The project aims to characterise, measure, and understand the role of extremist narratives that have an impact on the political and social spheres.
The consortium is formed by twelve partners and three associated partners from nine countries (Finland, Latvia, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Ireland). One of the associated partners is the Finnish Settlement Association. The project investigates how extremist narratives circulate in time, space, and social structures: through history, between countries, medias, political agents, and languages. Equally important is to understand how these transnational processes are domesticated and anchored to national discourses. This is a transdisciplinary endeavour combining various approaches from history, political science, sociology, anthropology, sociolinguistics, and legal studies.
The four-year project started in May 2023. The team of the University of Helsinki is led by Katalin Miklóssy (expertise in political and legal history; Aleksanteri Institute), Simo Määttä (translation scholar and sociolinguist; Department of Languages), and Gwenaëlle Bauvois (sociologist; Swedish School of Social Science, CEREN).