First Advisor

Nathan Gies

Term of Graduation

Summer 2024

Date of Publication

9-26-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Political Science

Department

Political Science

Language

English

Subjects

American Far Right, Deradicalization, Judith Butler, Narrative Identity, Politics and Identity, Radical Politics

Physical Description

1 online resource (iv, 84 pages)

Abstract

My thesis is focused on the American far-right, by way of two sperate case studies, one centered on a contemporary movement (the manosphere) and one that has fallen from prominence (racist skinheads). Grounded in primary source analysis, my thesis builds off of the work of social movement theorists such as Sidney Tarrow, scholars of American politics like Richard Hofstadter, and emergent theories of social identity as laid out by Judith Butler and others. Through my analysis, I develop two theoretical arguments: first, that there are two distinct categories amongst far-right narratives (which I term offensive and defensive); and second, that radicalization, and in turn deradicalization, derives from the gain of a new identity rather than the loss of a non-radical identity. I support these claims by way of textual analysis of documents written by extremists themselves. My novel framework, incorporating the work of several different schools of social theory and drawing heavily from Butler's notion of the Other in relation to oneself, allows for an understanding of the interplay between extreme identity and the outside world. As such, my theory extends current scholarship on both members of the far right and how to bring them back into the fold of mainstream society.

Rights

© 2024 Benjamin Alexander Thigpen

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42597

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