The Base
Transnational accelerationist neo-Nazi terrorist organisation promoting race war ideology. Added to EU terrorist list July 2024. Dutch members convicted and arrested.
Country
United States
Founded
2018
Date Added
2026
Background
The Base is a transnational right-wing terrorist organisation that emerged around 2018, promoting accelerationist race war ideology and operating through small decentralised cells and online recruitment and propaganda. It was founded in the United States and rapidly expanded internationally. In July 2024, the Council of the European Union added The Base to the EU terrorist list, a significant formal recognition of its threat level. The Netherlands has unusually strong direct relevance: two men were convicted by the Rotterdam District Court in 2021 for participation in The Base and related incitement offences, making these among the earliest European convictions for membership of this organisation. In September 2024 a minor was arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of participation in The Base, and in March 2025 the Dutch prosecution service demanded conditional prison sentences and community service orders in further proceedings linked to the group.
Ideology and Worldview
The Base subscribes to accelerationist ideology, specifically the belief that the existing political and social order must be violently destroyed in order to precipitate a white ethnostate. It promotes race war ideology and draws on neo-Nazi and white supremacist traditions. The group rejects conventional political participation in favour of destabilisation and violence as means to its ends.
Organisational Structure
The Base operates through small decentralised cells and an online recruitment and propaganda infrastructure. It does not function as a conventional hierarchical organisation but rather as a networked structure of local cells connected through online platforms. Leadership is difficult to attribute publicly with precision from the available sources.
Recruitment and Communication
The group recruits and communicates primarily through online platforms and propaganda channels. It targets young men through online ecosystems associated with accelerationist and white supremacist subcultures. The Dutch cases document that recruitment and radicalisation occurred within these transnational online environments.
Tactics and Operations
The Base operates through small cell activity, online radicalisation, propaganda dissemination, and incitement to terrorism. Dutch legal proceedings document offences including participation in a terrorist organisation and incitement to terrorism. The 2024 arrest of a minor in the Netherlands and the 2025 prosecution proceedings indicate ongoing operational activity in the Dutch context.
Network Connections
The Base is part of the broader transnational accelerationist and neo-Nazi network ecosystem. It has documented connections to European online milieus and was placed on the EU terrorist list alongside other designated terrorist entities. The Dutch convictions and arrests establish concrete links between The Base's transnational network and Dutch participants.
Escalation and Threat Assessment
The threat trajectory of The Base is assessed as serious and ongoing. The EU terrorist listing in July 2024 marks a significant escalation in formal legal recognition across Europe. Dutch cases demonstrate that The Base has successfully recruited and radicalised individuals in the Netherlands, including a minor, and that prosecutorial attention remains active with proceedings continuing into 2025. The combination of EU-level listing and Dutch domestic prosecution activity indicates a sustained and growing threat to the Netherlands.
Sources
- https://kennisbankterrorisme.nctv.nl/organisaties/the-base
- https://www.om.nl/actueel/nieuws/2024/09/05/minderjarige-vast-voor-deelname-aan-terroristische-organisatie-the-base
- https://extremism.gwu.edu/base
- https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-countries-put-neo-nazi-group-base-terrorist-list-2024-07-26/
- https://nos.nl/artikel/2535928-nederlandse-tiener-verdacht-van-deelname-extreemrechtse-terreurgroep-the-base
- https://www.om.nl/actueel/nieuws/2025/03/03/om-eist-voorwaardelijke-gevangenisstraffen-en-werkstraffen-voor-aanzetten-terrorisme-en-deelname-aan-the-base