Extremism research in Horizon Europe gets €3.5M boost in 2025

Research projects focused on countering and preventing radicalisation, extremism, hate speech and polarisation will receive an additional €3.5 million in 2025, according to a new draft of the Horizon Europe work programme for Cluster 2. Slated to receive €7 million in previous plans, the total allocation now rises to €10.5 million.

While the additional funding is welcome, there are concerns within the academic community that overall support for research in this area does not match the vital importance of the issue.

“Long-term observations of changes in extremism, growing radicalisation, and rising signals of autocracy can offer a clear understanding of changes and deep shocks in society,” said Gabi Lombardo, the director of the European Alliance for Social Sciences and Humanities. “If we fund such research here and there, we have a more [fragmented] perspective and we are unable to make a proper analysis of change, its roots and causes, and therefore we may be inconsistent in designing effective policies.”

It is therefore critical, she went on, that Horizon Europe includes long-term investment in research into these societal issues, in order to equip European and national policy makers with the data they need to respond.

Lidia Borrell-Damián, the secretary general of Science Europe, also underlined the need to provide stronger support to the social sciences and humanities in EU research programmes. 

“This is especially important in light of how economic competitiveness seems to dominate the policy discourse on research and innovation, as the social sciences, humanities and arts may not cater to short-term economic objectives. Yet, they are essential to further education and cultural development within democratic societies,” she said. 

A February draft of the Cluster 2 work programme saw the 2025 budget drop by nearly €80 million to €359.3 million, compared to a version that Science|Business had shared in October. The top-up for research into radicalisation, extremism, hate speech and polarisation brings it up slightly to €362.8 million. However, the topics in democracy and culture research that were removed from the earlier drafts, such as addressing gender-based violence against politically active women and LGBTIQ people, have not been reinstated in this document.

While Lombardo is wary of making a direct link between recent geopolitical developments and the increase in research funding, she points to “a sense of uneasiness” about the rise of authoritarian attitudes worldwide, and policy changes in the US intended to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the federal government.

“We also had a stream of different elections influenced by ‘incidents’ which the media have exploited for political campaigns,” Lombardo said. She believes that misinformation and disinformation have played a large role in this shift.

Borrell-Damián, meanwhile, wants to see stronger protection for the freedom of scientific enquiry, which can be threatened by authoritarian regimes. “These threats should not be taken lightly,” she said, and called on the EU to embed protective measures “in all research policy related action,” such as the European Research Area Act and the next Framework Programme.

We think it is important to maintain a public record of how Horizon Europe evolves in successive rounds of drafting between the Commission and member states. This is a political process that, so far, the Commission refuses to make transparent. To this end, Science|Business is making a full history of the drafting process publicly available in our Horizon Papers database. You can share other draft work programmes anonymously at [email protected].