideologies has become an integral
part of EU counter-radicalisation efforts that extend beyond EU borders. The nexus between the
internal and external dimensions of the fight against extremist ideologies has been greatly
strengthened as a result of the impact of the phenomenon of ‘foreign terrorist fighters’. This
phenomenon has showcased the appeal of terrorist propaganda, i.e. the fact that propaganda sources
located outside the EU have been managing to reach a target audience within the EU. This concern is
still topical, even if the trend for young Europeans to leave for conflict zones has been on the wane.
Indeed, there is a consensus among scholars and policy makers that, despite the physical collapse of
terrorist groups such as Da’esh, the spread of terrorist ideology is still a global challenge.
4
This is
demonstrated in particular by the conclusions of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on
Terrorism, which has endeavoured to highlight the various facets of this problem among many other
issues.
5
The fight against the spread of violent extremist ideology remains one of the priorities of the
EU Council conclusions on EU external action on counter-terrorism.
6
In December 2020, in response to the terrorist attacks in France, Austria and Germany, the
European Council called for a series of actions related to the fight against extremism, inter alia,by
protecting Europe from the instrumentalisation of religion for extremist purposes, by promoting
religious education and training that are in line with European fundamental rights and values, orby
continuous efforts ‘to prevent all sorts of extremist propaganda, the preaching of violence and the
financing of hate and violent extremism’
7
, to name just the main ones. The link between the internal
and external dimensions of the fight against extremism is becoming increasingly evident in the face
of the growing use of modern technologies, which have proved to be powerful vectors for the spread
of extremist ideas worldwide. There are also specific concerns with an obvious external dimension,
1.See Brian Michael Jenkins, ‘Escalating Terrorist Violence and the Push for Prevention’, in Christiane H¨
ohn, Isabel
Saavedra and Anne Weyembergh (eds), The fight against Terrorism: Achievements and Challenges. Liber Amicorum
Gilles de Kerchove (Bruylant 2021) 674-676.
2.See, in this regard, Gijs de Vries, ‘EU Counterterrorism Policy 2005-2020. Achievements and Challenges’, in Christiane
H¨
ohn, Isabel Saavedra and Anne Weyembergh (eds), The fight against Terrorism: Achievements and Challenges. Liber
Amicorum Gilles de Kerchove (Bruylant 2021) 242.
3.While implicit references to this objective can be identified as early as 2005 through the EU ambition to ‘identify and
counter the methods, propaganda and conditions through which people are drawn into terrorism’, the objective of
combatting extremist ideologies is now explicitly enshrined in the 2020 EU Counter-Terrorism Agenda and increasingly
infuses EU priorities for the prevention of radicalisation.
4.See General Secretariat of the Council, Live show on the fight against terrorism, ‘20 years after 9:11: achievements and
challenges of EU counter-terrorism efforts’,<https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/events-gsc/live-show-counter-
terrorism/> accessed 28 July 2022.
5.European Parliament, Report on findings and recommendations of the Special Committee on Terrorism (2018/2044(INI)),
A8-0374/2018 (21 November 2018).
6.Council conclusions on ‘EU external action on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism’, Council
Document 8868/20 (16 June 2020).
7.Joint statement by EU home affairs ministers on the recent terrorist attacks in Europe, 13 November 2020.
Burchett 139
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