Extremist Ideologies: Youth and Schools

Abstract

According to a House of Commons Report (2022) on public safety, hate motivated ideologies are spreading consistently across Canada. Moreover, the Report cites youth among those particularly vulnerable to right-wing ideologies thereby complementing the literature that suggests that youth and radical right-wing ideologies are positioned at a precarious intersection. Particularly notable and worth distinguishing are youth cultural right-wing extremist groups whose ambition is not completely independent from right-wing extremists. Youth cultural right-wing extremist groups especially rely on the internet and social media as a means of recruiting members to the organization and to spread widely their radical ideologies. It is not enough, though, to make overly simplistic claims that youth, such as the youth cultural right-wing extremists, have a periphery existence in cyber spaces and a generalized association to more sophisticated right-wing extremist groups. Youth cultural right-wing extremist groups are characteristic of cultures that consist of a hateful discourse that celebrates ethnonationalist values, beliefs, and traditions. Research points to the fact that the dialogue, often antagonistic, appeals to youth that are attracted by these radical views. Education systems have been identified as sites where radical and extremist tendencies and ideologies can be directly addressed by educators, given the substantial amount of time that youth spend in schools. The paper discusses both the interventions and implications related to addressing extremist ideologies in educational contexts.