American Zealots

American Zealots: Inside Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism by Arie Perliger should become an essential read for anyone who remembers what American democracy once was or at least hoped to be and wants to move back toward that ideal. It is an uncomfortable read because of the content but one we must all work to understand regardless of the unease.

A quick comment about what this book is not nor tries to be. This is not prescriptive except in the very broadest of terms. This is meant to place where we currently find ourselves within the larger context of the history of right-wing rhetoric, particularly violent and extreme right-wing rhetoric. The strength of this approach is that the reader is not shifting back and forth between trying to understand and trying to assess potential solutions. We can focus on understanding. From an understanding we can begin to form remedies for society and, one hopes, those who currently accept such ideas as factual and/or worthy of violence. Perliger only touches on potential responses in the sense that he highlights what must be kept in mind when generating such plans or policies.

The writing is very straightforward and not heavy with jargon. Any terms he uses, whether from his areas of study or from within the groups he is studying, are explained clearly and concisely, with areas of ambiguity made known. The material, however, can seem overwhelming and confusing at first. I think this is so for two reasons (at least). One is that we have a tendency in public discourse to lump large groups together as if they are a monolithic whole. This habit runs across the political and social spectrum and more often than not serves to muddy the waters of any possible discussion or debate. The other is more related to the material itself, namely that there are many similarities even while the different strands have very different ideological foundations. As these groups have found some common ground to work together (even on very targeted and temporary goals) the casual citizen has perceived these groups as being largely variations on one theme, which is way off the mark.

I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to combat violent extremism of any sort and especially the rise of right-wing violent extremism. You can't hope to change that which you don't understand, and this book is designed to help us understand the current environment by understanding the history and rhetoric of these groups. This is absolutely essential reading for policy makers and future activists who want to do more than simply react to actions or words but rather make substantive change in society.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

I found this to be an interesting look into a very current subject. It covered many different far-right groups, such as skinheads and other Neo-Nazis, as well as the Christian Identity groups. While interesting, I found the book to be a bit too academic for my taste. It would be a great resource for a university course on the subject.

Perliger's book is balanced, well-researched, and makes a very complicated topic understandable. I think one of the most difficult parts of getting this topic to the public in a consumable way is to connect what has sprung up over the last decade to something with historical roots that go far beyond that and Perliger does that with the skill of an academic researcher and the accessibility of a popular author.

What a fascinating book to read. Was really interesting. Lots to read and lots to think about. Very well written

A year ago, FBI Director Christopher Wray announced that the agency had made about 100 domestic terrorism-related arrests since October 2018 and that the majority of them were tied to white supremacy. A look at recent headlines confirms that the level of far right terrorism has been rising steadily for the last 2 decades. And not just in the USA. But that’s a story for another book.

In his comprehensive and comparative study, Arie Perliger attempts to understand the societal and political factors behind the dramatic rise in far right violence, the new characteristics of its ideological framework as well as the type of strategies society should adopt to counter the growing threat.

The book is based on meticulous analysis of websites, social media platforms, personal accounts, paper and online publications promoting far right ideologies as well as on a dataset constructed by Perliger’s team to document all the violent attacks perpetrated by groups and individuals affiliated with the (very fragmented) American Far Right: the neo-Nazis, the Christian Identity followers, the members of the KKK, of Hammerskin Nation (HSN), of Aryan Nations, etc. The research also looks at paramilitary subcultures hostile towards the federal government and at pro-life organisations whose members are often also members of white supremacy groups. These groups have their own ideological nuances, structures, modus operandi, propaganda, targets, etc.

Their ideologies and rhetoric, however, increasingly overlap with the ones observed in the discourse of mainstream right-wing platforms and leaders. They tend to have similar positions on gun legislation and environmental policies, for example. In fact, Perliger argues, some of the concepts and practices that characterise far right groups are slowly seeping into formal mainstream political processes. He analyses the mechanisms behind this growing tolerance of far right ideas among the Republicans and how this, in turn, emboldens members of far right groups.

American Zealots makes for a fascinating, informative but also harrowing read. I can only admire its author for this in-depth investigation. I don’t think I would ever be able to spend months as he did poring over the abhorrent ideas and discourses professed by the kind of people who think their country needs an NAAWP, a National Association for the Advancement of White People.

The author also looked into a future characterised by the multiplication of environmental catastrophes, further democratisation of information sources, globalisation of political ideas and other dynamics that may provide new avenues of growth for far right ideologies. A pushback against the growing risk of an increase in far right violence lies, he argues, in a series of interventions such as a legal definition of domestic terrorism which would enable government agencies to address adequately groups perpetrating hate crimes, policies that facilitate better integration of minorities living in communities that have had little experience with ethnic and religious diversity, measures to slow the proliferation of White Power gangs in prison, solid tools to counter ideologies that promote hostility and violence towards segments of the population, etc. He would also invite leaders to consider the impact of their rhetoric on the legitimisation of far right narratives.

Even though the book focuses on the United States, it is difficult not to draw parallels with what is happening in Europe today. Not only are there transatlantic links between far right groups but some of the tactics adopted in the US to “recalibrate” their fetid ideological ideas and push them into the mainstream political discourse can also be observed in Europe. Far right Europeans too use civil rights jargon. They too attempt to dilute the ideological framework of their white nationalism with claims that they mostly care about environmental conservation, crime reduction, labour rights, etc. Or the fight against Covid-19.

This was a very informative look at how right-wing domestic violence and racism is becoming commonplace in our Country.  The author provided the information in a manner that wasn't confrontational to those that may disagree with it.  I learned a lot reading this.