As our global community evolves throughout the 21st century, the geopolitical security threats it faces do as well. Terrorism has been a staple point of interest within contemporary politics, yet throughout the last 20 years its functions and design have developed as dynamics between states have shifted and digital technology has grown in prevalence. As it had always pertained to terrorism throughout the late 20th and early 21st century, Australia was a nation blessed by the natural barrier of geographical isolation. The nation's perspective around terrorism throughout much of the 2000s was founded on the notion that, “Australia is a country that has experienced little terrorism in its borders.” (Stevens, etc, 2009, P. 339 It is safe to say, modern Australia, which exists within a world where digital technology and world politics have vastly evolved from 15 years ago, has a new set of considerations when it comes to preventing violent extremism. Even in a developed, physically isolated country such as Australia, private and government-based practitioners of PVE (Preventing Violent Extremism) must be prepared to face a slew of complex challenges that were not nearly as persistent in the recent past. To discern the most effective nonmilitary measures against violent extremism that could be made in Australia, it is vital to analyse the most pressing contemporary challenges that result in and are generally linked to extremist behaviour. Through the specific lens of recent white supremacist and radical right wing, incel culture, it is vital to consider the impact of extreme political ideologies being linked to influential world leaders, the shift of the Overton window on the international scene toward radical conservative values, the international reach and impact of the “manosphere”, and the moral difficulty in discerning how a government body could actually prevent the spread of these issues through the internet without impeding upon free speech. By addressing these considerations, it can be argued that Australian practitioners of PVE have many difficult challenges when it comes to ensuring that Australians aren’t radicalised into believing in and supporting extremist ideologies such as white supremacy and violent misogyny. 

The two terms of Donald Trump presidency have effectively been a signifier to white supremacists across the world that their values and beliefs have a place on the table of contemporary political discourse. During Trump's first run for presidency, “he was supported early and enthusiastically by a series of white extremist groups and personalities who praised his divisive language and emphasised that he stood as a symbol for the hopes of White America.” (Long, 2023, P. 638.) Furthermore, this widespread support from white supremacists was a first since the 1960s for a candidate of a major American party. Throughout much of recent American history, “extremist groups began to see themselves as militant subversives on the edge of society, opposed to both the federal government and the electoral system more broadly.” (Long, 2023, P. 638.) The radical shift from white supremacists being politically dejected to vocally, fervently supporting a candidate implies that these supremacists saw the potential for a Trump presidency to forward their ideologies and societal desires. These desires have been realised more so now than ever before, with one of key discourses in the build up to and throughout Trump’s current tenure being the “invasion of aliens” that Trump declared was occurring on American soil. In Trump’s executive order regarding the issue of immigration that he published earlier this year, he asserts that, “many of these aliens unlawfully within The United States present significant threats to national security and public safety, committing vile and heinous acts against innocent Americans.” (The White House, 2025.) This document, titled PROTECTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AGAINST INVASION, refers to illegal immigrants exclusively as aliens, which is language commonly utilised by extremists. Furthermore, “another order specific to the US southern border, “suspends the physical entry of any alien engaged in the invasion across the Southern Border.” That order explicitly excludes people’s right to seek asylum.” (Frelick, 2025.) In 2023 Trump stated that illegal immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” This language directly aligns with verbiage utilised by Adolf Hitler in his ascension to political dominance in Germany. (Karl, 2023) It is undeniable that United States President Donald Trump is both implementing policies and propagating values that are supported by white supremacists, and thus it can be argued that the prevalence and increased implementation of these values symbolises a shift in the Overton window toward these values being accepted by society. Although this is certainly not the case in Australia, with the relatively progressive Labor government recently winning a landslide election for the nations federal government, the nature of a globalised interconnected world in which Australia and America share many similarities has resulted in Trump (and other renowned American figures that spread extremist dialogue such as Elon Musk) posing increased influence over conservative discourse in Australia. Evidence to support this claim comes within the manifesto of Australian-born terrorist Brenton Tarrant, a white supremacist who killed 51 Muslims in Christ Church, New Zealand on the 15th of March 2019. Within Tarrant’s manifesto, he labels Trump as a “symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.” (Apen-Sadler, 2019.) Tarrant also asserted that his attack was an act of revenge in response to Rakhmat Alikov, an asylum seeker who killed 14 people in a terrorist attack in Stockholm. Brenton Tarrant’s justification for violent extremism - the threat violent immigrants impose upon predominantly white nations - aligns with Trump’s reasoning for his mass deportation of illegal immigrants in America. It is obviously unfair and immoral to assert that Donald Trump directly forced the hand of Tarrant when he committed an act of extremist violence, but the dialogue and actions regarding immigration that Trump has committed throughout the last ten years has undoubtedly acted as a point of inspiration for white supremacy internationally. 

There is no doubt that one of the current staples of Australian youth culture is the immense prevalence of digital technology. Regardless of one’s passions, aspirations and skills, if they are a young Australian then social media is almost certainly going to hold a degree of presence within their day to day lives. This is supported by the statistic that teenage Australian men are, “spending approximately 2 hours every day on social media platforms including YouTube and Tik Tok.” (Wilson, Fisher & Seidler, 2024, P. 188.) Social media as a broad space contains the promotion and discussion of practically all ideologies and their associated communities. Although many of these communities can be a force for good, a 2024 study showed that, “the more time adolescent boys spent on social media, the more that they were exposed to content that endorsed traditional masculine norms and/or misogynistic views.” (Wilson, Fisher & Seidler, 2024, P. 190.) Although it is unclear to what extent this relation between social media usage and misogyny is causal, it can be proposed that boys and young men who hold negative views toward women are far more likely to spend large amounts of time consuming content that explicitly promotes these misogynistic values. (Wilson, Fisher & Seidler, 2024, P. 190.) This collection of online spaces has been titled the “manosphere” and although most of the content within this space is not promoting violent extremism, in tandem with the popularity of figures like Donald Trump, it does increase the prevalence of discriminatory values within society. This is exacerbated by the ease of access and harmful impacts of online pornography. The psychiatrist of Joel Cauchi, the man who killed 5 women and one man in an attack in Bondi, Sydney, was, according to his psychiatrist, motivated by, “sexual frustration, pornography and hatred towards women.” (Duffin, 2025). The prevalence of social media and internet culture within modern terrorism was displayed by Australian Brenton Tarrant. Before Tarrant committed the Christ Church shootings (which he live-streamed to Facebook) he told his live audience, “Remember lads, subscribe to PewDiePie.” (Cuthbertson, 2019) PewDiePie, an immensely popular YouTube celebrity who had recently been embroiled in controversy after calling someone a racial slur whilst live streaming, was not the only aspect of Tarrant’s attack that was related to social media. In 2016, “Tarrant became active in alt-right and white nationalist forums on social media platforms where he could remain anonymous.” (Heie, 2020, P.2.) Tarrant’s digital footprint of racism spread across Reddit, 4chan, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms, with a clear focus on common Islamophobic talking points such as the alleged modern invasion of Muslim’s across white countries and the notion that Muslim’s could not peacefully coexist with Caucasians. (Heie, 2020, P.2.) The extent to which Tarrant’s attacks were infused with his online actions was solidified by the nature of the attacks themselves. Tarrant live-streamed the entirety of his shooting on Facebook, with the video being seen by millions of people across Facebook and several other social media websites (YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, etc). (Heie, 2020, P.3.) The fact that an Australian was able to freely express his extremist values (and receive support for this expression) across multiple social media platforms solidifies the “wild west” nature of digital technology as one of the most significant challenges that practitioners of PVE face when tackling radicalisation and extremist influence upon the Australian populace. 

The passage of extremist rhetoric through the digital space infers that for Australian practitioners of PVE to combat this rhetoric, they must look for a solution that pertains to the internet. One solution to the issue of harmful online content has recently been implemented by the German government. In an update to the 2017 Network Enforcement Act, it became legally binding for social media platforms to, “proactively report [online] hate speech to law enforcement.” (Delker, 2020.) Such a solution has become a controversial talking point due to its implications on freedom of speech and the right to personal anonymity. Thus, the notion of the Australian government drafting legislation that forces social media platforms to report extremist behaviour and language to law enforcement is an example of both an effective potential nonmilitary measure to combat violent extremism, and an example of an operational challenge that the government must face when dealing with this issue. This can be considered an operational challenge due to the discourse surrounding the ethics of holding people legally accountable for things they have said online. The initial Network Enforcement Act in Germany, “elicited howls of protest from free speech crusaders when it was passed in 2017.” (Delker, 2020.) Furthermore, for the Australian government to pass such legislation it would ideally need the popular support of the Australian people behind it. For such legislation to be successful and popular, a “balance between effective measures against harassment in the internet and the right of individuals to freely express their opinion,” is necessary. (Claussen, 2020, P. 115.) The operational difficulty in crafting such legislation to a point where it is both effective and well received is undoubtedly a great challenge, but a necessary one. The internet's limitless supply of easily accessible harmful content combined with its sheer size has resulted in “demand for a supranational legal framework to guarantee fair competition, consumer protection and individual rights.” (Claussen, 2020, P. 115.) Although such a framework is not achievable by Australian practitioners of PVE alone, there is a clear need for legislative order to combat the presence of extremism across the digital world. 

Many contemporary challenges that Australian practitioners of PVE currently face are emblematic of the world they exist within. Political, cultural and operational challenges regarding violent extremism can all be linked to the overwhelming presence of digital technology within Australian society. These challenges are also caused in part by the nature of globalisation, as much of the content Australians consume and interact with was not made in Australia and does not even necessarily have anything to do with Australia. It is necessary that in these times of change, the power of the Australian government and its legislative body stays strong, as it is the best suited practitioner of PVE within Australia to successfully combat the challenges associated with contemporary violent extremism. 

References

Apen-sadler, D. (2019, March 15). Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant supported Trump. Mail Online; Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6812653/Christchurch-shooter-supported-Trump-launched-attack-spark-civil-war-U-S-manifesto-says.html

Claussen, V. (2018). Fighting hate speech and fake news. The Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) in Germany in the context of European legislation. Media Laws, 3(3), 110-136. https://www.medialaws.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/6.-Claussen.pdf

Cuthbertson, A. (2019, March 15). “Subscribe to PewDiePie”: What did Christchurch mosque gunman mean in final words before shooting? | The Independent. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/new-zealand-shooting-attack-pewdiepie-subscribe-youtube-mosque-a8825326.html

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Frelick, B. (2025, February 20). Ten Harmful Trump Administration Immigration and Refugee Policies. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/02/20/ten-harmful-trump-administration-immigration-and-refugee-policies

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Karl, J. (2023, December 21). Donald Trump’s history with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi writings: ANALYSIS. ABC News; ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trumps-history-adolf-hitler-nazi-writings-analysis/story?id=105810745

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