University of Aarhus

Aarhus University was founded in 1928. It has 34.000 students – of these approximately 15,000 Master's degree students, and about 1,600 PhD students - and close to 550 postdoctoral scholars and 6000 employees (2009/2010). In recent years AU has been moving up the most important university ranking lists. In 2011 the university was number 79 at the QS World University Ranking, which is the second highest Scandinavian ranking and number 125 of 17.000 universities on the Times Higher Education World University Ranking. The Department of Political Science and Government teaches and carries out research on all the most significant subject areas of political science and public administration. Located under the auspices of the department is the Centre for Studies in Islamism and Radicalisation, which over the last four years has conducted comparative research on issues of religious, but also political, radicalisation and questions of counter-terrorism and prevention

Role in the project

University of Aarhus has responsibility for all parts of the work leading to the development of a subscript of the radicalisation of lone actors, which will contribute a major element to the integrated script of lone actor extremist events.

Investigators

Dr Lasse Lindekilde is associate professor at the Department of Political Science and Government, where he teaches political sociology and methodology. He is formerly affiliated with the Centre for Studies in Islamism and Radicalisation under the auspices of the department. He is a political scientist by training and his recent research has focused on violent radicalisation and the design, implementation and effects of radicalisation prevention policies in North-Western Europe. He has conducted research on the impact of radicalisation prevention policies on target group perceptions and identity formation, assessing the risk of negative, unintended consequences of policy implementation. He is currently a visiting fellow at the department of Communication, University of California Santa Barbara, where he is conducting experimental research on radicalisation in small group settings. He has based on this research worked with both national and local authorities in Denmark on educating front line practitioners working in mentoring programs designed to prevent radicalisation and serves as an advisor to bodies working radicalisation prevention. His PhD thesis (degree from the European University Institute, Florence) investigated the reactions of Danish Muslims to the publication of the Muhammad cartoons in 2005.

Stefan Malthaner is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science and Government, formerly Marie Curie Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence, and Researcher at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence in Bielefeld, Germany and the Research Group “Micropolitics of Armed Group” at Humboldt University Berlin, Germany. He has done extensive research on Salafist and militant Islamist movements and Jihadist terrorism in Germany, Great Britain, Egypt and Lebanon, with a particular focus on processes of radicalisation and radical milieus. He has advised local authorities in Germany on developing strategies to prevent the emergence of radical Salafist milieus. He has published several books and articles on these topics. He holds a PhD in Sociology from Augsburg University, Germany, and a M.A. in Political Science, Sociology, and International Law from the University of Bonn. His country expertise includes Germany, Egypt, Lebanon, and Great Britain.