Anti-government extremism (AGE) has become a catch-all term for all anti-government, anti-institutional, anti-system and hostile to democracy sentiments that fuelled protests which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. It represents a new type of a security challenge and threat, as its proponents come from a variety of socio-political and ideological backgrounds and featured in pre-COVID 19 protests (such as Yellow Vests, anti-austerity) in different countries. AGE is less doctrinal than other forms of extremism, whether far-right, far-left or Islamist terrorism. Some manifestations of AGE are effectively extreme, conspiracy-fuelled populism which propagates a belief that the world is effectively run by an evil elite that controls the people, not just corrupt or nepotistic but also allegedly criminal. Although many of its proponents are not necessarily against democracy per se, they reject the so-called elites and contemplate alternative political models, whether populist,
far-right or authoritarian.
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