In the intelligence communities of London, Washington, and Berlin, a disturbing realization has taken hold. While the world spent two decades focused on the threat of Salafi-jihadist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, a new form of militancy has emerged from within Western borders.
Experts are now warning of a "Great Convergence"—a phenomenon where far-right extremist groups are adopting the exact same recruitment, radicalization, and operational tactics used by ISIS. This isn't just about politics; it is the rise of a decentralized, digitally-native insurgency that mirrors the very terror it claims to oppose.
1. The Ideological Intersection: Accelerationism
At the heart of modern far-right extremism lies a philosophy known as Accelerationism. Much like the "End Times" theology of ISIS, Accelerationists believe that modern Western society is irredeemable and must be violently collapsed to make way for a new order.
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ISIS Goal: To provoke a "clash of civilizations" to usher in a global Caliphate.
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Far-Right Goal: To provoke a "race war" to usher in an ethno-state.
Both groups view the current "system" (the state, the media, and international institutions) as an enemy that must be destroyed through acts of spectacular violence that force civilians to pick a side.
2. The "Saints" vs. "Martyrs": The Cult of the Individual
One of the most chilling similarities is the move toward leaderless resistance.
ISIS mastered the "remote-controlled" attack—inspiring individuals online to act in their own towns without ever visiting a training camp. Far-right networks on platforms like Telegram and 4chan have replicated this model perfectly.
The Gamification of Violence
Far-right extremists have created a "pantheon of saints"—individuals like the Christchurch or El Paso shooters—who are venerated in the same way ISIS venerates its suicide bombers.
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The Manifesto as Scripture: Digital manifestos serve as "how-to" guides for future attackers, often including specific instructions on weapons, targets, and live-streaming tactics.
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Scoreboards: Online forums track the "kill counts" of attackers, turning mass violence into a competitive digital game.
3. Tactical Mimicry: From "Dabiq" to "The Base"
The organizational structure of groups like The Base or Atomwaffen Division (and its various rebrands) is a direct carbon copy of Al-Qaeda's cell-based structure.
| Operational Feature | ISIS / Al-Qaeda | Far-Right Extremists |
| Recruitment | High-production propaganda videos on social media. | Memetic warfare and "edgy" aesthetic content on TikTok/Telegram. |
| Training | Remote training via encrypted PDFs and YouTube. | "Bushcraft" and tactical training shared via encrypted apps. |
| Financing | Cryptocurrency and decentralized donations. | Crypto-donations and "merch" stores for underground brands. |
4. The Globalized Network: A Transnational Threat
For years, the far-right was seen as a localized "domestic" issue. However, intelligence reports from the Soufan Center and Europol confirm that these groups are now deeply transnational.
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Foreign Fighters: Just as Europeans traveled to Syria to join ISIS, some far-right extremists have traveled to conflict zones in Eastern Europe to gain combat experience.
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Digital Safe Havens: A "White Power" activist in Australia can now collaborate in real-time with a neo-Nazi in Sweden to coordinate a propaganda drop or a cyber-attack.
5. Why the State is Struggling to Respond
Western law enforcement faces a unique "mirror image" problem. Because these extremists often come from the same cultural and ethnic background as the majority population, they are harder to profile and track than foreign-born threats.
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Freedom of Speech vs. Incitement: Many of these groups operate in a legal "gray zone," using coded language and memes to incite violence without triggering automated moderation.
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Institutional Infiltration: There are growing concerns regarding the radicalization of individuals within the military and police forces—a tactic known as "entryism" designed to gain access to weapons and training.
The Final Verdict: Two Sides of the Same Coin
The threat of the 2020s is not defined by one specific religion or race, but by the globalization of extremism. Whether the motivation is a distorted version of faith or a distorted version of heritage, the result is the same: the dehumanization of the "other" and the glorification of mass death.
To defeat this "White Jihad," the West must treat far-right terror with the same systemic urgency, international cooperation, and intelligence-gathering rigor it once applied to the groups it fought in the Middle East.
Do you believe that social media companies should be legally held responsible for "gamified" terror content on their platforms?
🔗 Sources & Investigative Reports:
▪️ The Soufan Center: The Transnational Design of Far-Right White Supremacy
▪️ Europol: TE-SAT - European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2025
▪️ Journal of Strategic Security: Accelerationism and the Cult of the Individual
▪️ ADL: The Global Impact of Accelerationist Ideology
▪️ Global Network on Extremism & Technology (GNET): Tactical Mimicry Between ISIS and the Far-Right
