Extremism
Extremism: Laurie Taylor hears about undercover research with the far right, Islamists & anti feminists. Also, why do some people side-switch, from one extreme ideology to another?
Extremism: Laurie Taylor talks to Julia Ebner, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, about her experience of going undercover amongst political extremists, including neo Nazis, Islamic jihadists and anti feminists. Also, Daniel Koehler, founding Director of the German Institute on Radicalization and De-Radicalization Studies (GIRDS) discusses the side-switchers and defectors who migrate across extremist groups and ideologies. Ray Hill is a positive example of a former British fascist, turned informant on the far right. Unlike Sascha Lemanski, a German far right activist who crossed over into Islamic jihadism. Can an understanding of the phenomenon of side-switching help us understand the way in which people become radicalised and help combat terrorist violence?
Producer: Jayne Egerton
Last on
Guests and Further Reading
From Traitor to Zealot: Exploring the Phenomenon of Side-Switching in Extremism and Terrorism (Cambridge University Press)
Julia Ebner,Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue
Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Broadcasts
- Wed 26 Jan 202216:00BBC Radio 4
- Mon 31 Jan 202200:15BBC Radio 4
Explore further with The Open University
Podcast
![]()
Thinking Allowed
New research on how society works



