Extremism and Terrorism in the Digital Age: Global Dimensions of Radicalization, Diffusion, and Violence

The study of extremism and terrorism in the digital age has rapidly evolved, intersecting multiple disciplines including political violence research, terrorism studies, media and communication, and security studies. Traditionally, the field has focused on hierarchical organizations, territorially bound networks, and direct recruitment tactics. However, emerging evidence highlights that the proliferation of digital platforms has not only accelerated pre-existing radicalization but fundamentally transformed the relationship between ideology, organization, communication, and acts of violence. Current research underscores the role of decentralized yet communicatively integrated extremist communities, algorithmic amplification, memetic warfare, and digital subcultures in shaping new forms of global, hybridized, and audience-oriented violence. There is growing debate about how digital ecologies enable cross-border imitation, the diffusion of attack scripts, and the symbolic recognition of lone actors, while traditional models of terrorism become less adequate in capturing these dynamics. The need for innovative frameworks, comparative perspectives, and interdisciplinary dialogue is increasingly recognized as essential to understanding the shifting landscape of political violence.This Research Topic aims to critically examine how digital infrastructures and platformed communication are reconfiguring extremism and terrorism on a global scale. The objective is to understand how contemporary political violence is shaped by communicative architectures that transcend national and organizational boundaries, addressing the dynamics of visibility, legitimacy, diffusion, performativity, and countermeasures in digital spaces. Key questions include how narratives, symbols, and scripts circulate transnationally; how algorithmic and social platform logics contribute to radicalization and imitation; how local grievances are embedded within global digital subcultures; and what regulatory and democratic challenges arise as a result. By foregrounding digital dynamics, this Research Topic seeks to move beyond organization- and nation-state-centric approaches to foreground the deterritorialized, hybrid, and interconnected nature of extremism in the digital era.The scope of this Research Topic encompasses the study of extremism, radicalization, and terrorism as mediated by digital communication, without restriction to specific ideologies, regional contexts, or technological tools. Contributions integrating empirical depth and conceptual innovation are especially encouraged. To gather further insights into the global and digital interplay of extremist violence, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Transnational and globalized dimensions of digital extremism- Online radicalization processes and ideological hybridization- Platformed communication infrastructures and extremist mobilization- Circulation of violent scripts, propaganda, and symbols- Lone actors, algorithmic environments, and networked extremist ecologies- Memetic warfare, visual cultures, and digital propaganda- Online-offline dynamics and cross-platform diffusion- Digital counter-extremism, governance, and regulatory challenges- Democratic and public sphere implications of platformed extremism- Comparative analyses across ideological and geographic contexts Topic editors: Florian Hartleb, Hüseyin Cicek Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80181/extremism-and-terrorism-in-the-digital-age-global-dimensions-of-radicalization-diffusion-and-violence