Examples of extremism, or radicalisation, can be found in the news around us almost every day. What drives people towards extremist ideas, and what can help prevent this? According to experts, one important key is a sense of belonging: when people feel they are valued members of society, there is less room for communities that offer a sense of belonging through opposition and antagonism.
That is why a cohesive society is not merely a matter of well-being, but also one of security. Experts in the field say that the risk of radicalisation in Estonia is currently low, but the upward trend among young people, particularly young men, nevertheless warrants attention.
Heidi Maiberg, an adviser at the Ministry of the Interior, stresses that there has been no major surge in the spread of extremist ideas in Estonia in recent years, and the annual reports of the Estonian Internal Security Service have likewise assessed the threat as low. ‘But yes, there is a slight upward trend,’ she acknowledges. ‘The main concern is young men, among whom we are seeing a rise in far-right extremism. However, compared with other offences or problems, the number of such cases is small. We are working to keep it that way.’
The Northern Prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board has a four-member radicalisation prevention team whose day-to-day work involves monitoring potential signs of radicalisation and intervening when necessary. Sting Marek Frank Valgus, a member of the team, says that young people are particularly close to his heart, with far-right extremism being the most visible trend among them, as Maiberg also pointed out.
‘A sense of belonging is what matters most to young people,’ says Valgus, drawing on his experience in police work. ‘Through the internet and social media, young people living even in a small Estonian town or village can feel part of a large international community, even if there are no like-minded people around them. And it is not always the content of the ideology itself that attracts them so much as the aesthetics of the group, rituals, and the feeling of belonging somewhere.’
A bubble within the wider society
Extremist communities are often attractive precisely because they offer people a sense of belonging. That makes it all the more important for people to have opportunities to experience a sense of belonging within their own communities and Estonian society more broadly. Strengthening this sense of belonging and social cohesion is at the heart of the work of the Integration Foundation. The foundation helps build a society in which people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds trust one another, participate in social life and feel valued as members of their communities. To this end, the foundation creates opportunities for people from different backgrounds to meet and work together.
‘The stronger the ties of the people to their community and society, the less room there is for exclusion, antagonism and radicalisation,’ says Dmitri Moskovtsev, Director of the Integration Foundation.
According to him, on the one hand, support must be provided to people who do not feel that they are part of society, helping them along their adaptation and integration journey. On the other hand, society needs to become more aware that people of different native languages, origins, and cultural backgrounds live here, and that all of them are part of Estonian society.
‘A cohesive society is not just a phrase,’ he stresses. ‘It is about how we get along with one another and how we can live together safely in this country. Problems can arise when a person feels that they do not belong here or have somehow been left on the sidelines.’
Moskovtsev refers to integration studies showing that some Estonians also do not feel that they are part of society – more than ten per cent – while among people of other ethnic backgrounds, the proportion is around one quarter. So, the issue is not just ethnicity, but more broadly whether people feel that they are seen and that they have a place in society.
A sense of belonging is equally important for people arriving in Estonia. Moskovtsev stresses that alongside adaptation programmes and public services, the local community plays a major role – the area where people live, neighbours, hobby groups, and public events where they can meet others and build relationships in a safe environment.
Finding one’s place also matters for young people born in Estonia. Ringo Ringvee, a researcher at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, points out that when a youth centre, or another place where young people can spend time and interact with others, disappears from the area, they will find something else to do elsewhere. ‘Where we are not present, someone else is there providing an interesting activity,’ he concludes.
Ideology knows no nationality
The fact that young people are exposed to extremist ideas to a significant extent online is also demonstrated by a study conducted among Estonian- and Russian-speaking young people by Oksana Belova-Dalton, a researcher in international relations at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies. Online, young people encounter, among other things, misogynistic attitudes, racism, and hostility towards LGBTIQ+ people.
According to Belova-Dalton, the study also found that prejudiced or extremist views are sometimes voiced by teachers themselves at school. Young people also notice when, for example, a classmate begins spreading misogynistic rhetoric picked up from an online community in class discussions or in the classroom. ‘Classmates want to help and intervene, but they do not always know how to do so,’ Belova-Dalton notes.
Ringo Ringvee, a researcher at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, adds that extremism in Estonia is not so much a matter of relations between ethnic groups – ideologies are largely transnational. The internet, however, makes it very easy to access them. ‘An interest in one topic leads to the next piece of material, and algorithms start offering more and more content that reinforces the same world view,’ says Ringvee, stressing the need to be able to critically assess sources – in other words, to judge which information is reliable and which is not.
Consuming extremist content or holding radical views does not, however, automatically mean that a person poses a threat. According to experts, an important line is crossed when violence enters the picture. ‘It may not even involve committing violence directly, but rather justifying violence,’ Ringvee explains, pointing to the dangerous tendency. Holding an extremist view does not in itself mean that a person will resort to violence – most do not – but a world view in which violence is justified in certain circumstances makes the situation considerably more serious.