Definitions

Dedicated post holder

A professional working at a network partner who is trained on a specific topic (such as radicalisation and extremism).

Activism

Attempts by individuals or groups to influence political decision-making in extra-parliamentary ways, but within the framework of the democratic legal order. [1]

It is important to distinguish between activism and extremism. Activism takes place within the framework of the democratic legal order, while extremism means going against the principles of that democratic legal order. It should be noted that activism is part of a democratic legal order.

Protective and risk factors

Protective factors boost resilience to extremist attitudes and behaviour and focus on reinforcing positive factors. Risk factors are individual or social characteristics that predict an increased likelihood of, for example, radicalisation which leads to violent behaviour or extremism. This not only means factors that affect an individual, but actually an individual's environment. These factors include identity development, the influence of family and friends, or experiencing injustice and discrimination. [8]

Doxing

The (digital) offering or dissemination of personal identifiable information, with the intention of instilling (or causing) fear, causing serious nuisance or seriously hampering an employee in their office or profession. [7]

Interpret

The testing of a specific indicator to determine whether it should raise any concerns. This can either take place within the person’s own organisation (e.g. in a meeting), or be delegated to another organisation (e.g. by reporting it to the police) or in a specific multidisciplinary meeting.

Extremism

A willingness, for ideological reasons, to engage in non-violent and/or violent activities that undermine the democratic legal order. [1]

Jihadism

A movement within political Islam that is based on a specific version of Salafist ideology and the ideologies of figures such as Sayyid Qutb. Jihadism seeks to establish the global rule of Islam by means of armed warfare (jihad), including the resurrection or maintenance of the Islamic state (caliphate). The supporters of this movement are called jihadists. [1]

Local

Parties or organisations operating at municipal level.

Subversion

The use of society to carry out illegal activities which cause norms to become unclear and people’s sense of security and liveability to decline. Undermining is a problem that weakens and ultimately disrupts society. [4][5]

PGA

The collective term for the phase of all interventions by chain partners to prevent a specific person from becoming (additionally) radicalised or to enable them to become reintegrated. It focuses on individuals who may pose a (violent) threat.

Radicalisation

A process of increasing willingness to accept the ultimate consequence of a way of thinking and put it into action. This increasing willingness can lead to behaviour that is deeply hurtful to other people or affects their freedom, cause individuals or groups to turn their backs on society and lead to the use of violence. [1]

Far-right extremism

A willingness, for ideological reasons, to engage in non-violent and/or violent activities that undermine the democratic legal order, centred on one or more of the following ideas: racism and white supremacy thinking, anti-Semitism, xenophobia (including hatred of Muslims), hatred of foreign (cultural) elements and ultra-nationalism. [1][2]

Identification process

The way an organisation (unit) detects or receives any (concerning) indicators.

Sovereigntists

People who declare themselves sovereigntists are against the government and other institutions. Although they mostly keep an open attitude towards other people, they do spread factually incorrect stories about what they believe to be the evil intentions of such institutions. They also want to determine for themselves whether laws and regulations actually apply to them. [3]

Terrorism

Terrorism is defined as ‘(preparations for) the perpetration of ideologically-inspired acts of violence against people or of acts intended to cause damage and calculated to create a climate of serious fear among (part of) the general population, bring about social change and/or influence political decision-making’. [1]

Trigger factors

Specific events that, often in combination, are the straw that breaks the camel’s back and can therefore initiate, accelerate (or slow down), but also reverse the process of radicalisation. Of course, not every event is directly a trigger for radicalisation. Some events may affect a lot of young people who then do not go on become radicalised. Whether they do so depends partly on the impact of the event. For example, how recently it took place and whether it was accompanied by multiple similar events. [9]

Resilience

Resilience is about reinforcing and encouraging opportunities and positive developments. It enables people to face and cope with difficult circumstances so that they can learn from them, develop self-confidence and find their way in society. Resilience is about reinforcing and encouraging opportunities and positive developments. [8]

Reinforcement funds

An amount made available by the Minister of Justice and Security, also on behalf of the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, for municipalities to provide financial support for local approaches to radicalisation, extremism and terrorism. [6]

Breeding ground

A set of (mutually influencing) personal and contextual factors that determine whether or not a person is susceptible to radical or extremist messages and influence. These include personality traits and social factors such as someone’s family circumstances, circle of friends and their social status within a group. However, any feelings or experience of social disadvantage towards others, such as discrimination, can also help create a breeding ground for radicalisation. [8]

Resistance

The ability to oppose or protect against threats by reducing the likelihood of those threats occurring, by limiting the damage in the event that threats do materialise and by facilitating adequate recovery. [8]

When we talk about ‘publicly available online sources’, we mean sources that have been published or shared and are not restricted in any way. Such sources include websites, public social media accounts and public chat forums. Restricted online sources are protected in some way, so that the page or file in question is not accessible to everyone. Examples include private social media accounts and private groups.

See also Legal framework for online investigation using publicly available sources by municipalities in connection with public order (in Dutch)

Broadly speaking, an algorithm is a set of rules and instructions that a computer follows in order to answer a question. When we speak about algorithms in the context of social media, we normally mean the practice of presenting content to a user that they are likely to find interesting. This is also known as a recommendation algorithm.

See also How do algorithms influence what you see online? (in Dutch)

The term ‘artificial intelligence’ refers to systems that display intelligent behaviour by analysing their environment and taking action to achieve specific goals. In the context of social media, discussions in this area often centred on generative AI. This is a type of AI that can create new content from existing data in response to instructions or questions supplied by a user.

See also Increased threats in a world full of artificial intelligence | Publication | National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (in Dutch)

Disinformation and misinformation

Disinformation is the deliberate dissemination of misleading information, often with malicious intent. Disinformation is spread to influence opinion, earn money or cause harm to society, democracy or public health. This can have a negative impact on national security. Disinformation need not be 100% inaccurate. Indeed, it is regularly a combination of facts and invented information, or an taken out of context. Whatever the nature of its content, the underlying aim of disinformation is always to mislead people or cause damage. If deception and/or harm is not the underlying aim, we speak instead of ‘misinformation’.

Misinformation is false or misleading information that is not well understood and which is spread without any malicious intent. The person disseminating the information does not know that the information is inaccurate, but the effects can still be harmful, for example if the message is shared with friends and family.

See also Disinformation | National Coordinator Counterterrorism and Security (in Dutch).

Filter bubbles and the online trap

Because social media platforms use recommendation algorithms, the user is presented with content that they are likely to find interesting. Filtering out other opinions and subjects can give rise to an environment filled with one-sided content. This situation is known as a ‘filter bubble’ or ‘trap’.
 

Examples of terrorist content include material that glorifies acts of terrorism, calls for the commission of terrorist offences, incites an individual or group to commit or contribute to a terrorist offence or provides instructions for making or using explosives, weapons or hazardous substances for the purpose of committing terrorist offences. Online terrorist content can be removed under the EU Regulation on Addressing the Dissemination of Terrorist Content Online and the Terrorist Online Content Implementation Act.

In addition, there is a category of online content that is not, strictly speaking, terrorist in nature, but which could undermine the safety and security of individuals and institutions, for instance because it promotes hatred, incites the commission of criminal offences or acts of violence, or normalises extremist ideology. This material is referred to as ‘borderline’ content or ‘legal yet harmful’ content.