Microsoft Word - 187-189_Kriner BN_2022 ConferencePUB.docx KEY EVENTS On November 23, 2022, Mr. Matt Kriner, a Senior Research Scholar at Middlebury University's Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC) and Managing Director of the Accelerationism Research Consortium (ARC), presented on Militant Accelerationism. The key points discussed were militant accelerationism, its actors, and the strategies of accelerationist groups to pursue their goals of societal collapse. NATURE OF DISCUSSION Presentation Mr. Kriner discussed militant accelerationism and how it has become a rising issue worldwide. He emphasized how widely individuals are becoming enrolled in the tactics and strategies of accelerationism and engaging with the notion of collapsing society. As such, the amount of threat vectors continues to increase as neo fascist arguments encourage the narrative that the only solution is the collapse of society. BACKGROUND Presentation Mr. Kriner began his presentation by identifying the ideology of militant accelerationism as combined networks and mergers of ideologies that follow neo fascist ideas but endorse terrorism to collapse society. The intention of such terror networks and groups is to collapse society to create a new system because they believe that there is no other political solution. Mr. Kriner also emphasized the ways in which this core belief manifests. MILITANT ACCELERATIONISM Date: November 23, 2022 Disclaimer: This briefing note contains the encapsulation of views presented by the speaker and does not exclusively represent the views of the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies. Matt Kriner The Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare Volume 5, Issue 3 188 The first origin point in which we can see the emergence of tactical and strategic approaches to militant accelerationism stemmed from the “Years of Lead” in Italy in the 1970s, which can help us understand the current threat landscape. The strategy that was developed during the Years of Lead by neo fascist terrorist organizations was the act of armed spontaneity. This strategy entailed a string of bombings or acts of violence against a state/system that would collapse its ability to respond and could create an opening to gain state control. The goal in the Years of Lead was to maximize chaos and to generate the most friction in the system so it could pull itself apart and find an opportunity to take over. However, the current state of militant accelerationist movements focuses on completely collapsing the state, and their goal now is no longer to capture or control but simply to eradicate. Further, the goal is to maximize chaos and instability within the system, all with the least effort from the individual, network, or group. Today, militant accelerationist attackers are becoming stochastic and are depending on the propaganda being presented in these networks to find individuals to join in their movement. Accelerationist activity emerges from three units. The first being “overt in-group identity,” which is where individuals have ascribed themselves to a network space that is overtly associated with them being a part in the group and claiming this identity. The second is “infiltration,” which is where accelerationist activity is the most difficult to identify. Infiltration involves individuals presenting themselves in groups or networks to learn what that space is about and gain knowledge in critical skills and other methodologies that can assist them to carry out anti system attacks. They find ways to get themselves involved in order for them to grow the ranks or at least push other spaces that are pre-existing into a more violent stance by targeting individuals through racist rhetoric. The third is “inspired” or an inspired bucket, which entails individuals going through a lone radicalization process. These individuals are within the same space and networks and consuming the same sort of content. Mr. Kriner also shared three mechanisms that militant accelerationist groups participate in to pursue their manifesto and build tensions. The first method is through political activism where they are intentionally trying to get government agencies to take notice of them. These kinds of actors are not sufficient on their own to carry out as accelerationists, but they do confirm that they are actors who are willing to go above board. The second method is street fighting, where they engage in rioting through active club spaces and train other groups. They also take note of the individuals who are willing to fight and pursue their training and radicalization. The third is “apolitical” terrorism in which individuals/groups Matt Kriner The Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare Volume 5, Issue 3 189 show that they are willing to take down the system regardless of where they are from or what ideology they specifically believe. KEY POINTS OF DISCUSSION ● Militant accelerationism is a set of tactics and strategies that are used to put pressure on and exacerbate latent social divisions using violence and forcing the collapse of society. ● Today, the goal is no longer to capture or control, but simply to eradicate the system and state control. ● Threat vectors across the globe are continuing to expand as interconnected networks/channels; they are engaging and promoting neo- fascist dialogue that promotes the idea that there is no other immediate political solution beyond societal collapse. ● Accelerationist activity emerges in three units: overt in-group identity, infiltration, and inspired. ● Three ways in which militant accelerationist manifestos are pursued are political activism, street fighting, and apolitical terrorism. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non- Commercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. © (MATT KRINER, 2023) Published by the Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare and Simon Fraser University Available from: https://jicw.org/