Description
In an unsettling time in American history, the outbreak of right-wing violence is among the most disturbing developments. In recent years, attacks originating from the far right of American politics have targeted religious and ethnic minorities, with a series of antigovernment militants, religious extremists, and lone-wolf mass shooters inspired by right-wing ideologies. The need to understand the nature and danger of far-right violence is greater than ever.
In American Zealots, Arie Perliger provides a wide-ranging and rigorously researched overview of right-wing domestic terrorism. He analyzes its historical roots, characteristics, tactics, rhetoric, and organization, assessing the current and future trajectory of the use of violence by the far right. Perliger draws on a comprehensive dataset of more than 5,000 attacks and their perpetrators from 1990 through 2017 in order to explore key trends in American right-wing terrorism. He describes the entire ideological spectrum of the American far right, including today's white supremacists, antigovernment groups, and antiabortion fundamentalists, as well as the histories of the KKK, skinheads, and neo-Nazis. Based on these findings, Perliger suggests counterterrorism policies that can respond effectively to the far-right threat. A groundbreaking examination of violence spawned from right-wing ideologies, American Zealots is essential reading for everyone seeking to understand the transformation of domestic terrorism.
About the Author
Arie Perliger is professor and director of the graduate program in security studies at the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. His many publications on political violence include Jewish Terrorism in Israel (Columbia, 2009).
Reviews
American Zealots is an immensely timely and important publication. Written by one of this country's foremost authorities on far-right extremist violence, it provides a comprehensive analysis of this movement's evolution and trajectory and its implications for American society and politics. -- Bruce Hoffman, author of Inside Terrorism
With unparalleled expertise, Arie Perliger makes sense of the complicated and contentious reality of domestic right-wing terrorism. His explanation of the complexities, deep historical roots, and ideological diversity of the threat is clear and dispassionate. His conclusions are all the more important for being bluntly realistic: there is unlikely to be a decline in right-wing violence unless we devise a wide-ranging public policy response. -- Martha Crenshaw, Stanford University
At a time when both DHS and the FBI have underlined the threat posed from the radical right, Arie Perliger's American Zealots is a comprehensive and comparative study of right-wing terrorism that sheds light on how the movement emerged, grew within the US military, and our society to become the center of current domestic political debates. Using original data that he collected, the book is anchored in rigorous empirical evidence to explain how we got here and identify the path forward. -- Mia Bloom, author of Small Arms: Children and Terrorism
This arresting book explores the backgrounds of right-wing activists who have terrorized America's heartland from Oak Creek, Wisconsin to El Paso, Texas in recent decades. Far from being lone wolves, they are supported by a vast community of hatred, this revealing study shows. It descends into America's underground cultures of violence and helps the reader understand the motivations and organizations of what has become America's number one terrorist threat. It is essential reading for anyone concerned about the widening chasms of political extremism in the United States. -- Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence
Perliger is impassioned and cleareyed about how troubling the trends are...a plainspoken and data-driven yet essential book for understanding the underpinnings of today's domestic terrorists. * Kirkus Reviews *
This book illuminates the threat of the far-right in an accessible, non-jargony way and Perliger's introduction to the topic may encourage readers to become more informed about some of the complexities and nuances of the far-right...a multifaceted analysis. -- Samantha Kutner, Khalifa Ihler Institute * Critical Studies on Terrorism *
A refreshing and valuable perspective...American Zealots provides a valuable contribution to the growing literature of the contemporary far-right in the United States. -- Matthew Valasik * Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Book Reviews *
An exceptional read into the domestic terrorist threat....for anyone interested in reading into domestic terrorism, its cultural impact, and the potential for continued acts of violence the book is highly recommended. * Populism *
Offers a useful ideological typology of the American far right. * Survival *
Book Information
ISBN 9780231167116
Author Arie Perliger
Format Paperback
Page Count 232
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
In American Zealots, Arie Perliger provides a wide-ranging and rigorously researched overview of right-wing domestic terrorism. He analyzes its historical roots, characteristics, tactics, rhetoric, and organization, assessing the current and future trajectory of the use of violence by the far right. Perliger draws on a comprehensive dataset of more than 5,000 attacks and their perpetrators from 1990 through 2017 in order to explore key trends in American right-wing terrorism. He describes the entire ideological spectrum of the American far right, including today's white supremacists, antigovernment groups, and antiabortion fundamentalists, as well as the histories of the KKK, skinheads, and neo-Nazis. Based on these findings, Perliger suggests counterterrorism policies that can respond effectively to the far-right threat. A groundbreaking examination of violence spawned from right-wing ideologies, American Zealots is essential reading for everyone seeking to understand the transformation of domestic terrorism.
About the Author
Arie Perliger is professor and director of the graduate program in security studies at the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. His many publications on political violence include Jewish Terrorism in Israel (Columbia, 2009).
Reviews
American Zealots is an immensely timely and important publication. Written by one of this country's foremost authorities on far-right extremist violence, it provides a comprehensive analysis of this movement's evolution and trajectory and its implications for American society and politics. -- Bruce Hoffman, author of Inside Terrorism
With unparalleled expertise, Arie Perliger makes sense of the complicated and contentious reality of domestic right-wing terrorism. His explanation of the complexities, deep historical roots, and ideological diversity of the threat is clear and dispassionate. His conclusions are all the more important for being bluntly realistic: there is unlikely to be a decline in right-wing violence unless we devise a wide-ranging public policy response. -- Martha Crenshaw, Stanford University
At a time when both DHS and the FBI have underlined the threat posed from the radical right, Arie Perliger's American Zealots is a comprehensive and comparative study of right-wing terrorism that sheds light on how the movement emerged, grew within the US military, and our society to become the center of current domestic political debates. Using original data that he collected, the book is anchored in rigorous empirical evidence to explain how we got here and identify the path forward. -- Mia Bloom, author of Small Arms: Children and Terrorism
This arresting book explores the backgrounds of right-wing activists who have terrorized America's heartland from Oak Creek, Wisconsin to El Paso, Texas in recent decades. Far from being lone wolves, they are supported by a vast community of hatred, this revealing study shows. It descends into America's underground cultures of violence and helps the reader understand the motivations and organizations of what has become America's number one terrorist threat. It is essential reading for anyone concerned about the widening chasms of political extremism in the United States. -- Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence
Perliger is impassioned and cleareyed about how troubling the trends are...a plainspoken and data-driven yet essential book for understanding the underpinnings of today's domestic terrorists. * Kirkus Reviews *
This book illuminates the threat of the far-right in an accessible, non-jargony way and Perliger's introduction to the topic may encourage readers to become more informed about some of the complexities and nuances of the far-right...a multifaceted analysis. -- Samantha Kutner, Khalifa Ihler Institute * Critical Studies on Terrorism *
A refreshing and valuable perspective...American Zealots provides a valuable contribution to the growing literature of the contemporary far-right in the United States. -- Matthew Valasik * Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Book Reviews *
An exceptional read into the domestic terrorist threat....for anyone interested in reading into domestic terrorism, its cultural impact, and the potential for continued acts of violence the book is highly recommended. * Populism *
Offers a useful ideological typology of the American far right. * Survival *
Book Information
ISBN 9780231167116
Author Arie Perliger
Format Paperback
Page Count 232
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
