Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Over the last 20 years, domestic far-right extremism has risen to become the
greatest threat to peace and safety in the United States. In the last few years alone,
racialized, minoritized, and marginalized individuals and communities have been
increasingly forced to feel the pain and experience the consequences of domestic far-right
terrorism. Supposing academics, community leaders, and elected officials seek to combat
the rising threat of far-right extremism in the United States, a greater focus must be paid
to the lived experiences of men and women seeking to exit extremist groups.
This study aimed to better understand the psychosocial processes involved in the
disengagement and/or de-radicalization journey of former far-right extremists.
Additionally, this study sought to understand better the potential role social work could
play in the disengagement and de-radicalization of far-right extremists seeking to exit a
life of hate and extremism. Charmaz’s (2014) grounded theory approach provided the
framework for this qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews with 18 former white
nationalist extremists recruited through community informants and snowball sampling
were used to answer the research question; What are the psychosocial processes involved
in the disengagement and de-radicalization journey of former far-right extremists, and
how do they develop in society? To date, there has not been a study located utilizing
grounded theory in disengagement and de-radicalization studies. Additionally, a theory of
disengagement and de-radicalization has yet to be explored. This study sought to explore
and conceptualize latent social patterns and structures within the disengagement and de-radicalization journey as a means to construct a theoretical frame to better understand
one’s journey from a life of hate. Study findings emerged from over 3,500 coded items
from 18 transcripts. Eight themes emerged from the data, and a proposed model
conceptualizing the psychosocial processes involved in the journey out of far-right
extremism is introduced.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/30363 |
| Date | 09 1900 |
| Creators | Carroll, Danny W., II |
| Contributors | Khaja, Khadija, Boys, Stephanie, Hostetter, Carol, Vogt, Wendy |
| Source Sets | Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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