Hybrid Trajectories of Transnational Islamism

Project Information

HYBRIS

Grant agreement ID: 101107902

DOI

10.3030/101107902

EC signature date 16 May 2023

Start date 11 December 2023

End date 10 June 2027

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 318 036,63

Coordinated by

ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HYBRIS (Hybrid Trajectories of Transnational Islamism)

Reporting period: 2023-12-11 to 2026-06-10

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

HYBRIS investigates how Islamic activism is transformed through transnational mobility and how Islamist actors reconfigure their political engagement across different geographical and institutional contexts. The project focuses on islamist activists connected North African movements, examining how migration, exile and digital communication reshape political identities, organisational practices and transnational networks.

Research Objectives:

HYBRIS is structured around five key objectives, each designed to deepen our understanding of transformation and hybridization within Islamist movements:

1. Mapping the Trajectories of Islamist Movements: Exploring how transnational networks between Islamist activists facilitate the spread of shared ideologies and practices across borders.

2. Investigating Forms of Hybridization: Analyzing how Islamist movements incorporate ideas from other movements—such as feminist, human rights, and environmental causes—to appeal to broader audiences.

3 The Role of Digital Spaces in Islamic Activism: Examining how digital media empowers Islamist activists, particularly in repressive environments, enabling them to communicate and mobilize beyond state control.

4. Understanding the Dynamics of Relocation: Investigating how Islamist movements adapt to new environments by merging their objectives with local political issues, such as anti-corruption efforts.

5. The Impact of Hybridization on Political Positioning: Assessing how the hybridization of ideologies is transforming Islamist movements' political strategies and influence in Tunisia, Algeria, and beyond.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the reporting period, the project successfully completed its main research activities through extensive multi-sited fieldwork carried out in the United States, Canada and France. The research combined qualitative interviews, participant observation and digital ethnography, generating an original comparative dataset on transnational Islamic activism and its evolution across different political environments. The research design was adapted throughout the project in response to changing field conditions, ensuring both scientific rigour and full compliance with ethical and safety requirements.
The project achieved its principal scientific objectives by mapping transnational activist networks and analysing how political engagement evolves after relocation. The findings show that contemporary Islamist activism is characterised by continuous adaptation rather than organisational continuity, with activists developing new forms of engagement that combine Islamic references with broader civic and political agendas, including democratic participation, human rights, humanitarian action and migrant rights advocacy. These results contribute to a more nuanced understanding of political Islam in transnational settings.
HYBRIS also provides new evidence on the growing importance of digital technologies in sustaining transnational political mobilisation. The research demonstrates how online platforms facilitate communication, coordination and network maintenance while simultaneously creating new challenges related to surveillance, visibility and security. The project highlights how these dynamics influence everyday political practices and organisational strategies across borders.
The project further contributes to understanding the relationship between migration and political mobilisation by showing that relocation is not merely a process of geographical displacement but a mechanism through which activists redefine identities, organisational structures and forms of participation. These findings broaden existing knowledge of transnational political activism and provide new perspectives on the interaction between migration, political engagement and changing opportunity structures.
Overall, HYBRIS has successfully achieved the scientific objectives planned for the reporting period and produced an original empirical and analytical basis for the project's final comparative analysis. The results contribute to advancing research on transnational politics, migration and political Islam while laying the foundations for future scientific publications and comparative research on transnational political actors.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

HYBRIS advances the state of the art by providing a new understanding of transnational Islamic activism that moves beyond conventional state-centred and ideology-centred approaches. Existing research has primarily examined Islamist movements within national political contexts or through binary frameworks such as moderation versus radicalisation. By contrast, HYBRIS conceptualises Islamist activism as a dynamic transnational process shaped by mobility, exile, digital communication and interactions across multiple political and institutional environments.
The project demonstrates that relocation does not simply displace political actors geographically but actively transforms political identities, organisational practices and forms of engagement. It also shows that contemporary Islamist activism increasingly combines Islamic references with democratic participation, human rights, humanitarian action and other civic repertoires, highlighting processes of political hybridisation that have received limited attention in previous scholarship.
Methodologically, HYBRIS develops an innovative research framework integrating multi-sited ethnography, qualitative interviews, participant observation, digital ethnography and comparative analysis. The project also demonstrates how research on politically sensitive topics can be successfully conducted through adaptive methodological strategies that ensure both scientific rigour and ethical compliance under conditions of surveillance and restricted access.
The project has generated an original comparative dataset on transnational Islamist activism across North America and Europe, providing a valuable empirical resource for future research on migration, political mobilisation, diasporas and transnational social movements. Its analytical framework and conceptual insights are expected to support further comparative studies on political activism beyond the specific case of Islamist movements.
The scientific results produced by HYBRIS are currently being disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and international academic collaborations. The final comparative analysis, to be completed during the return phase, will further consolidate the project's theoretical contributions and maximise the uptake of its findings within the international research community.