Modern far-right terrorism is a transnational phenomena. Through the continuous monitoring of international trends, it becomes possible to identify potential developments early on in the realm of far-right terrorism in Germany. The “Digital Seismograph: Monitoring Terrorism” (DSMT) project was developed for precisely this purpose and serves as an early warning system for far-right terrorist activity in Germany.
Systematic monitoring of online far-right terrorist subcultures enables DSMT to accurately assess new developments and threat scenarios. To this end, the project tracks and analyzes the scene’s digital activities on major social media platforms as well as on new, alternative platforms. Supported by our own qualitative and quantitative research, DSMT develops evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and security authorities as well as for platform operators.
More in-depth OSINT analyses into the online activity of (potential) far-right terrorist perpetrators provide insight into their ideological positioning and can thus reveal the political motivations of their (prevented) attacks. Additionally, the analyses can reveal traces of individual radicalization pathways. These have thus far formed a major gap in the research but are a central component of effective prevention work.
Database on Far-Right Terrorism in Germany
The database “Far-Right Terrorism Since the NSU [National Socialist Underground]” was also created as part of the project and is continuously updated. The database at terror-seit-nsu.de is a compilation of far-right terrorist activities since the NSU revealed itself in 2011. The data allow for initial conclusions regarding the state’s response to and current development of far-right terrorism in Germany since 2011. In addition to attacks successfully carried out in Germany, the database also includes planned attacks that were prevented before their execution and may indicate plans for far-right terrorist attacks.
For more information, contact dsmt@cemas.io.
