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Research priorities

A Network of Australian researchers (AVERT) is asking us what would be our priority questions for research on violent extremism and terrorism.


AMAN welcomes steps by the research sector and governments to engage with us on research priorities. Research can shape policy and public debate, so it is vital that important questions are being asked.

Below are our draft research questions, which we are circulating for feedback. Feedback any time is appreciated, but by end of tomorrow would be extremely useful.

Reply to advocacy@aman.net.au

Thank you.


Stigmatisation of an entire community and their religion
  1. Effect of law: Is the inclusion of 'religious cause' in Australia’s definition of a terrorist act necessary and effective? (to maintain safety, justice, national security and liberal democratic values). Many have argued for the removal of the motive element entirely from the terrorism definition (AGD, CDPP, Victorian Expert Panel). Should religious cause be removed from the law or should the whole motive requirement be removed?
  2. Enshrining discriminatory approaches: [This is connected to the question above]. Do national security agencies and law enforcement require legal protection to directly discriminate against communities based on religion (as per s37(2) of previous religious discrimination bills)? What would be the practical implications for communities? Is it consistent with the Government's move towards 'ideology neutral' approaches?
  3. Labels: Why are groups' self-proclaimed labels used for 'religious' groups but not for 'patriotic' or 'right wing' ones? For example, why does Government refer to ISIL as religiously motivated when they are not accepted as Islamic by the Muslim community or Islamic scholars? How can a consistent approach be determined across the ideological spectrum?
  4. Promotion: How did media and government’s widescale promotion of ISIS differ from their approach today? What changed and why? How aware are the media and government about avoiding glorifying and promoting violent propaganda and causes?
  5. Dehumanisation of Muslims online: What legal and policy changes would more effectively reduce dehumanising speech and discourse about targeted outgroups? (particularly concerning the Australian Government’s commitment to regulate misinformation/disinformation legally). Should the e-Safety Commission or ACMA have a bigger role? Currently it is being left to ACMA but ACMA is only concerned with news and broadcasting. What about actors that operate outside mainstream news? 
Policing and 'justice system' approaches
  1. Policing tactics: How do policing tactic choices affect or accelerate the transition to violence (Abdi, e.g.)? What has been the extent of police historically using undercover operatives to secure terrorism conspiracy convictions of minors? Is that trend changing? If so, why? What can their families report about their experiences with the police? (e.g., if the family reported the child to the police, how was the support?)
  2. Mental illness: How are Muslim people with mental illness treated differently than non-Muslim people with mental illness when it comes to police engagement?  How many minors and youth are in prison hospitals for mental conditions, and what are the patterns in diagnosis? Do these individuals have access to independent mental health assessments paid for by their families? 
  3. Minors: About minors prosecuted for terrorism conspiracy offences, how many of them are there in jail? How long have they been in there?
  4. Deradicalisation: Were they offered deradicalization program opportunities at an early stage? Is this changing or not?
  5. Rehabilitation: What rehabilitation and education opportunities do they have?
  6. Resilience of democracy and society: How can policy be expanded to support resilience at a whole of society level (shifting to prevention and moving away from individual responses)? We would like to more attention paid to addressing the systemic problems referred to above (effect of the law, labels, promotion via government and media).

Broader considerations
  1. Australian children trapped in NE Syrian camps: What is the situation of Australian women and children trapped in North Syria?
  2. Use of terrorist label in armed conflict situations: What are the benefits and dangers of terror listing parties in armed conflict situations (legally governed by IHL, not terrorism) to Australia's national security and internal social cohesion?
  3. Terrorism listing process: Why were right-wing/white nationalist terrorist organisations only recently listed and continue to be slowly listed? What would improve the process to make it less political and more evidence-based?
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