Stephane Baele

Stephane Baele is a political scientist at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), where research focuses on violent extremism, terrorism, and the language and online ecosystems of radical movements. Baele has also held a position at the University of Exeter. Much of this work examines how extremist actors construct worldviews and communicate online, including studies of incel communities, far-right platforms, and the use of artificial intelligence in the production and analysis of extremist content. Baele also works on securitization theory, the psychology of lone-actor terrorists, and the role of emotions and cognition in political violence.