Hate in the Homeland: an interview with Cynthia Miller-Idriss

Abstract

As we move into a post-Trump presidential period in the United States, with shifting sands across the European political landscape, questions about how the far right is evolving are of increasing importance. In her new book, Hate in the Homeland, Dr Cynthia Miller-Idriss, an analyst of the far right, looks at the complicated narratives and social networks by which and in which people are radicalized, and how seemingly ephemeral concepts like ‘homeland’ can touch deep emotional needs in people vulnerable to far-right radicalization. By looking at the surprising routes taken by the far-right into various apolitical subcultures, such as mixed martial arts, video games and even cooking shows, we can see a complicated picture of how fragmentation is key to the adaptability that white nationalism is finding in our increasingly computer-driven age. In Shane Burley’s interview with Miller-Idriss, they discuss the role of spaces, both physical and virtual, how conspiracy and identity are driving a push to action, and what we are seeing in the wake of a mass pandemic that has driven us out of the streets and on to our computers.