Terror without ideology? The rise of nihilistic violence

Recent, seemingly disconnected, acts of violence – including school shootings in the US, stabbing sprees in Sweden and the Southport attack in the UK – have been linked to online communities centred around nihilistic worldviews (the rejection of all religious, moral and social values, often accompanied by a belief that life is meaningless). Such attacks challenge ideology-based definitions of terrorism and pose questions for policymakers over whether “nihilistic violence” can be addressed by systems developed to confront ideologically-based threats.  

This ISD Investigation outlines how these attacks have been catalysed by the growth of online communities that lionise mass attackers and promote a nihilistic worldview. ISD explores the relationship between nihilistic violence and extremist ideology, and assesses the utility of labelling attacks inspired by subcultures of nihilistic violence as acts of terrorism. We also examine whether these increasingly overlapping threats demand parallel systems for violence prevention or the expansion of existing counterterrorism approaches. 

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