Cynthia Miller-Idriss is a professor in the School of Public Affairs and the School of Education at American University, where she runs the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). She is the author of The Extreme Gone Mainstream: Commercialization and Far Right Youth Culture in Germany (Princeton) and Blood and Culture: Youth, Right-Wing Extremism, and National Belonging in Contemporary Germany. Twitter @milleridriss
A startling look at the unexpected places where violent hate groups recruit young people
Hate crimes. Misinformation and conspiracy theories. Foiled white-supremacist plots. The signs of growing far-right extremism are all around us, and communities across America and around the globe are struggling to understand how so many people are being radicalized and why they are increasingly attracted to violent movements. Hate in the Homeland shows how tomorrow's far-right nationalists are being recruited in surprising places, from college campuses and mixed martial arts gyms to clothing stores, online gaming chat rooms, and YouTube cooking channels.
Instead of focusing on the how and why of far-right radicalization, Cynthia Miller-Idriss seeks answers in the physical and virtual spaces where hate is cultivated. Where does the far right do its recruiting? When do young people encounter extremist messaging in their everyday lives? Miller-Idriss shows how far-right groups are swelling their ranks and developing their cultural, intellectual, and financial capacities in a variety of mainstream settings. She demonstrates how young people on the margins of our communities are targeted in these settings, and how the path to radicalization is a nuanced process of moving in and out of far-right scenes throughout adolescence and adulthood.
Hate in the Homeland is essential for understanding the tactics and underlying ideas of modern far-right extremism. This eye-opening book takes readers into the mainstream places and spaces where today's far right is engaging and ensnaring young people, and reveals innovative strategies we can use to combat extremist radicalization. "In her disturbing book Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right, Professor Cynthia Miller-Idriss argues convincingly that "innovative, flexible and youth-driven ideas" are vital in the battle to counter the online transnational recruiting of fascist zealots."---Martin Chilton, The Independent "A timely book that calls for vigilance against extremism in hitherto unexpected corners, online and off." "This is an incredible book . . . that I found impossible to put down. Miller-Idriss has put it together here; the actors, the methods, and the history." "In Hate in the Homeland Cynthia Miller-Idriss describes how ideas once limited to extremist circles, such as that of a 'demographic replacement'-whereby American citizens will be overrun-are now promoted by mainstream figures such as Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham of Fox News." "Miller-Idriss explains [how] the market for hate is thriving."---Eric Spitznagel, New York Post "Hate in the Homeland locates the issue within a broader analytic context and opens avenues for scholars to develop more fulsome conceptualizations of radicalization and recruitment into far-right extremist ideologies."---Kelsey C. Boismier, Symbolic Interactions "Hate in the Homeland is an important contribution to our understandings of the places and spaces in which young people encounter extremist messages. The author does an excellent job of guiding readers through what can be a tricky epistemological terrain, providing a comprehensive, accessible and thoughtful overview of what the far right is, what they believe and the places and spaces they inhabit. The book will undoubtedly prove very useful to scholars working in the field as well as readers unfamiliar with the topic."---Katherine Williams, London School of Economics Review of Books "Hate in the Homeland is the best account I have read so far o
