War in Ukraine feeding right-wing extremism in NL: AIVD

The war in Ukraine is pushing contradictions in the Netherlands further apart, according to the general intelligence service AIVD. "We see that the war in Ukraine is becoming part of the narrative of right-wing extremists and anti-government extremists," AIVD director Erik Akerboom said to NOS. Putin's rhetoric is finding its way to the Netherlands and fitting into radical groups' existing ideas, he said.

In its annual report for 2021, the AIVD raised concerns about the increased threat of violence by right-wing extremist groups, which are gaining support in the Netherlands, NOS and NU.nl report. While many members outwardly advocate nonviolence, they consider violence a real option within their groups, the AIVD said. "That makes an attack by right-wing terrorist loners or groups imaginable."

According to the intelligence and security service, right-wing extremists share a belief that "the white population of the Netherlands is structurally disadvantaged, and its survival is even threatened by 'repopulation' or genocide." Among right-wing extremists, there is a movement called "accelerationism," whose supporters think that a race war is coming and want to hasten it by carrying out attacks.

"Right-wing extremists applaud chaos, exclude minorities, and justify violence in the hope of a real, violent revolution in the Netherlands," the service said. According to the AIVD, vulnerable young people are especially at risk of becoming radicalized in online chat groups that glorify violence.

The AIVD warned that these extremist groups threaten democratic legal order, even if they never turn to violence. "By denying others their rights, they threaten to slowly undermine the rule of law. That lays a foundation for the desired chaos, hatred, and violence."

The service noted that right-wing extremists are actively recruiting anti-government activists who protested against the coronavirus policy during the pandemic. In this overlap, old Antisemitic tales are combined and mixed with new conspiracy theories bout the coronavirus.

The AIVD also reported that far-left activists, especially anarchists, gained a foothold last year. But extremism among these groups is not much of a problem. Far-left activists took to the streets to protest for housing and animal rights and against the coronavirus measures, but violence was rare. "That does not mean that actions were not sometimes serious, bothersome, or violent for the organizations or companies against whom they were directed. It just means that their actions did not threaten democratic legal order," the AVID said.

Jihadism is also still a threat in the Netherlands, though this movement has not grown larger or more violent, the AIVD said.