Toolkits & Publications
OppAttune | Game, Set and Attune: A Political Attunement Model for Limiting Extreme Narratives and Building Democratic Capacity -D6.5
At the core of this deliverable is the Political Attunement Model, a practical framework designed to help users navigate oppositional political contexts without resorting to hostile or extreme narratives. The model works through a three-step process, which identifying everyday extremism scenarios, defining success measures and selecting the right attunement tool. It is supported by four toolkits: Regulatory Rights, Limiting Mobilisation, Living Democracy and Public Dialogue. These resources enable practitioners, policymakers, and citizens to counter polarisation, decode divisive narratives and foster democratic resilience.
Explore the toolkit to strengthen democratic dialogue, limit everyday extremism, and build capacity for constructive engagement.
Professor Kesi Mahendran and Dr Anthony English
The Open University
January 2025
OppAttune | Everyday Extremism Policy Briefing
Everyday Extremism refers to subtle, often legal behaviours and narratives that erode democratic resilience and social cohesion. Unlike violent extremism or hate speech, these acts, such as sharing memes with extremist undertones or conspiracy theories, appear harmless but collectively normalize intolerance and symbolic violence. Current UK legislation (PREVENT, Hate Speech laws, Online Safety Act) focuses on severe threats, leaving a gap where everyday extremism circulates unchecked.
Our briefing calls for new frameworks, political literacy training, and collaborative interventions to detect and counter these behaviours before they escalate into real-world harm.
Dr Anthony English and Professor Kesi Mahendran.
The Open University
November 2025
OppAttune | Inception Meeting Report
This report documents the OppAttune project’s kick-off meeting, held on 24–25 April 2023 at Panteion University, Athens. Representatives from all 17 partner organisations gathered to discuss project management, ethics, deliverables, and impact strategies. The meeting featured presentations from the European Commission and sister projects SMIDGE and ARENAS, as well as breakout sessions for the first six work packages.
Stay connected with OppAttune’s progress as we work together to counter everyday extremism across Europe.
Ellen Scott, Dr Sandra Obradović, Dr Evangelos Ntontis ,Professor Kesi Mahendran and Alex Pękalski .
The Open University
September 2024
OppAttune | Independent Research Advisory Committee
Terms of Reference
The IRAC supports the OppAttune project by ensuring research integrity and ethical standards. Its key responsibilities include reviewing research materials, advising on the attunement model, ensuring impartial data collection and providing feedback on tools and deliverables. Two formal reports will be delivered mid-term and final and the IRAC will also participate in the Winter Academy in Portugal.
Follow IRAC’s contributions to ensure transparency, ethical rigour and impact across OppAttune’s research.
Dr Sandra Obradović and Professor Kesi Mahendran
The Open University
January 2024
OppAttune | Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Policy
OppAttune’s EDI policy ensures that equality, diversity, and inclusion are embedded across the project’s design, research activities, and outputs. It defines equality as non-discrimination, diversity as respect for difference, and inclusion as equitable participation. Grounded in intersectionality, the policy addresses systemic barriers and power imbalances, including Eurocentrism.
Hasret Dikici-Bilgin and Irini Kadianaki
Istanbul Bilgi University & University of Cyprus
January 9th 2024
OppAttune| Policy Toolkit Report for Developing Regulatory Rights Pathways D2.1 & Regulatory Rights Toolkit for Attuning Everyday Extremism D2.2
This toolkit, developed through the Horizon Europe OppAttune project, equips policymakers and civil society leaders to address everyday extremism. Using the Regulatory Rights Prism (RRP), it helps assess how rights and regulations interact across diverse contexts. Drawing on 18 real-world case studies, it offers practical tools to foster inclusive dialogue and democratic resilience.
Use this toolkit to shape smarter, rights-based policies and take action against the spread of polarising narratives today.
S. Sawyer, Z. Zarić, H. Dikici Bilgin, I. Kadianaki, E. Anastasiou, E. Panagiotou, S. Lee and E. Abbott-Halpin, P. Warda and W. Warda.
The Centre for Critical Democracy Studies
The American University of Paris
November 2024
OppAttune | Regulatory-Rights Interactive Website D2.3
At the heart of this website is the Regulatory Rights Prism (RRP) a diagnostic tool that helps users assess policies through three dimensions: context, belonging, and outcomes. It supports comparative analysis of extremist narratives by exploring how public protections and human rights interact across national and global settings.
The site features case studies, practical tools, and the Everyday Extremism Scale, helping users identify and respond to environments where extremist ideas become normalised.
Explore the toolkit to foster democratic dialogue, understand complex policy environments and counter everyday extremism.
S. Sawyer, Z. Zarić, H. Dikici Bilgin, I. Kadianaki, E. Anastasiou, E. Panagiotou, S. Lee and E. Abbott-Halpin, P. Warda and W. Warda.
The Centre for Critical Democracy Studies
The American University of Paris
November 2024
OppAttune | Skills development and understanding cross-country labour transitions D3.1
This report explores how job displacement driven by automation, offshoring, and digital change can increase vulnerability to polarising narratives. Using data from 46,000 workers across 29 European countries, it shows that upskilling significantly improves employment prospects and helps reduce the risks linked to economic insecurity.
Labour transitions matter. So does how we respond to them.
Use this evidence to strengthen workforce resilience and design skills strategies that support inclusion and stability in changing labour markets.
Thales Lima and Umut Korkut
Glasgow Caledonian University
November 2024
OppAttune | An economic well-being behavioural toolkit D3.2
This deliverable introduces a four-step toolkit that links job insecurity to behavioural vulnerabilities and the appeal of extremist and protectionist narratives. Focusing on 11 key dimensions from income security to workplace support it offers practical strategies to reduce the psychological and social impacts of job-related stress.
Grounded in behavioural economics and CEDEFOP data, the toolkit helps policymakers, employers, and civil society foster secure, inclusive work environments.
Use this toolkit to strengthen resilience, reduce polarisation, and support well-being through informed, preventative action.
Thales Lima, Umut Korkut and Roland Fazekas
Glasgow Caledonian University
November 2024
OppAttune | Offshore vs Reshore Gaming Tool D3.4
This deliverable explores how protectionist narratives and political instability influence corporate decisions on offshoring and reshoring. Using a game-theoretic model, it shows that firms often choose reshoring in unstable markets, prioritising resilience over cost-efficiency. These shifts impact global supply chains and European labour markets, increasing volatility.
Understanding these dynamics is key to shaping responsive economic policy.
Use this insight to support balanced, resilient labour strategies and reduce the disruptive effects of protectionist pressures.
Thulani Moyo, Umut Korkut, Thales Lima and Imoh Okoronkwo.
Glasgow Caledonian University
January2025
OppAttune | Interactive Map of transnational governance scenarios D3.5
Deliverable 3.5 introduces an innovative Interactive Map that visualises reshoring, offshoring and hybrid governance trends across Europe. Built on data from 2003–2024, it helps users explore how corporate decisions impact labour markets, supply chains, and social cohesion, especially under the influence of protectionist narratives and political instability.
The map offers dynamic insights for policymakers, researchers and industry leaders.
Explore the map now to understand how governance choices shape economic resilience and social stability: Human Rights, Public Regulation, and Transnational Governance Scenarios – RRP toolkit
Thales Lima, Maggie Laidlaw, Zona Zaric, Thulani Moyo and Umut Korkut.
Glasgow Caledonian University and American University of Paris
January 2025
OppAttune | Visualisation report of emerging extremist
narratives across Europe D4.1
This report maps contemporary extremist narratives circulating online in Austria, Bulgaria, and Sweden. It identifies two dominant themes: anti-migration rhetoric and anti-establishment conspiracy theories, particularly those amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging topics include climate change and gender.
These narratives spread across both mainstream and fringe platforms from Reddit and Telegram to national forums like Flashback (Sweden) and BG-Mamma (Bulgaria).
Use these insights to monitor digital discourse, inform counter-narrative strategies and strengthen democratic dialogue online.
Tina Askanius, Miriam Haselbacher, Ursula Reeger and Jullietta Stoencheva
Malmö University and Austrian Academy of Sciences
19 January 2024
OppAttune | Translocal articulations of extremism in three countries Visualisation report on Austria, Bulgaria, and Sweden D4.2.
This report explores how extremist narratives emerged during the 2024 European Parliament elections in Sweden, Austria, and Bulgaria. Using ethnographic and visual analysis, it identifies six key themes: political discontent, gender, migration, war, conspiracies, and climate change shaping online and offline discourse. Memes played a central role in spreading transnational narratives, often blending humour with hostility.
The findings reveal a troubling normalisation of violent rhetoric in everyday political conversation.
Use this research to better understand how extremism evolves and to develop strategies that protect democratic dialogue across Europe.
Tina Askanius, Miriam Haselbacher, Jullietta Stoencheva and Ursula Reeger
Malmö University and Austrian Academy of Sciences
11 November 2024
OppAttune | Media, Machines & Mobilisation Blog D4.3
This blog documents OppAttune’s multi‑sited research into how everyday extremist narratives circulate across Europe. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and digital observation in Vienna, Malmö, and Sofia, it captures how extremist ideas move between online platforms and offline public spaces.
Focusing on visual cultures, memes, humour, and symbolic language, the blog shows how exclusionary narratives become normalised through everyday encounters. Use this resource to explore the hybrid, cross‑border dynamics of contemporary extremism and their implications for research, policy, and public engagement.
Check out the blog posts: Media, Machines & Mobilisation – OppAttune
Tina Askanius, Miriam Haselbacher, Jullietta Stoencheva and Ursula Reeger
Malmö University and Austrian Academy of Sciences
December 2025
OppAttune | Modelling networks of extremist narratives D4.5
This report explores how extremist narratives emerged during the 2024 European Parliament elections in Sweden, Austria, and Bulgaria. Using ethnographic and visual analysis, it identifies six key themes: political discontent, gender, migration, war, conspiracies, and climate change shaping online and offline discourse. Memes played a central role in spreading transnational narratives, often blending humour with hostility.
The findings reveal a troubling normalisation of violent rhetoric in everyday political conversation.
Use this research to better understand how extremism evolves and to develop strategies that protect democratic dialogue across Europe.
Biljana Mileva Boshkoska, Zoran Levnajić, Petra Kralj Novak, Jullietta Stoencheva and Tina Askanius.
Jožef Stefan Institute
1st April 2024
OppAttune | Everyday Extremism & Artificial Intelligence: Public Engagement Practitioners’ Handbook D4.6
This handbook offers practical guidance for engaging publics with the role of AI and algorithms in the everyday circulation of extremist narratives. It combines interdisciplinary research with findings from the OppAttune project to support NGOs, civil society actors, and practitioners.
The handbook examines how recommendation systems, platform logics, and visual digital cultures amplify polarisation and dehumanisation in subtle ways. Use this resource to design participatory, citizen‑science‑based engagement initiatives that build AI literacy and strengthen democratic resilience.
Tina Askanius (Malmö University), Despoina Filiou, Miriam Haselbacher (Austrian Academy of Sciences), Griffin Rowell, Jullietta Stoencheva (Malmö University), Ursula Reeger (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
January 2026
OppAttune | Framework paper on emergence of opposition drivers across sites and shared dialogical interventions D5.1
This framework paper defines key concepts behind everyday extremism narratives and behaviours that reinforce “us vs. them” divisions and introduces the idea of opposition drivers: the psychological, social, and political barriers that block engagement with differing perspectives.
Drawing on cross-disciplinary research and ethnographic case studies from Turkey, Portugal, and Germany, it presents a conceptual toolkit for analysing how opposition emerges across five levels: culture, social relations, politics, context, and lived experience.
Use this framework to identify and address the root causes of polarisation, and to support more inclusive, democratic dialogue.
Eleni Andreouli (Open University), Samarjit Ghosh (Ozyegin Universitesi), Joana Ricarte (Universidade De Coimbra), Susan Rottmann (Ozyegin Universitesi), Harald Weilnböck (Cultures Interactive) and António Leitão (Universidade De Coimbra).
31st May 2024
OppAttune | Five Country Good Practice Case Studies Report in facilitating social dialogue for resilient democracies, including depicting successful social dialogue practices that may dissolve tendencies of polarising and extremism D5.2
This report presents six community-based practices ranging from collaborative ethnography to psychoeducational workshop. Developed across Turkey, Germany, Portugal, Bosnia, and Serbia. These methods foster social dialogue, strengthen democratic engagement, and help counter everyday extremism.
Grounded in ethnographic research, the report introduces key concepts: social dialogue, living democracy, and attunement – the capacity to engage constructively with difference.
Use these adaptable practices to build inclusive, resilient communities and reduce polarisation through meaningful dialogue.
Susan Beth Rottmann (Özyeğin Universitesi), Harald Weilnböck (Cultures Interactive), Samarjit Ghosh (Özyeğin Universitesi), Joana Ricarte (Universidade De Coimbra), António Leitão (Universidade De Coimbra), Stevan Tatalovic (ISAC), Jasmin Jasarevic (PRONI) and Eleni Andreouli (Open University)
January 2025
OppAttune | Five Country Methods Handbook on principles for multi-method, multi-disciplinary social dialogue interventions D5.3
This handbook offers practical guidance for implementing community-based methods to reduce everyday extremism through social dialogue. Drawing on case studies from five countries, it outlines adaptable tools such as collaborative ethnography, gamification, narrative group work and psychoeducational workshops.
These methods foster empathy, critical thinking, and democratic engagement. which are key to building resilient, inclusive communities.
Use this toolkit to create safe, participatory spaces for dialogue and equip communities to counter polarisation with understanding and connection.
Susan Beth Rottmann (Özyeğin Universitesi), Harald Weilnböck (Cultures Interactive), Samarjit Ghosh (Özyeğin Universitesi), Joana Ricarte (Universidade De Coimbra), António Leitão (Universidade De Coimbra), Stevan Tatalovic (ISAC), Jasmin Jasarevic (PRONI), Eleni Andreouli (Open University) and Emma Rühlmann (Cultures Interactive)
April 2025
OppAttune | Policy Strategy Briefs (2) that Translate Local People’s Perspectives, Experiences, Knowledge into the European Democracy Action Plan (EDAP) D5.4
This policy brief presents evidence-based strategies for strengthening democratic resilience by translating local perspectives into the European Democracy Action Plan. Grounded in ethnographic research across five countries, it introduces the concepts of living democracy and everyday extremism to highlight how democratic engagement is shaped by daily interactions and narratives.
The toolkit features participatory methods such as collaborative ethnography, gamification, narrative group work, and psychoeducational workshops. These approaches foster recognition, belonging, and non-violent dialogue key to countering polarisation and building inclusive, democratic communities.
Use this resource to support locally attuned interventions that empower citizens, civil society, and institutions to detect and reject exclusionary narratives and promote constructive social dialogue.
Joana Ricarte (Universidade De Coimbra), Susan Beth Rottmann (Özyeğin Universitesi), Harald Weilnböck (Cultures Interactive), Samarjit Ghosh (Özyeğin Universitesi), Eleni Andreouli (Open University).
June 2025
OppAttune | Everyday Extremism Scale D6.1
This report outlines the development of the Everyday Extremism Scale, which is a tool designed to measure how extreme behaviours and attitudes become normalised in daily life. Built through a rigorous, multi-stage process, the scale is intended for use at a societal level, not for individual profiling.
It supports the WIDE-Lens Survey in identifying the psychological drivers and social impacts of everyday extremism.
Use this scale to track societal trends, inform interventions and strengthen democratic resilience.
Dr Rebekah Mifsud and Prof. Gordon Sammut
University of Malta
September 2024
OppAttune | My Democracy: “Vote for Me” Films D6.3
This deliverable introduces the “Vote for Me” films—five short, election‑style videos depicting distinct political leadership archetypes: Conservative, Technocrat, Revolutionary, Progressive, and Nationalist. Designed to mirror real digital campaigning formats, the films act as stimulus materials for exploring how leadership styles mobilise citizens and shape followership, including how these processes may contribute to everyday extremism.
Developed through qualitative research in the UK and Greece and later applied in Cyprus, the films support reflective dialogue on political rhetoric, persuasion, and the emotional and relational dynamics of political engagement. When used as part of OppAttune’s Political Mobilisation & Followership Tool, they help participants examine why certain leadership styles appeal to them, how mobilisation narratives resonate, and how followership can drift toward polarisation or exclusion.
Use this resource to facilitate critical discussions on political messaging, support civic education programmes, and strengthen public awareness of how leaders influence democratic participation. The films offer policymakers, researchers, and practitioners a scalable, culturally adaptable tool for analysing mobilisation processes and supporting attuned, democratic citizen engagement.
Dr Anthony English and Prof. Kesi Mahendran
The Open University
March 2026
OppAttune | WIDE Lens Country Report on Psychological Drivers, Identities and Worldviews on Everyday Extremist Behaviour D6.4
This report presents findings from the WIDE Lens survey, conducted across 13 countries, to explore how psychological and ideological factors influence everyday extremist behaviours (EEB). Key drivers include beliefs in limited social mobility and system justification, with younger and economically secure individuals showing higher EEB tendencies.
The study highlights the complex role of disaffection and identity in shaping attitudes.
Use these insights to inform targeted interventions that address the roots of disaffection and strengthen democratic resilience.
Xenia Chryssochoou and Antonis Dimakis, with the authors of the individual country reports listed within the report.
Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
May 2025
OppAttune | Four‑Country Sustained Political Dialogue Study: Strategies and Recommendations D6.6
This report examines how people sustain dialogue when discussing polarising political issues, with a focus on migration. Drawing on paired interviews and dialogical analysis across Edinburgh, Manchester, Malmö, and Pristina, it explores how individuals engage with opposing views without resorting to personal attacks or disengagement.
The study identifies key dialogical strategies, such as advocating for others, reframing disagreement, and managing attitude certainty that enable dialogue to continue even in moments of dissensus. It also highlights how everyday extremism can surface through humour, fantasy framing, and seemingly reasonable exclusions from democratic participation.
Use this resource to design dialogue‑based interventions, democratic capacity workshops, and practitioner tools that strengthen attunement, support constructive disagreement, and reduce polarisation in diverse political contexts.
Anthony English (The Open University), Adelina Hasani (Kosovar Centre for Security Studies), Kesi Mahendran (The Open University), Sandra Obradović (The Open University)
September 2025
OppAttune | i‑Attune Self‑Test Interactive Platform: Roll‑Out Report D6.7
This report presents the design, development, and public launch of i‑Attune, a self‑reflection interactive created to help citizens explore their democratic reasoning, everyday extremism, and capacity for dialogue. Developed by the Open University with Enigma Interactive, i‑Attune offers a guided 20‑minute experience that invites users to reflect on how they behave in moments of political tension, revealing their Democratic Actor Positions and their potential for Everyday Extremism.
Drawing on dialogical psychology, the interactive provides a non‑judgemental, anonymised space where users consider how far they would go for their political views and how they might attune to those who disagree. Pilot testing and soft launches in the UK, Portugal, and Iraq demonstrated strong public engagement, high completion rates, and clear evidence that the tool fosters democratic self‑reflection and awareness of one’s position within polarised environments.
Use this resource to support democratic literacy initiatives, community engagement programmes, and preventative interventions that encourage constructive political dialogue. i‑Attune offers policymakers, educators, researchers, and practitioners a scalable, accessible tool for strengthening democratic capacity and limiting the spread of everyday extremist practices.
Dr Anthony English and Prof. Kesi Mahendran
The Open University
March 2026
OppAttune | Evaluation Report on the Attunement Model and Limiting Extreme Narratives D6.8
This report provides a holistic evaluation of the Political Attunement Model, drawing on evidence from eight implementation sites, project toolkits, and feedback from the OppAttune Summer and Winter Academies. It assesses the model’s conceptual foundations, practical application, and its contribution to limiting everyday extremism while strengthening citizens’ democratic capacities.
The evaluation highlights how the Attunement Model reframes extremism as an everyday, relational dynamic emerging through normal political engagement rather than fringe radicalisation. It synthesizes lessons from interventions across Malta, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Cyprus, Iraq, Portugal, and the UK, identifying where attunement tools raise reflexivity, build dialogical skills, and help sustain political disagreement without hostility. It also maps the model onto wider approaches such as deliberative democracy and intergroup contact, showing where attunement offers unique value and where structural reforms or complementary methods are required.
Use this resource to understand when the Attunement Model is most effective, how it complements existing EU democracy frameworks, and what conditions political timing, facilitation quality, institutional support are needed for its successful application across policymaking, research, and practice.
Dr. Sandra Obradović
The Open University
March 2026
OppAttune | A Handbook of Intervention Tools for Attunement D7.1
This handbook offers a practical guide for selecting and implementing interventions that foster attuned dialogue and counter everyday extremism. Drawing on insights from six previous work packages, it presents a curated toolkit of methods including narrative group work, gamification, reflexivity, and public dialogue attunement tools.
Each intervention is supported by ethical guidelines, implementation steps, and evaluation strategies using tools like the Everyday Extremism Scale and WiDE lens measures. The handbook also introduces the Political Attunement Model, which helps practitioners identify, limit, and respond to extremist narratives in diverse contexts.
Use this resource to design inclusive, context-sensitive interventions that build democratic capacity, promote mutual understanding, and sustain constructive dialogue across political and social divides.
Rebekah Mifsud (University on Malta), Gordon Sammut (University on Malta) and Joana Ricarte (University of Coimbra).
July 2025
OppAttune | Strategy & Recommendations Report D7.2
This report presents strategic guidance and validated recommendations for implementing the OppAttune Attunement Model in diverse political contexts. Drawing on the real‑world testing of attunement tools across Europe and neighbouring regions, it examines how everyday extremism emerges, escalates, and can be limited through structured dialogue and democratic capacity building.
Based on interventions carried out in Malta, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Cyprus, Iraq, Portugal, and the UK, the report highlights the importance of political context, youth engagement, and periods of electoral mobilisation in shaping everyday extremism. It identifies good‑practice guidelines for tracking political temperature, fostering common ground, limiting escalatory behaviours, and designing dialogue‑based interventions that promote attunement rather than polarisation.
Use this resource to support the design and implementation of evidence‑based strategies, tools, and democratic interventions that strengthen political dialogue, reduce everyday extremism, and enhance democratic resilience across different cultural and institutional settings.
Gordon Sammut (University of Malta), Rebekah Mifsud (University of Malta), Joana Ricarte (University of Coimbra)
January 2026
OppAttune | Eight‑Country Attunement Model Implementation Report D7.3
This report presents the results of implementing and validating the OppAttune Attunement Model across eight countries: Malta, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Iraq, Cyprus, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. It documents how attunement tools were applied in diverse political, social, and institutional contexts to reduce everyday extremism and strengthen democratic dialogue.
Drawing on country‑specific interventions, focus groups, surveys, and dialogical tools, the report shows how everyday extremism is shaped by political context, levels of institutional trust, youth engagement, and periods of electoral mobilisation. It highlights common patterns—such as the role of polarization, identity‑based narratives, and media manipulation, while demonstrating how context‑sensitive, facilitated dialogue can foster reflection, common ground, and non‑extremist political engagement.
Use this report to understand how the Attunement Model works in practice, compare cross‑national experiences, and inform the design of scalable, evidence‑based interventions that support democratic resilience and inclusive political participation.
Prof. Gordon Sammut & Dr Rebekah Mifsud (University of Malta), Dr. Joana Ricarte (University of Coimbra),
January 2026
OppAttune | Short-, Medium- and Long‑Term Policy Proposals for Implementing the Attunement Model D7.4
This report sets out a suite of short-, medium-, and long‑term policy proposals for embedding the OppAttune Attunement Model into European democratic practice. Drawing on validation exercises across eight countries and extensive citizen‑engagement work, it translates research insights into concrete policy pathways for limiting everyday extremism and strengthening democratic resilience.
The report highlights how everyday extremism arises through normalized, hostile “us vs. them” narratives and stresses that democratic resilience depends not on consensus, but on citizens’ ability to sustain constructive opposition. Recommendations focus on integrating attunement tools into civic education and community practice, expanding qualitative extremism research, establishing an EU‑level Everyday Extremism Observatory, and addressing deep structural drivers such as governance trust, socioeconomic precarity, and care‑based democratic participation.
Use this resource to understand how attunement can be operationalised within existing EU frameworks, and to access policy‑ready strategies for dialogue‑building, democratic skill‑development, and long‑term social cohesion.
Dr. Joana Ricarte (University of Coimbra), Prof. Gordon Sammut & Dr Rebekah Mifsud (University of Malta).
March 2026
OppAttune | Mid-term policy recommendations D8.1
This policy report offers mid-term recommendations for countering everyday extremism across Europe. Based on ethnographic research in six countries, it highlights how normalised hostility expressed through memes, satire, and everyday discourse undermines democratic trust and social cohesion.
The report identifies key drivers of extremism, including identity threat, populist resentment, cultural narratives of decline, and translocal visual cultures. It proposes eight interconnected policy actions: media and visual literacy, dialogical interventions, context-specific strategies, hybrid space monitoring, democratic capacity building, cross-border collaboration, youth empowerment, and participatory research.
Use this report to inform national and EU-level strategies, including the European Democracy Action Plan, and to design inclusive, community-based responses that build democratic resilience and challenge the normalisation of exclusionary narratives.
Doga Atalay (Glasgow Caledonian University)
September 2025
OppAttune | Recommendations for Transnational Methods for Tracking Extreme Narratives D8.2
This report outlines transnational methods for tracking the spread of everyday extremist narratives across Europe. Drawing on multi-sited ethnography, comparative discourse analysis, and participatory research, it offers practical guidance for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.
The report highlights how extremist narratives circulate across borders and hybrid spaces both online and offline through shared visual cultures, memes, and symbolic language. It introduces tools such as the Regulatory Rights Prism, hybrid ethnographic fieldwork, and AI-assisted topic modelling to trace and respond to these narratives.
Use this resource to design context-sensitive, cross-border interventions that address the structural, cultural, and psychological drivers of everyday extremism and strengthen democratic resilience through collaborative, evidence-based methods.
Sandra Obradović (The Open University), Tina Askanius (Malmö University), Julietta Stoencheva (Malmö University),Samarjit Ghosh (Özyeğin Universitesi), Miriam Haselbacher (Austrian Academy of Sciences),Ursula Reeger (Austrian Academy of Sciences),Susan Beth Rottmann (Özyeğin Universitesi) and Joana Ricarte (Coimbra University)
September 2025
OppAttune | Attunement Model: Strategy & Recommendations Report D8.3
This report presents the validated Attunement Model developed through OppAttune, offering evidence‑based strategies for countering everyday extremism and strengthening living democracy across Europe. Drawing on implementation and validation across eight contested sites, it demonstrates how the model helps track shifts in behavioural polarisation, identify local opposition drivers, and build democratic capacities that sustain dialogue across deep political differences.
The report highlights the model’s core contribution: translating EU‑level democracy and resilience frameworks into practical, grassroots interventions. It outlines how tools such as the Everyday Extremism Scale, i‑Attune, narrative group work, and ethnographic gamification can increase reflexivity, improve dialogue skills, and limit the spread of hostile narratives. It also identifies the enabling conditions essential for impact, including skilled facilitation, timing interventions to calmer political periods, and linking relational interventions with broader structural reforms.
Use this resource to integrate attunement methodologies into policy, education, civil society programming, and local democratic initiatives, strengthening societal resilience and enhancing citizens’ capacity to engage constructively across difference.
Sandra Obradović (The Open University), Samarjit Ghosh (Özyeğin Universitesi), Susan Beth Rottmann (Özyeğin Universitesi).
February 2026
OppAttune | Strategy for Exploitation Report D8.4
This report presents the OppAttune Colab Model, a network of collaborative laboratories designed to bridge research, policy, and practice in addressing political polarisation and everyday extremism. Hosted across Europe, the Colabs brought together researchers, civil society actors, practitioners, and policymakers to explore identity dynamics, democratic trust, public dialogue, and prevention strategies through seminars, workshops, stakeholder meetings, and participatory sessions.
The report distils cross‑cutting insights from Colab activities in France, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the UK, showing how everyday extremism often emerges from relational and psychological dynamics rather than ideological commitment. It highlights the value of dialogue‑based engagement, community‑level interventions, creative participation, and research–practice collaboration in mitigating polarisation and strengthening democratic resilience. Policy recommendations emphasise civic education, media literacy, localised engagement, and sustained cross‑sector networks.
Use this report to understand how collaborative knowledge platforms can generate actionable insights and to explore sustainable pathways for maintaining Colab networks beyond OppAttune.
Doga Atalay
Glasgow Caledonian University
March 2026
OppAttune | Policy Recommendations : Addressing Everyday Extremism in European Democracies
This policy brief sets out strategic recommendations for addressing everyday extremism as a structural challenge to European democracies. Building on findings from the OppAttune project, it reframes extremism as a lived, everyday phenomenon that affects trust, belonging, and democratic participation beyond moments of crisis or elections.
The recommendations highlight the need for multi‑level, context‑sensitive approaches that combine democratic capacity building, dialogical interventions, visual and media literacy, and sustained support for civil society. They emphasise monitoring hybrid online–offline spaces, strengthening the role of the state in fostering legitimacy, and embedding participatory and ethnographic research in policy design.
Use this resource to inform EU, national, and local policies that move beyond one‑size‑fits‑all solutions and support inclusive, evidence‑based strategies to counter everyday extremism and strengthen democratic resilience.
OppAttune Consortium
January 2026
