Adolescent Radicalisation: It’s Not Just on Netflix

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The number of minors involved in violent extremist activities seems to be growing particularly fast. Even before the release of the new Netflix sensation Adolescence, security services had already been raising the alarm about youth radicalisation. Numbers speak for themselves. In France, 18 minors were prosecuted for terrorism offences in 2024, representing 20 percent of the terrorist cases. This number rose from 15 cases in 2023 and only two in 2022. In Belgium, 18 percent of the extremist threats analysed by the Coordination Unit for the Threat Analysis (CUTA) in 2024 emanated from minors, more than in previous years. The Belgian intelligence service VSSE claims that one third of its terrorist investigations in 2022-2024 concerned minors. In the UK, 82 minors were arrested for terrorism related offences in 2023-2024, according to the Metropolitan Police, compared to only 12 in 2019. In the same period, 6 out of ten referrals to the Prevent programme were minors, a number on the rise as well. In Australia, the intelligence service ASIO reported that around 20 percent of its priority counter-terrorism cases involve young people, whereas the police investigated 35 minors in terrorism investigations since 2020.  

The trend seems quite distinctive. Yet, a more granular analysis is still needed to better evaluate and understand the phenomenon at the European level. For instance, is every country confronted with the same trend, or are their regional differences? Is youth radicalising across all ideologies, or does that also vary across countries? Are boys and girls equally concerned by this phenomenon? Which online platforms are more conducive to violent radicalisation? These are just a few questions that would deserve more attention from researchers, with a view to facilitate informed policy responses.   

Youth radicalisation is not something new. Terrorism and extremism have long been associated with young people, but the main difference seems to be that the “radicalised youth” is getting much younger, with individuals charged for terrorism offences aged 15 or less. Furthermore, the phenomenon is seemingly reaching unprecedented levels (reaching up to 20-30 percent of the counter-terrorism investigations in some countries).   

There seem to be essentially two key aspects to consider when studying this phenomenon: characteristics specific to the youth, and issues related to the online space (where most of their radicalisation occurs).  

First, minors appear particularly vulnerable to radicalisation into violent extremism for several reasons that are specific to their development maturity. Minors can feel rebellious, frustrated, or angry – all regular emotions through adolescence, which are also risk factors for violent extremism. Minors can also be self-centred and lack empathy, which can facilitate binary worldviews and dehumanising extremist narratives. Moreover, minors can lack critical judgement in their decisions and behaviour, again yet another risk factor. Finally, youth can be impulsive and lack self-control, which can facilitate violent action.   

Second, there are aspects linked to youth online behaviour that could also shape the current trend. The overall online ecosystem, and the way youth interact with it, is crucial to understanding youth extremism as radicalisation is always an interactive process between a demand and an offer, between push and pull factors. Young people, particularly “digital natives”, spend a lot of time online, to the extent that important aspects of their lives and social interactions are rooted online. This includes belonging to a variety of digital communities, through different communication channels. In their online interactions, they can become exposed to certain elements of language or narratives (such as toxic masculinity or racist remarks, including in the guise of humour), which can progressively contribute to the normalisation of certain forms of extremism, or lead towards recruitment into more extreme communities. The radicalisation drift, whether triggered by social interactions, organic searches, or algorithmic suggestions is never too far away. There is no shortage of toxic ideologies and communities online, to which youth could adhere.  

Youth radicalisation is a key new concern for counter-terrorism practitioners, and it has been identified as a research priority by the EU Knowledge Hub on the prevention of radicalisation. More research is certainly needed, to collect more data on the phenomenon, or to better understand youth risk factors and how they interact with the online conducive environment. The Knowledge Hub’s Research Committee can support this work, by identifying specific research gaps and leading in-depth studies of this topic – as well as on others. One of the key tasks of the Research Committee is to support the European Commission and its member states in formulating research priorities in the field of (preventing) violent extremism.  

Author: Dr. Thomas Renard, Director of the International Centre of Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), and Chair of the EU Knowledge Hub on the Prevention of Radicalisation Research Committee.