Cosplaying Columbine: How Memetic Violence Transformed Southeast Asia’s Extremist Threat

Cosplaying Columbine: How Memetic Violence Transformed Southeast Asia’s Extremist Threat

The 7 November 2025 attack at Sekolah Menengah Atas Negeri 72 (SMAN 72) in North Jakarta represents a troubling manifestation of transnational extremist subcultures taking root in Southeast Asia. Since 2020, the region has witnessed a troubling trend of youth-perpetrated violence that defies conventional extremist categorisation. In October 2023, a then-14-year-old teenager opened fire at the Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok with a Glock 19, killing…