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Arie Perliger

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American Zealots: Inside Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism (Columbia Studies in Terrorism and Irregular Warfare) Kindle Edition

by Arie Perliger (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 52 ratings

Part of: Columbia Studies in Terrorism and Irregular Warfare (25 books)

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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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Offers a useful ideological typology of the American far right. ― Survival

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.

Timothy Andrés Pabon is an English- and Spanish-speaking voice-over artist who has worked extensively in advertising and audiobook narration. He has had acting roles on House of Cards and has also been a costar on HBO's acclaimed series The Wire opposite country music legend Steve Earl. As a stage actor, he has worked off-Broadway at the June Havoc Theatre, and his regional credits include Center Stage, the Shakespeare Theatre, Arena Stage, the Hippodrome, Olney Theatre, Rep Stage, and GALA Hispanic Theatre.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B082FP14G8
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Columbia University Press (August 18, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 18, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3728 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 222 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #998,227 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #477 in Terrorism (Kindle Store)
- #519 in National & International Security (Kindle Store)
- #768 in Fascism (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 52 ratings

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Arie Perliger

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Dr. Arie Perliger is a Professor and the director of the graduate program in security studies at the School of Criminology and Justice Studies, University of Massachusetts Lowell. Before his arrival to UML, Dr. Perliger was the Director of Terrorism Studies and Associate Professor at the Combating Terrorism Center and Department of Social Sciences, US Military Academy at West Point.

In the past 18 years, Dr. Perliger was engaged in an extensive study of issues related to terrorism and political violence, security policy and politics, politics and extremism of the Far Right in Israel, Europe, and the US, Middle Eastern Politics and the applicability of Social Network Analysis to the study of political violence. His studies appeared in seven books and monographs, and in numerous articles and book chapters and were cited in more than 1300 academic texts. Dr. Perliger was also engaged in training practitioners from various agencies such as the FBI, CIA, and ICE. Additionally, he provided professional briefings to high-rank officials from the government and military such as The Secretary of the Army, Army Chief of Staff, and SOCOM, AFRICOM, NORTHCOM and JSOC commanders. Dr. Perliger is also engaged in informing the public via contributions to various media platforms. His articles/interviews appeared, among others, in the NY Times, BBC and Newsweek.

Dr. Perliger is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Democracy and Security, member of the editorial board of Studies in Conflict and Terrorism and a regular reviewer for various publishers and journals such as Columbia University Press, Chicago University Press, American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics and Journal of Peace Research.

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4.5 out of 5

52 global ratings

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Mark

Good but a little pricey

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2023

Verified Purchase

This is a rather concise overview of the issue that is far-right politics and violence. The book is only about 200 pages including bibliography, index, and notes. Despite its brevity, the author manages to provide an informative overview of the history, tactics, and ideology of many far-right groups in modern US history. I also appreciate how the author is rather straightforward with his points and does not cover them up with word stew and overly academic jargon. It is not too data heavy, there are some data points which the author uses in small doses but they are explained well.

My only complaint is that this book is a little on the expensive side for its length. It was a good read and quite informative, but I would like to see this sold for $15 or less due to its length. If you are familiar with the "Very Short Introduction" books (retail at $11.95) it is of a similar vein. Although the VSI books are quite broad in scope they range from 180-200 pages each, about the same as this book. As this book is more narrow in scope it could be a little more expensive but $22 (what I paid for at the time of writing) is a bit steep.

Regardless I enjoyed this book and would recommend this to anyone interested in the topic (though you may wait to see if the price will drop).

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C. R. Krieger

Examining the Extremists

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2021

Verified Purchase

I applaud this book for giving us a good look at the evolution of extreme race separation and anti Federalist thinking, including its violent fringe. On the other hand, I would have liked to see a peak at the opposite end of the political spectrum, which has its own violent side. Ask Andy Ngo. In full disclosure, I talked to the author for an hour recently.

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stringbreaker123

Not a Narrative History or Expose into Domestic Terroristic Factions

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2021

Pay attention to the “Columbia Studies” part of the title. It is informative in the sense that a graduate thesis would be informative. Do not purchase it thinking you will get much narrative information regarding individual or collective groups or specific past history regarding events of domestic terrorism. It is a study and is written as such. It displays points and trends, but from a statistical point of view. Bear that in mind before making the purchase.

6 people found this helpful

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Renaissance

Inside Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism

Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2021

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Must read book on nefarious efforts by the right.

One person found this helpful

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Crow