Democracies and the European project are under threat and citizens are losing faith in democratic institutions. Existential insecurities arising out of economic and refugee-related crises, exacerbated by the recent Covid-19 pandemic are creating re-bordering (e.g. xenophobic-nationalism) and re-shoring e.g. (the localisation of production). The OppAttune project brings together 17 partners from across the European Union and its peripheries working between NGOs, think tanks and universities. It is designed in three phases to track, attune and then limit extreme narratives.
Within OppAttune in order to make sense of re-bordering, re-shoring and political insecurities, we propose ordinary citizens become susceptible to xenophobic nationalism, conspiracy theories and loss of faith in democratic institutions through the subtle process of Everyday Extremism. Everyday Extremism, approaches extremism as not related to marginalised individuals or specific community groups but instead a process which affects us all.
Oppositional worldviews, narratives and dissensus within public debate are all vital to a functioning democracy. However destructive polarisation of oppositional us/them logic is at the core of the rise of extremist narratives. Disruptive actors polarise oppositional logic using disinformation, emotions, hot cognitions, conspiracy theories and mistrust to create new forms of direct action. This direct action is understood to many as direct democracy. This direct action cultivates unlikely coalitions to form Everyday Extremism.
Everyday Extremism can be understood as relating to two related processes the normalisation and mainstreaming of extremism, events, actions and attitudes. In parallel, the process of everyday actions such as attending political events, posting on social media or engaging in group chats escalating into the communication of hostility to other people, groups or parties. OppAttune has three objectives - tracking, through media, grounded anthropological studies and psychological studies using dialogical techniques and scaling the evolution of extreme narratives. Attuning through the development of an innovative Attunement Model and finally it will use this Attunement Model in eight country contexts to limit polarization and the rise of extreme narratives. OppAttune has identified four impact pathways - public dialogue, politicians and policymakers, young people and media and localities. OppAttune aims to revitalise trust in key democratic institutions. It will provide micro, meso and macro level evidence-based recommendations and strategies designed to counter the potential of extreme narratives.
