Katrien Vanlerberghe

Katrien Vanlerberghe obtained her master's degree in Criminology from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in 2021, where she began her academic career as a teaching assistant before starting her PhD in 2022. In addition to her doctoral work, she is a research fellow at the Hannah Arendt Institute.

Her doctoral research examines how extremist narratives facilitate violence. Drawing on neutralisation theory and de-pluralisation, her work explores how stories weaken social control, reframe harm as justified, and narrow available perspectives until violence feels necessary. She also examines the parallels between fringe narratives and mainstream political discourse, exploring how similar narrative structures shift societal norms and normalise harm.
 

Research Projects

Violent extremism through the lens of neutralisation theory

Courses (2026-2027)

Master’s Thesis Criminology – Critical Criminology track