Dr Julia Ebner has authored several bestselling and award-winning books. Her first book The Rage: The Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017) won the Bruno Kreisky Award for the 2018 Political Book of the Year. Her second book Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists (Bloomsbury, 2020) was an international bestseller and has been translated into seven languages. It won the award ‘Wissenschaftsbuch des Jahres 2020’ (Science Book of the Year 2020), as well as the Dr Caspar Einem prize and was long listed for the Gold Dagger Award. Her latest book Going Mainstream: How Extremists Are Taking Over (Ithaka Press, 2023) is out now.
THE RAGEThe Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism
Selected by the Guardian as one of the best ten books for understanding the threat of terrorism
Bruno Kreisky Prize for the Political Book of the Year 2018
Shortlisted for the NDR Kultur Sachbuchpreis
The early twenty-first century has been defined by a rise in Islamist radicalisation and a concurrent rise in far right extremism. This book explores the interaction between the 'new' far right and Islamist extremists and considers the consequences for the global terror threat. Julia Ebner argues that far right and Islamist extremist narratives - 'The West is at war with Islam' and 'Muslims are at war with the West' - complement each other perfectly, making the two extremes rhetorical allies and building a spiralling torrent of hatred - 'The Rage'.
By looking at extremist movements both online and offline, she shows how far right and Islamist extremists have succeeded in penetrating each other's echo chambers as a result of their mutually useful messages. Based on first-hand interviews, this book introduces readers to the world of reciprocal radicalisation and the hotbeds of extremism that have developed - with potentially disastrous consequences - in the UK, Europe and the US.
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Praise for The Rage
‘Julia Ebner astutely examines the rise of rightwing hate rhetoric alongside Salafi-jihadist violence’ — Iain Overton, The Guardian
‘Compelling, insightful and highly readable’ — Peter R. Neumann, author of Radicalized
‘An Excellent Debut: Informed, well-researched and thoughtful’ — Jamie Bartlett, author of Radicals
‘Essential Reading’ — Paul Rodgers, author of Irregular War
‘An Excellent master course for those seeking to understand the growth of fanaticism’ — Ed Husain, author of The Islamist
‘The most important contribution to this burgeoning subject to date’ — Matthew Feldman, Professor of Contemporary History, Teesside University
‘Ebner draws on the very latest evidence to deliver important new analysis of two seemingly opposing forms of extremism and their mutually reinforcing worldviews’ — Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol
‘The Rage reads like a novel but unfortunately its story is non-fiction’ — Editor-in-Chief, Perspectives on Terrorism
‘There couldn’t be a more appropriately timed book than The Rage by Julia Ebner… The Rage is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the interconnected nature of extremism’ — Chris Sampson, co-author of Hacking ISIS
‘[Ebner] marshals facts well, identifies trends clearly, endeavours to contextualise her viewpoint and has a flair for the illustrative anecdote.’ — Survival: Global Politics and Strategy