Islamist extremists are often viewed as the primary threat within extremism by the public, both in its violent and non-violent form, according to existing literature. However, numerous scholars...Show moreIslamist extremists are often viewed as the primary threat within extremism by the public, both in its violent and non-violent form, according to existing literature. However, numerous scholars would argue that right-wing extremists are an equally significant threat, and should be put next to Islamist extremists on the security agenda. This paper sought to explore whether perceptions of fair countermeasures against an extremist are influenced by the extremist’s ideological identity, specifically between right-wing extremism and Islamist extremism. This paper’s literature review identified the Social Identity Theory (SIT) and the role of mass media as primary reasons for public perceptions of Islamist extremists as the bigger threat. Nevertheless, through a quantitative survey experiment with 124 respondents, it was found that the study participants perceived the right-wing extremist to be equally as big of a threat as the Islamist extremist. These results are opposing previous literature, but at the same time confirming statistical evidence of both extremist branches being equally great threats. Should these results be confirmed by experts, a shift has happened in the Western population’s perceptions of and attitudes toward right-wing extremists. Hence, policy-makers need to critically review and consider this enhanced public fear and spend more resources to counteract right-wing extremism, and to restore feelings of safety.Show less
