Julia Ebner (born 1991) is an Austrian researcher and author based in London. She has written the books ''The Rage: the Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism'', ''Going Dark: the Secret Social Lives of Extremists'' and ''Going Mainstream: how extremists are taking over.''

Career

Ebner holds a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where she is currently a

postdoctoral research fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, h ...

at the Calleva Centre for Evolution and Human Science at

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

. She has a BA in philosophy and a BSc in international business. She holds an MSc in international history from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

and an MSc in international relations from

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

. Ebner is based in London and Oxford. Between 2015 and 2017, she worked as a senior researcher at the counter-extremism organisation Quilliam. In 2017 she joined the counter-extremism organisation

Institute for Strategic Dialogue The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a political advocacy organization founded in 2006 by Sasha Havlicek and George Weidenfeld, Baron Weidenfeld, George Weidenfeld and headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Activities ISD's core ...

as a research fellow, where she specialises in

far-right extremism Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...

, reciprocal radicalisation and European terrorism prevention initiatives. She has written for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

.'' ''Going Dark: the Secret Social Lives of Extremists'' documents Ebner's experiences over two years spent

undercover A cover in foreign, military or police human intelligence or counterintelligence is the ostensible identity and role or position in an infiltrated organization assumed by a covert agent during a covert operation. Official cover In espionage, a ...

, infiltrating far-right networks such as Generation Identity and Reconquista Germanica, both on-line and in person. Her latest book ''Going Mainstream: how extremists are taking over'' was published in 2023. It is based on investigative reporting and interviews and asks why extremist ideas and concepts increasingly enter mainstream politics and societal discourse. In 2024, Ebner was named Austrian of the Year by the Austrian Foreign Ministry.

Publications

Publications by Ebner

*''The Rage: the Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism.'' London: I.B. Tauris, 2017. . *''Radikalisierungsmaschinen: Wie Extremisten die neuen Technologien nutzen und uns manipulieren'' (radicalization machines: how extremists use new technology and manipulate us). Berlin: Suhrkamp Nova, 2019. . *''Going Dark: the Secret Social Lives of Extremists.'' London:

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

, 2020. . *''Going Mainstream: how extremists are taking over.'' London:

Bonnier Group Bonnier AB (), also the Bonnier Group, is a Privately held company, privately held Swedish media conglomerate, media group of 175 companies operating in 15 countries. It is controlled by the Bonnier family. Background The company was founded in ...

, 2023. .

Publications with contributions by Ebner

*''Education and Extremisms: Rethinking Liberal Pedagogies in the Contemporary World.'' Edited by Farid Panjwani, Lynn Revell, Reza Gholami, and Mike Diboll. Routledge, 2017. . Routledge, 2019. . Ebner contributes a chapter.

References

External links

*
Talk and Q&A on the ''Going Dark'' book
Talks at Google {{DEFAULTSORT:Ebner, Julia 1991 births Living people 21st-century Austrian writers 21st-century Austrian women writers