DrImogen Richards

One‑month research fellowship on the far right at one of Europe’s leading centres for the study of extremism.

Reviewed human research ethics applications for the Faculty, advising on research involving sensitive populations and topics, with a short break in membership.

AVERT is a multidisciplinary network, based at Deakin, that brings together researchers, policymakers and practitioners working on violent extremism, terrorism and social cohesion. As an executive member, I help set the network’s research and engagement priorities and contribute to its public events, which link academic research with government and community practice.

Member of VOX‑Pol, a research network on violent online political extremism that began at Dublin City University with European Commission funding and is now coordinated by Swansea University with an international consortium. I have presented at VOX‑Pol and TASM conferences and events at Swansea University, Dublin City University and Charles University, Prague.

Invited to the editorial board by editors‑in‑chief Raquel da Silva and Alice Martini.

Editor of an international collection on how media institutions and far‑right movements shape one another. Contributors from Europe, the Americas and the Asia‑Pacific use critical discourse analysis, computational methods and settler colonial theory, with case studies from the United States, Europe and Australia.

Appeared with Clare Corbould, Zim Nwokora, and Helen Young discussing post-truth politics, fan-fiction and the far right across the US and Australia.

Guest on the God Forbid podcast on a panel discussing eco-fascism and climate change politics with Thom Van Dooren and James Carlton.

Commented in The Guardian in an article about protests against Australia’s transition to renewable power have attracted a wide coalition of interests, from mainstream parties to the wild shores of conspiracy, saying the political commentary about renewable energy may exploit anxiety for some groups in the community.

Spoke to SBS World News which reported that the WA Muslim community is calling for more action to end the stigma around mental health, after the death of a 16-year-old student who was shot by police after stabbing a man in Willetton.

Spoke to ABC News Breakfast about the recent stabbing in Willetton regarding the social, economic and gendered structural issues that facilitate and enable the type of acts of public political violence such as we saw in Perth and in Sydney last month.

Deakin Media estimates media engagement in the first half for 2024 reached an estimated global audience of 4.4 million people. For example, on 7 April 2024 I gave a brief comment to ABC AM about the Sydney Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church stabbing, and the Bondi Junction stabbing.

Gave expert evidence at a public hearing of the inquiry into Measures to Combat Right‑Wing Extremism in New South Wales, Parliament House, Sydney, following a co‑authored written submission.

Gave expert evidence at a public hearing of the inquiry into right wing extremist movements in Australia, following a joint submission with Jordan McSwiney, Kurt Sengul, Callum Jones and Cam Smith.

Member of the Centre, which researches how law can protect people and communities from organised violence, misuse of government and corporate power, technology‑driven harms and entrenched disadvantage.

Chaired a panel on climate change, emotions and the far right at the annual conference of the European Consortium for Political Research. Also co‑presented “Epistemic Relief: Far‑Right Environmental Aesthetics and the Politics of Post‑Truth” with Balša Lubarda.

Panellist with Bob Carr, Antoun Issa and Tony Barry in October 2026, moderated by Nicole Chvastek, discussing populist politics, the future of the two‑party system and the Victorian state election.

Invited to present “Eco‑fascism online: conceptualising extreme right actors’ response to climate change on cross‑national social media” at the international countering violent extremism research conference co‑hosted by the United Nations Office of Counter‑Terrorism and Hedayah.

Invited to present “Classical liberalism and the Australian and international ‘new right’: Quillette, academia and far‑right activism” at an international conference hosted by the Kellogg Institute.

Leads the criminology discipline across Deakin’s campuses. The role includes representing the discipline at School Executive, coordinating staffing and teaching allocations, leading the discipline’s consultation on School‑level initiatives, and helping to convene its contribution to the 2026 Major Course Review of the Bachelor of Criminology.

C2G hosted events open to both staff and students, connecting researchers of varying experience levels and seniority involved in crime and criminalisation projects.

Coordinated research training for the Institute’s doctoral cohort with events shared with ECRs and HDRs across the Faculty, including seminars on writing, publishing, ethics and professional development.

Partnered with Moonshot from 2022, a UK organisation that develops evidence‑based, technology‑driven responses to online harms, on targeted interventions to counter violent extremism.