The UK extremism threat landscape is undergoing fundamental shifts, marked by a growing number of decentralised online networks and hybridised ideologies rather than formalised groups. Yet current response frameworks struggle to address individuals who do not fit stable ideological categories.

The evolving threat demands fundamental recalibration of approaches to mitigating extremist-related violence, moving beyond solely ideology-focused approaches towards comprehensive violence prevention. This would address emerging radicalisation pathways, while maintaining proportionate responses to established ideology-based threats.

Building on ISD’s evidence to the Home Affairs Committee enquiry on ‘Combatting new forms of extremism’ and recommendations for Lord Anderson’s ‘Lessons for Prevent’ report, this policy paper proposes a broader framework for violence prevention to encompass both ideological and non-ideological violent threats. Rooted in an analysis of these evolving threats, we suggest how prevention, intervention and digital regulatory efforts can respond to this new challenge.