We live in a destabilizing world where, increasingly, the version of reality that our neighbors and family members perceive is potentially very different from the one we experience: maybe even radically so. And it is radicalism itself—particularly on the political far-right—that has watchdogs and citizens nervous. Societies around the world are rife with extremism and polarization, and some in the U.S. fear that January 6th was merely a harbinger for something far more serious and widespread.
In her book Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right, Cynthia Miller-Idriss demonstrates how the far-right radicals of tomorrow are being recruited in surprising places as well as the effects this has on our democracies. From college campuses to online chatrooms, and from mixed martial arts gyms to the comments sections of YouTube cooking videos, her work examines the paths people—often young and vulnerable—walk as they are drawn deeper into the heart of hateful movements.
Join the John Adams Institute as we look into the mirror world proposed by far-right groups, where ideology is king, history and nationalism combine to form a bitter potion, and conspiratorial thinking is the norm. It is a world where the problems society faces appear from the outset the same, but the proposed solutions couldn’t be more different.
But despite the insidious spread of alt-right movements, Miller-Idriss reveals the innovative strategies that can be employed to combat extremist radicalization around the globe by exposing and interrupting the patterns recruiters use to find their targets. Her proposal? That societies need a robust holistic approach to combatting extremism and radicalization, from preemptive education campaigns to game-style interventions to recognize and counteract hateful propaganda before it takes root.
Cynthia Miller-Idriss is the director of Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at Washington University, and professor in the School of Public Affairs and Education in the department of Justice, Law and Criminology. In addition to her academic publications, she is a regular writer and commentator for MSNBC, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Politico, The Guardian, Le Monde, Al Jazeera and many more.