Domestic Extremism in Europe - Athena Institute

vide a more detailed and in-depth analysis of given phenomenon,
it is self-evident that all the data that is going
to be shortly summarized in this chapter can be found
online, amplified with very useful and easily useable
comparative data visualizations that help the inquirer to
get a fuller picture without having to go through all
groups in the database.
The Athena Institute, with the help of experts of diverse
background, identified 115 active extremist groups that
operate in the 13 countries that were examined. It has to
be stressed that the Institute only sought for groups that
score 4 or higher on the FBI Seven-Stage Hate Model
1 (Symbolic violence [4], physical violence [5], use of
weapons [6], murder [7]), i.e. groups that carry out sym-
bolic violence (hate speech, hostile propaganda against
certain groups of people). However, this also means that
these groups are the most active and most violent organi-
zations that are capable of distorting the mainstream political
processes and of posing major challenges that are
needed to be faced by key players (politicians, experts,
authorities).
1 This study originally appeared in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, the
monthly publication of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of
Justice. The Athena Institute would like to thank the FBI as well as the authors
for their permission to translate and republish the study.
Domestic Extremism in Europe - Threat Landscape 17