Group Grievance, Violence and the Far Right.

• In Event: Terrorism Grievances, Ideology, and Violence

Abstract

Polls show a shift in fear about the threat home-based groups pose to our security, likely reflecting the fact that the death toll of domestic terrorism now exceeds deaths from international terrorism. Yet, we know very little about how domestic radicalization differs from non-domestic radicalization. Even less is known about what drives domestic terrorists to engage in violence. In this paper, we take a modest step toward closing some of the gaps in the literature by testing theories around: 1) the degree to which domestic radicalization, both far right and far left, differs from Jihadist radicalization; and 2) the role grievance plays in the most extreme form of domestic radicalization, those in which violence is involved. Like others have found, our results reveal subtle but significant ways in which the far right, far left, and Jihadist radicals differ by race, social networks and background characteristics like criminal activity and marriage. Importantly, we find that ethnoracial/ethnonationalist grievances increase the likelihood that far right radicals will engage in violence. We conclude with some concerns about the continuing significance of grievance in politics and domestic radicalization, and how we might use our findings to more effectively target these threats.

Authors

• Robert Hode, Rider University

• Victor Thompson, Rider University