The theme of this conference will be loneliness. Loneliness has in recent years emerged as an important societal question. Loneliness is seen not only as a health risk but also as a factor that can increase polarisation and expose young people to harmful communities and ways of thinking. Research has shown that social insecurity and isolation reinforce one another, which can make young people vulnerable to actors who exploit this dynamic for their own purposes.
Although loneliness and the need for belonging have been recognised as strongly linked to radicalisation, loneliness itself has rarely been examined or theorised in research on extremism and radicalisation. The conference keynote speeches open up new avenues for understanding loneliness in the radicalisation and extremism research.
The conference invites paper and panel proposals on topics that are broadly related to the research on violent extremism, radicalisation, terrorism and their prevention. Preference is given to papers and panels that focus on the Nordic region and western countries, but contributions with broader geographical focus are also welcome.
Each paper should be presented within 15 minutes. A panel will last 90 minutes, including time for discussion and Q&A. A panel will consist of three to four thematically related papers, as well as a chair.
No conference fee is charged. Please feel free to disseminate this call.