European Men, Masculinity, and Extremist Leadership Online

The EMMELO Project: European Men, Masculinity, and Extremist Leadership Online examines the role of masculinity in extremist movements online across Europe and the threats it poses to democracy, fundamental rights and EU values. As is well established, the internet has become a focal point for modern extremist activities. What is less understood in a European context is the role masculinity plays in these online communities and platforms. More insight is also required into how extremist leaders use and perform masculinity to appeal to European men, and how, in turn, these men respond to these gender narratives and how this shapes their perception of democracy and the EU. To address this need for deeper, more critical understandings of these gendered phenomena, EMMELO focuses on six countries: Ireland, Sweden, France, Hungary, Germany and Slovakia, exploring how different forms of masculinity are used by extremist movements and their leadership to appeal to men and undermine traditional democratic participation and discourse in cross European contexts. The project explores how extremist movements construct, perform and circulate narratives of masculinity online, how these narratives shape the perspectives and gendered experiences of European men currently or formerly active in extremist online communities, and the wider implications of these trends for democratic processes and social cohesion, online and offline. From its activities, EMMELO will develop innovative, gender-sensitive tools and policy recommendations to enable policymakers, practitioners and citizens better understand and address the role of masculinity in modern European extremist movements. The project's findings will be targeted at key audiences in formats designed to raise awareness at the levels of policy, practice and citizen of the key role masculinity plays in extremism, including how to identify it, discuss it, and challenge it.