Mediating Extremist Violence: A Report on the Role of Media, Far-Right Politics and Gender in Extremist Violence and Social Cohesion in Victoria

In seeking to strengthen social cohesion and community resilience in Victoria, the State Government is investing in research and programs which enhance well-being and security, and which ameliorate conditions that contribute to the attraction or participation in extremist violence and anti-social behaviours. To support these objectives, the Government's Social Cohesion and Community Resilience Ministerial Taskforce commissioned the Human Security and Disasters Research Program at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology to examine those conditions that could lead to the attraction to or participation in violent extremism. This research examined these conditions in relation to media, gender, and particular organisations which contribute to polarisation, exclusivism and violent extremism in Victoria. The research applied a theoretical and multi-method approach to examine the ways in which these organisations use broadcast and online media systems to pursue their political and cultural objectives. Far-right, anti-diversity organisations emerged as a significant contributor to the social conditions and spiral of antagonisms which are threatening social cohesion in Victoria. It was significant that these organisations express their 'experience' and 'perspectives' of social cohesion through online and broadcast media systems as they seek to influence broader public opinion and government policy