Understanding extremism in Scotland: research findings

Introduction

This report summarises initial findings from a programme of research that is being developed by the Scottish Government to improve understanding of extremism and Prevent delivery in Scotland. Prevent is a strand of the UK Government’s counter-terrorism strategy CONTEST (Home Office, 2018). This section introduces the report by providing an overview of the background to this work.

Prevent in Scotland

The purpose of Prevent is to ‘stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism’ (Home Office, 2018). While counter-terrorism (and therefore Prevent) is a reserved matter and the responsibility of the UK Government, the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act (2015) places a duty on sectors that are devolved from Westminster to the Scottish Government (including local authorities, health and social care, education, prisons, and the police) to pay ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’. This is known as the Prevent duty.

The Prevent duty guidance for Scotland (Home Office, 2021a) outlines how specified authorities are expected to comply with this duty. There is sector-specific guidance for further education institutions (Home Office, 2021b) and higher education institutions (Home Office, 2021c).

The Scottish Government supports the specified sectors to fulfil their obligations under the Prevent duty, and ensures that mechanisms are in place for safeguarding and supporting individuals who may be susceptible to being drawn into terrorism as outlined in the Prevent Multi-Agency Panel (PMAP) Duty Guidance (Home Office, 2021d).

In Scotland, the approach taken to Prevent is tailored to the Scottish context and the specific challenges faced by Scottish communities. Emphasis is placed on early intervention, safeguarding, and the prevention of people from becoming alienated or isolated, with the aim of reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience to extremist narratives.

Defining extremism

The UK Government currently adopts the following definition of extremism:

‘vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also include in our definition of extremism calls for the death of members of our armed forces, whether in this country or overseas’. (Home Office, 2011: 107)

This definition was introduced in the 2011 Prevent strategy (Home Office, 2011), and is a working definition rather than a legal definition. It was used in the UK Government’s Counter-Extremism Strategy (Home Office, 2015), which set out the UK Government’s approach to countering ‘both violent and non-violent’ extremism. However, counter-extremism is a devolved matter and the Counter-Extremism Strategy and the UK Government’s definition of extremism were not adopted in Scotland. At present, therefore, the Scottish Government does not have an official definition of extremism.

Reviewing existing evidence

Research on extremism in Scotland

The first step in developing understanding of extremism and Prevent delivery in Scotland was to review the existing evidence, in order to assess what research and data are already available. Scottish Government researchers therefore undertook an evidence review (Scottish Government, 2023a), which is available at the following link:

Understanding extremism in Scotland: Evidence review

The evidence review had two key aims:

• To explore how extremism is defined in the existing evidence base, and the extent to which there is a shared understanding of the term in the literature, in order to inform whether and how the Scottish Government may wish to approach defining extremism in future.
• To identify and review the available research and data on the extent and nature of extremism in Scotland.

The review highlighted the challenges associated with defining extremism, such as its relative and subjective nature, and noted that such challenges have meant that while a range of definitions of extremism have been proposed, there is a lack of consensus on how it should be defined.

The review also found a small body of evidence that provides insight into the extent and character of extremism in Scotland, including data relating to terrorist activity, Prevent referrals, public attitudes, hate crime, sectarianism, and Islamist^[1] and right-wing extremism.

A tentative conclusion that was drawn from this evidence was that extremism may look different in Scotland to other parts of the UK. In particular, the review found evidence to suggest that levels of extremism may be lower in Scotland, with less terrorist activity taking place and fewer referrals to Prevent. The review also indicated that there may be differences in the types of extremism that are more and less common in Scotland. For example, while ‘mixed, unstable and unclear’ ideologies^[2] appear to be a growing concern across the UK, the review found evidence to suggest that right-wing extremism presents a bigger concern than Islamist extremism in Scotland. The review also suggested that Scotland may face unique challenges relating to sectarianism.

However, the review also showed that there is a lack of research evidence about the prevalence and nature of extremism in Scotland specifically, resulting in ongoing gaps in our understanding. The review also highlighted the limits with existing sources. For example, the Prevent referral data only reflect individuals who have been brought to the attention of authorities through the referral system, but there are a range of reasons why individuals who are susceptible to radicalisation might not be identified, such as individuals keeping their extremist views hidden. Further, not all individuals referred to Prevent are ultimately assessed as being susceptible to radicalisation, with many signposted to other services or referred to other sectors for different forms of support.

The review therefore made two recommendations. Firstly, the review recommended that a programme of primary research be carried out to begin to address the gaps in data and evidence relating to the extent and nature of extremism in Scotland. The review suggested that while this could be advanced in various ways, a useful approach would be to explore understandings and perceptions of extremism from the perspective of key groups and communities, including the public; public sector practitioners working to deliver Prevent in Scotland; and stakeholders who have an interest in Prevent or extremism in Scotland.

Secondly, the review recommended that further research be carried out to explore approaches to defining extremism that have been adopted in other countries, to identify what could be learnt from definitions used elsewhere.

Other countries’ approaches to defining extremism

Scottish Government researchers therefore carried out a second review (Scottish Government, 2023b) which looked at how extremism is defined in a range of countries^[3]. The review is available at the following link:

Understanding extremism in Scotland: Review of definitions and terminology

A key finding from this review was that similarities between the definitions used in the countries that were selected could be identified. In particular, in most of the countries there was a focus on ‘violent extremism’ rather than extremism in a broader sense. In addition, in Australia, Canada and New Zealand there has been a move away from focusing on specific types of extremism to considering broader categories. In Australia two categories are used, ‘religiously-motivated’ and ‘ideologically-motivated’ violent extremism, while in Canada and New Zealand a third category, ‘politically-motivated’ violent extremism, is also used. A fourth category is also used in New Zealand, ‘single-issue motivated’ violent extremism.

It was therefore recommended that more work be done to explore whether this approach could be suitable for use in Scotland. In particular, following the recommendation from the initial evidence review that research be carried out with the public, public sector practitioners and stakeholders, it was suggested that it would also be useful for this work to capture these groups’ views on the approaches to defining extremism used in other countries.

Exploring public, public sector practitioner and stakeholder understandings and experiences of extremism and Prevent in Scotland

In light of the recommendations made in the evidence reviews (Scottish Government, 2023a; 2023b), the Scottish Government is developing a programme of research which aims to improve understanding of extremism and Prevent delivery in Scotland.

In the first instance, this research has sought to explore perceptions and experiences of extremism from the perspective of the Scottish public, public sector practitioners and stakeholders, in three distinct but related projects carried out between April 2022 and January 2023. The full reports from these projects are available at the following links:

Understanding extremism in Scotland: Public perceptions and experiences

Understanding extremism in Scotland: Public sector practitioner perceptions and experiences

Understanding extremism in Scotland: Stakeholder perceptions and views

The overarching aim of these projects was to explore how these groups define and understand extremism; their views on the extent to which extremism is a problem in Scotland; the types of extremism that are more and less prevalent; and how well they perceive current approaches to countering extremism in Scotland to be working.

This report collates the findings from the three studies. It begins by summarising each of the projects, including their specific aims and methodological approach. It then presents the key findings from the projects, before concluding with a discussion of emerging priorities for further research and recommendations for policymakers and agencies involved in Prevent delivery in Scotland.

The research projects

Research with the public

The research with the public was carried out by the Diffley Partnership, in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) at the University of St Andrews, between February and December 2022.

The Diffley Partnership and the CSTPV firstly conducted a Rapid Evidence Review to inform the research design. A mixed-methods approach was then adopted for the primary research. This firstly involved a large-scale survey, which was administered by Survation online and by telephone between 9 and 25 May 2022. The online sample was constructed by randomly selecting members of Survation’s online panel, while the telephone sample was constructed by randomly selecting members of Survation’s telephone panel. The survey received 2,071 responses, including 1,568 which were received online and 503 which were via telephone.

The survey was followed by qualitative research, which took place between 24 June and 13 July 2022. This consisted of five online focus groups with between four and seven participants in each, and eight follow-up interviews with a subgroup of focus group participants. The total number of participants in the qualitative research was therefore 26.

Research with public sector practitioners

The research with public sector practitioners was carried out by Thinks Insight and Strategy between April 2022 and January 2023. For the purposes of this research, public sector practitioners^[4] included frontline professionals working in sectors which, under the Prevent duty, must pay ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’, including local authorities, health and social care, education, prisons, and the police.

The research with public sector practitioners also adopted a mixed-methods approach. Thinks Insight and Strategy firstly undertook qualitative research, including in-depth interviews and mini focus groups with practitioners with a designated Prevent aspect to their role (n=12) and practitioners without a designated Prevent aspect to their role (n=22)^[5]. This research was carried out between 10 May and 23 June 2022.

This was followed by quantitative research, which involved an online survey distributed through an open link to public sector practitioners involved in delivering Prevent in Scotland. The survey was disseminated through several methods, such as by partners of the Scottish Government and contacts in relevant organisations identified through desk research, and was live between 8 July and 30 September 2022. The survey received 492 responses.

Research with stakeholders

The stakeholder research was carried out by Scottish Government researchers between April 2022 and January 2023. For the purposes of the stakeholder research, stakeholders included predominantly senior-level representatives of organisations who have direct involvement in Prevent, or significant interest in Prevent or extremism in Scotland more generally. Relevant organisations were identified from existing Scottish Government contact lists and networks and their representative participants were asked to represent the views of their organisation.

A qualitative approach was adopted for the research with stakeholders. A total of 29 in-depth interviews were carried out between 5 May and 2 September 2022. Four were paired interviews (meaning that two participants were interviewed at the same time), making the total number of participants 33. Participants included representatives from the police, local authorities, education, health, government and prisons, as well as faith and belief, private and third sector organisations.

While the specific aims and research questions varied across the three studies, each covered similar areas, with all looking at how participants understand extremism, their views on extremism in Scotland and their views on Prevent in Scotland. The next section therefore brings together key findings that emerged in relation to these themes across the projects, exploring where findings aligned and where they diverged, as well as highlighting other notable findings that emerged from the individual projects.