Lead supervisor:
Prof Michael Woods 
Other supervisor(s):
- Dr Rhys Dafydd Jones
Start date: October 2025 (Full time)
Award: General
Subject Pathway:
Human Geography
Thematic Cluster:
Place, Environment and Development Cluster
The Plasticity of Far Right Opinion and Community Activism - a comparative study between Australia and the United Kingdom
This research explores the plasticity of far-right opinion, examining how extremist and exclusionary beliefs are formed, maintained, challenged, and transformed over time. Rather than viewing far-right attitudes as fixed or inevitable, the study investigates how individual experiences, social relationships, community engagement, and wider political and cultural contexts shape pathways into and away from far-right movements.
Using a comparative design, the research examines experiences across the United Kingdom and Australia, two countries with distinct political and social contexts but shared histories of far-right mobilisation. The study employs a combination of qualitative methodologies, bringing together in-depth interviews and social media analysis to develop a rich, multi-layered understanding of contemporary far-right engagement.
Interviews are conducted through an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) lens, enabling detailed exploration of the lived experiences of individuals who have been involved in, exposed to, or may be vulnerable to far-right radicalisation. This approach centres participants' own interpretations of their experiences, allowing for a nuanced understanding of how identity, belonging, grievance, and social connection influence political attitudes and behaviours.
Alongside this, social media analysis examines the online environments in which far-right ideas are communicated, contested, and normalised. Bringing these methods together allows the research to explore both the personal and structural dimensions of radicalisation, connecting individual experiences with the wider digital and social ecosystems in which they occur. It is hoped that this methodological combination will generate rich empirical data and provide new insights into the relationship between online influence, lived experience, and community activism.
Ultimately, the project seeks to contribute to contemporary debates on social cohesion, political identity, democratic participation, and community responses to polarisation, while advancing understanding of how attitudes can change and how communities can foster resilience against extremist narratives.
Research Impact
This research has the potential to inform policy, practice, and community-based interventions aimed at strengthening social cohesion and addressing contemporary forms of radicalisation and political polarisation. By examining how far-right opinions develop, evolve, and sometimes change, the study seeks to move beyond simplistic explanations of extremism and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the factors that draw individuals towards or away from far-right movements.
The findings will be relevant to policymakers, practitioners, educators, community organisations, and researchers working in areas such as social cohesion, preventing violent extremism, democratic participation, and community development. Through its comparative focus on the United Kingdom and Australia, the project also offers opportunities to identify shared challenges and examples of effective practice across different national contexts.
By exploring both lived experiences and online environments, this research aims to generate evidence that can support more informed and effective approaches to reducing polarisation, fostering inclusive communities, and strengthening resilience to divisive and extremist narratives.
Biography
Sarah Bowen is a doctoral researcher with the Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences whose work focuses on the intersection of political attitudes, identity, community life, and social change. She is particularly interested in understanding how individuals and groups make sense of social and political developments, and how these processes influence experiences of belonging, participation, and exclusion.
Her PhD research explores the plasticity of far-right opinion and the role of community activism in responding to social and political polarisation. Through this work, Sarah seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of radicalisation, attitudinal change, and the mechanisms through which communities can foster dialogue, resilience, and inclusion.
Alongside her doctoral research, Sarah has broader interests in the study of toxic masculinity, the incel movement, racist and homophobic activism, and the wider ecosystem of far-right mobilisation. She is particularly interested in the ways online spaces shape contemporary extremist movements, facilitate identity formation, and influence the spread of exclusionary narratives across digital and offline environments.
Outside of her research, Sarah lives with her fiancé in a cottage in rural West Wales. She enjoys international travel and has a love of nature, running, football (as a long-suffering Manchester United supporter), photography, sea swimming, yoga, and spending time with her naughty—but undeniably adorable—pug, Poppy.