Folk theories of jihadi terrorism and the dynamics of ethnic polarization: a qualitative study of the Bondi beach attacks

This study relies on a qualitative field design based on semi-structured interviews conducted with 25 Sydney residents between January 30 2025 and June 2026. The interview method was chosen to examine perceptions of the motivations leading to jihadi terrorism and its effects on ethnic polarization as it is experienced, interpreted, and articulated by ordinary Sydney residents in their everyday lives. The approach relied primarily on semi-structured interviews and analysis of press publications in the month following the attacks perpetrated on December 14, 2025. Semi-structured interviews allowed for comparability across interviews while preserving flexibility for participants to introduce issues they considered salient.