Abstract

The involvement of non-Whites in White supremacist movements seems strange and contradictory at the outset. White supremacism, as a racial supremacist ideology, purports the superiority and dominance of Whites over other racial groups. White supremacist ideas are shared by some of the most violent extreme right-wing groups based in the West, such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), Proud Boys and the neo-Nazis. White supremacism is also compatible and aligned with extreme right-wing beliefs that promote male dominance, homophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Asian sentiments, and other types of social prejudices that normalise or justify violence against communities which the ideology portrays as inferior and undesirable.

To be sure, only a tiny fraction of non-Whites have been drawn to the White supremacist ideology. In the West, there have been a few attacks where non-Whites were allegedly involved in support of White supremacist ideologies. Two cases in recent years involving non-Whites purporting White supremacist beliefs have surfaced in Singapore, which came as a surprise to many. Yet, given its peculiar nature, the small number of non-Whites involved in White supremacism is sufficient to warrant academic and policy attention to this topic.

This presentation by Dr Lydia Khalil, an Australia-based expert on extremism and terrorism, including the extreme right-wing, will explore the nature and prevalence of this threat. Her presentation will look at cases of White supremacism in the Western context to explain why non-Whites are drawn to the ideology. The presentation will also cover how White supremacist groups perceive non-White support for the ideology and if such groups seek to target non-Whites for recruitment. Her presentation will be followed by a brief by Saddiq Basha, a research analyst at ICPVTR, who will share some findings from ICPVTR’s research on online extreme right-wing sentiments in Southeast Asia. As there is a dearth of academic literature on the extreme right-wing in Southeast Asia, Saddiq’s brief aims to provide Southeast Asian perspectives and insights on this underexplored topic. The brief will provide webinar participants some food for thought and generate ideas on how extreme right-wing ideologies, such as White supremacism, might land in Southeast Asia.

About the Speakers

Lydia Khalil is a Project Director at the Lowy Institute and Senior Research Fellow at Deakin University where she convenes the AVERT (Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation to Terrorism) Research Network.  Lydia has spent her career focusing on the intersection between governance, technology and security. She is a practitioner-academic and has a broad range of policy, research and private sector experience. She has a professional background in international relations, national security and strategic intelligence analysis, with a particular focus on democratic safeguarding, the political and social impacts of digital technology, terrorism and other forms of political violence. She is a recognised expert in counterterrorism and countering violent extremism, having worked for the White House Office of Homeland Security, US Department of Defense, the New York Police Department, Boston Police Department and the Council on Foreign Relations. She serves on a number of national and international advisory bodies.  Lydia is a frequent media commentator and has been widely published. In addition to her research publications and grants, she is the author of the recent book Rise of the Extreme Right: The New Global Extremism and the Threat to Democracy (Penguin, 2022).

Saddiq Basha is a Research Analyst at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, based at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). He earned his Bachelor of Social Sciences in Political Science (Honours) from the National University of Singapore. His current research focuses on the analysis of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), the study of ethno-nationalist extremism, including its digital narratives and activities, and the intersection of gaming and violent extremism.