Terrorgram Block Is a Welcome Step Towards Countering Violent Extremism
Following the integration of the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization into the Home Affairs portfolio, the department itself is now better positioned to use operational expertise and experience to shape future policy. As stated in February by ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess, Australia can’t police its way to social cohesion. Our law enforcement is highly capable, especially at the coalface, but this issue is beyond any enforcement capability alone. We need to evolve our approach and implement policy that targets local and structural issues that push individuals towards radicalization.
Australians, especially young Australians, are engaging with violent extremism. To counteract this, we need to understand why. We need comprehensive policy solutions that we can implement now to raise social cohesion and address existing grievances before they establish deep roots, rather than relying on security and law enforcement responses after ideological recruitment. We need to raise our social cohesion general health in addition to more targeted responses.
Understanding the grievances that transform into violence is complex. On Terrorgram and similar platforms, specific grievances are used to recruit and radicalize individuals, often intermixing with pre-existing violent extremist narratives such as neo-Nazi beliefs. During the Covid-19 pandemic, anxiety surrounding the vaccine and anger towards lockdown restrictions were commonly exploited. Another common grievance among these groups is a belief that politicians are untrustworthy or serve the interests of specific groups, a view that often intersects with antisemitic ideologies.
Grievances mix with free-flowing decentralized online discourse, resulting in a disturbing, illogical and near-incomprehensible blend of hate. Our analytical understanding tends to stop here, stymied by this incomprehensibility. At best, we propose improved mental health services. While these are important, we need to address underlying economic stressors and breakdowns within Australian communities.
By focusing predominantly on Terrorgram or offshore actors, we risk overlooking how our own governance shortcomings are feeding into the crisis. Decades of asset inflation and wage stagnation have left many young Australians economically disenfranchised and politically distrustful, as has underinvestment in community infrastructure and institutions.
Violent extremist actors are responsible for their actions, and Australia must continue to use appropriate law enforcement responses. Blocking Terrorgram is a commendable action to disrupt the immediate threat. The government can complement this approach and others like it with a social cohesion campaign aimed at preventing radicalization by improving conditions for at-risk Australians and ultimately building greater resilience to violent extremist ideologies.
Radicalization is not just an online issue, and we need policy that aims to resolve underlying grievances. It is that combination of advancing individual freedoms, defending our collective security and advocating social cohesion that forms the basis for long-term national resilience.
Henry Campbell is the strategic engagement and program manager with ASPI’s National Security Programs. This article is published courtesy of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
