This episode of Unsettling Extremism is a little bit different than what you're used to today, rather  than talking to a scholar about their research we are taking on a particular topic, great replacement conspiracy theory. As the research center charged with countering and preventing violent extremism, I wanted to take a closer look at how this conspiracy theory relates specifically to an Aotearoa context to do this. I had conversations with some of Aotearoa, leading experts on the topic. First, I spoke to Dr Max Soar, Research Fellow at He Whenua Tarikura, who has seen the way the replacement conspiracy theory shows up in Aotearoa through his research on how white supremacist dynamics show up in politics and science. Then, I had a group conversation with the esteemed scholars, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, Paul Morris of Victoria University and distinguished Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Paul Spoonley from Massey University, who share with us their understandings of replacement conspiracy theory and its local manifestations. 

References 

The Venomous Rhetorical Web of Far-Right Terrorists by Julia Kupper https://gnet-research.org/2022/10/17/the-venomous-rhetorical-web-of-far-right-terrorists/

Fear:  New Zealand's Hostile Underworld of Extremists by Byron Clark
https://www.harpercollins.co.nz/9781775542308/fear/

Histories of Hate: The Radical Right in Aotearoa New Zealand, Edited by
Matthew Cunningham, Marinus La Rooij and Paul Spoonley

Edelman Trust Barometer 2025 https://acumennz.com/acumen-edelman-trust-barometer/acumen-edelman-trust-barometer-2025/

The Great Replacement’: The Violent Consequences of Mainstreamed Extremism by Institute of Strategic Dialogue,  https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/the-great-replacement-the-violent-consequences-of-mainstreamed-extremism/

The Jan. 6 Insurrectionists Aren’t Who You Think They Are by Robert Pape of Chicago Project on Security & Threats https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/06/trump-capitol-insurrection-january-6-insurrectionists-great-replacement-white-nationalism/

UK Islamophobic assaults surged by 73% in 2024, anti-hate crime charity reports by Aamna Mohdin and Chris Osuh in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/feb/19/uk-islamophobic-assaults-surged-by-73-in-2024-anti-hate-charity-reports