From flowers to far-right extremists: a genealogy of ecology in terrorism and extremism studies

The idea that violent extremists inhabit an “ecosystem” of interrelated online spaces has been popularised by both scholars and practitioners in recent years. Drawing from the natural sciences, terrorism and extremism studies has sought to capitalise on the conceptual potential of ecology to understand otherwise perplexing natural and artificial environments. Yet, despite its popularisation, there remain fundamental gaps in understanding the benefits and limits of using ecology to analyse extremist communities dwelling in cyberspace. To be applied in a rigorous manner, it is essential that the intellectual tradition and tenets that underpin ecology in the natural and social sciences be explained. Since its conception in biology, this article presents a historical and conceptual exploration of ecology to explain the lessons, opportunities, and limits it presents scholars and practitioners in terrorism and extremism studies today. This article provides the first systematic, genealogical overview of how ecology has evolved from the study of plant communities to become relevant in far-right extremism studies. This article provides foundational knowledge and lessons for moving disciplinary research and policy work forward, and offers guidance on how future studies can use ecology in a more rigorous and consistent manner.