GEMS @ PSAI Annual Conference, 17-19 October 2025, Galway, Ireland

Event Name: Political Studies Association of Ireland (PSAI) Annual Conference 2025

Date: 17–19 October 2025

Location: University of Galway, Galway, Ireland

Organisers: Political Studies Association of Ireland (PSAI), hosted by University of Galway

Dr. Neven Vukic (Project Manager and Gaming Expert, GEMS Project, Trinity College Dublin) presented a paper titled “Extremists Play Games Too: Gaming References in Extremist Discourse.”

Drawing on primary-source analysis of extremist manifestos and official investigative reports, the paper examined how three archetypal lone-actor attackers, Anders Behring Breivik, Brenton Tarrant, and Elliot Rodger, narrated the role of video games in their lives and ideological development. It challenged prevailing “gamification of violence” theories by showing that gaming functioned differently in each case: as a retrospective alibi for Breivik, as everyday vernacular and social hobby for Tarrant, and as an emotional refuge (and potential deferral mechanism) for Rodger. The presentation emphasised the need to shift focus from whether gaming causes radicalisation to how radicalisation may alter gameplay patterns, with implications for future prevention and detection efforts.

The paper sparked lively discussion on methodological approaches to extremist self-narratives and the risks of over-interpreting cultural artefacts like games.

The GEMS team welcomed the chance to share Horizon Europe-funded insights with the Irish political science community and anticipates further academic dialogue on gaming-related extremism.