American Far-Right Groups: The extremist to terrorist pipeline?

Abstract

of dissertation entitled American Far-Right: The Extremist to Terrorist Pipeline? Submitted by PRISCUS GODONOU The present research's intent is to look at the normalization of far-right discourse and the violence it seems to foster in its adherents in the United States of America. Indeed, American congress labeled far-right leaning extremists as their most significant domestic terrorism threat with fatalities exceeding those caused by radical Islamists since 9/11. In light of that, it seems important to look at the factors that could facilitate the shift of far-right extremists to terrorist methods. To do so, this paper pursues a Small-N case study of two far-right groups on opposite ends of the extremist to terrorist spectrum: the American Freedom Party and the (American) Proud Boys to seek out differences and similarities. Ultimately, this research argues that the shift from extremist ideas to violence is encouraged by group thinking and an exclusionary ideal shared by far-right groups which creates a dichotomous perception of the world that hinges on an in-group versus out-group dynamic which is seen as a struggle for survival. Keywords: Far-Right, Extremism, Terrorism, Group Identity, White Supremacy, the American Freedom Party, the Proud Boys Word Count: 195