Extreme Right Wing Political Violence and Terrorism

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

In this collection, senior experts explore all aspects of extreme right wing political violence, from the nature of the threat, processes of engagement, and ideology to the lessons that can be drawn from exiting such engagement. Further, right wing activism and political violence are compared with Jihadi violence and engagement. Also, the European experience is placed within a greater framework, including that of the United States and the Arab Spring. The book opens with an essay on U.S. far right groups, investigating their origins and processes of recruitment. It then delves into violence against UK Mosques and Islamic centers, the relationship between Ulster loyalism and far right extremism, the Dutch extremist landscape, and the July 2011 Norway attacks. Also discussed are how narratives of violence are built and justified, at what point do individuals join into violence, and how differently states respond to left-wing vs. right-wing extremism. This comparative work offers a unique look into the very nature of right wing extremism and will be a must-read for anyone studying political violence and terrorism

Reviews

The editors and authors included in this book make a real contribution to our knowledge by illustrating how small groups dedicated to right-wing terrorism and violence have evolved into political movements. Leonard Weinbergs essay on right-wing political activity in the United States usefully divides the spectrum into a populist right based on movements like the Tea Party and a revolutionary right based on racism and fixation on a coming racial apocalypse. Weinberg correctly divides political movements that are geared to winning actual electoral battles from those aimed at (by discourse, at least) overthrow of the existing political order. This book is a most worthwhile read. The topic is an alarming one, and the comparative focus of the book shows just how alarming it is. Seeing the similarities and differences between rising populist right-wing movements and their revolutionary counterparts was both interesting and enlightening. -- Phyllis Schultze * Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books *

Author Bio

Donald Holbrook is Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV), University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK.