JOURNALIST, WRITER & DEPUTY HEAD ANALYSIS NATIONAL SECURITY

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Nikki Sterkenburg is an established journalist in the field of (far) right-wing extremism, polder jihadism, and radicalization. Sterkenburg has spent the past few years working on her doctoral research on radical and extreme right-wing movements in the Netherlands at Leiden University. Additionally, she worked on a book on this subject, which was released in May 2021 under the title "But You Can't Say That." Earlier, in 2015, she authored the book "Incredible, How I Radicalized Myself and Then Changed My Mind," in which she describes her numerous conversations with convert Dennis Abdelkarim Honing: a young Muslim who rapidly radicalized but ultimately reconsidered his beliefs.

 

Since beginning her journalistic career in 2010, Sterkenburg's work has appeared in Nieuwe Revu, Elsevier, and Vrij Nederland. She received the Mercur for 'Magazine Reportage of the Year' in 2017 for her story on alt-right in the Netherlands. She completed three master's degrees, including one in Islam in the Modern World from the University of Amsterdam.