Profiles of Individual Radicalisation in Australia (PIRA) Database

Full description

The open-access version of the PIRA database contains de-identified individual-level information on 261 violent and non-violent extremists who radicalised between 1985 and 2023. The dataset provides access to quantitative data profiles on the backgrounds, attributes and radicalisation processes of extremists who adhere to Islamist, far-right, far-left and single-issue ideologies. Each individual is coded against 114 variables, gathered from publicly available sources, primarily court transcripts and news media, capturing multidimensional data on an individual’s demographic background, socio-economic and psychological profile, ideology, criminogenic risk factors, social and organisational ties, beliefs, behaviours and radicalisation catalysts and trajectories. The PIRA database aims to support research on pathways towards violent extremism and identify background characteristics and risk factors associated with radicalisation. PIRA is a partial replication of the PIRUS database (see https://www.start.umd.edu/data-tools/profiles-individual-radicalization-united-states-pirus). PIRA also captures variables that were not collected in the PIRUS. Therefore, information captured across variables may deviate from the source it was modelled upon and should be acknowledged when and if both databases are utilised (see Belton et al., 2025 for further details). If both data sources are to be used concurrently, each codebook (PIRA & PIRUS) should be cross-checked, as certain variables were changed or adapted for the Australian context and are not necessarily identical or replicable. Due to the content's sensitive nature, variables that could disclose the individual's identity—such as associates' names, group members, geographic movements, ties (like citizenship), and qualitative data—have been excluded or modified from the open-access version. Quantitative data can be downloaded in .csv format. Variables are numbered to correspond with the ‘variable name’ itemised in the PIRA codebook. It is strongly advised that any data analysis or re-use of the data follow guidelines outlined in v2.0 of the PIRA codebook (dated July 30, 2025). The use of a previously published codebook may result in inaccurate data analysis and misrepresentation of the data.