This Policy Outlook calls for an impartial, adequate, and integrated response to this rising terrorist threat.
The rise of the far-right and white supremacy pre-dates the War on Terror. The lack of focus on this threat stems from an inherent legal-architectural design flaw, which has been in place since 9/11. Consequently, the global response to political violence perpetrated by non-Muslims is not handled through the legal framework of the “War of Terror.” The reason has been clear for nearly two decades: Terrorism was not seen as a white problem. The rationale for such a position lays in the adoption and dissemination of orientalist ideology by power structures in Western countries. This ideology cascaded down to the masses worldwide via the mobilisation of media bias, which demonised certain ethnic groups and played upon fears of the ‘other’. The attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, demonstrate that white supremacy terrorism is here to stay.
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