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Pathways to Hate: Applying an Integrated Social Control-Social Learning Model to White Supremacist Violence

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Right-Wing Extremism in Canada and the United States

Part of the book series: Palgrave Hate Studies ((PAHS))

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Abstract

Recent years have seen a growth in the body of research examining the etiology of hate crime and terrorism. At the same time, there has been increasing interest in the overlap between hate crime and terrorism given a number of high-profile violent attacks committed by far-right extremists with white supremacist beliefs. This chapter examines case studies of violent white supremacists included in the U.S. Extremist Crime Database, who have committed violent hate crimes motivated by their extremist beliefs. In addition to investigating the role of the Internet in facilitating each offender’s radicalization, this analysis uses an integrated theoretical model combining the competing criminological theories of social learning and social control to explain each offender’s radicalization and their use of extremist violence. The case studies all demonstrate processes from both social control and social learning theories, providing support for the use of the integrated model in explaining pathways to radicalization and extremist violence.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This work was supported by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice under Award No. 2015-ZA-BX-0004; the Office of University Programs Science and Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the Center for the Study of Terrorism and Behavior (CSTAB—Center Lead) Grant made to the START Consortium (Grant # 2012-ST-61-CS0001). The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect those of the Department of Justice or the Department of Homeland Security.

  2. 2.

    For information about the ECDB, see Freilich et al. (2014).

  3. 3.

    Mills et al. (2021) included Smith in their analysis as an example of a far-right extremist who engaged in hate violence. As this study includes all case studies of white supremacist perpetrators of bias-motivated homicides completed for the NIJ project cited in the previous note, this study thus also includes Smith.

  4. 4.

    The full case studies with references are available upon request.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Criminal Justice, Pennsylvania State University—Abington, Abington, PA, USA

    Colleen Mills

Authors
  1. Colleen Mills
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Colleen Mills .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, University of Ontario, Oshawa, ON, Canada

    Barbara Perry

  2. Department of Sociology & Criminology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    Jeff Gruenewald

  3. School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Ryan Scrivens

Appendix A: Case-Study Template

Appendix A: Case-Study Template

  • Overview

  • Birth and Family

  • Education and Work

  • Friends

  • Mental Health

  • Military Experience

  • Criminal History and Legal Troubles

  • Prison

Q1: What are the similarities and differences in the entry process into violent political extremism (VPE), violent targeted extremism (VTE), and non-violent political extremism (NVPE)?

  • Describe the individual’s entry into the extremist movement and/or radicalization process

    1. 1.

      Exposure to radical ideology

      • Was there a noticeable change in socialization before and after their interest in extremist ideology/materials?

    2. 2.

      Entry into a radical organization or beginning of radical participation

      • Was there a noticeable change in socialization before and after their joining of an extremist group/movement (if they did so)?

      • Was there a noticeable change in online usage/engagement before and after their joining of an extremist group/movement (if they did so)?

    3. 3.

      And the commission of an actual criminal/radical act

      • Was there a noticeable change in online usage/engagement before and after their interest in VPE, VTE, or NVPE?

  • What were the sources as the source of their exposure to extremist ideology and what seemed to be most important and why?

    • Was there an initial push into a search for extremist materials or ideology?

      1. 1.

        Negative social interaction with peer group?

      2. 2.

        Negative familial development (divorce, death of parent, etc.)?

      3. 3.

        Individual failure at any prosocial activity (sports, employment, school)?

    • Was there an initial pull into searching for extremist materials or ideology?

      • Contact with a recruiter

      • Contact with someone else who was interested in extremist ideology

        • Was this individual a friend, family member, or someone else?

Q2: For VPE, VTE, and NVPE what role does socializing with other radicals or extremists offline as opposed to attachment to prosocial sources offline have in shaping or preventing the radicalization?

  1. 1.

    Do they socialize frequently with other peers?

    1. (a)

      Is this primarily online or offline?

  2. 2.

    Do they socialize frequently with others who are in extremist movements?

    1. (a)

      Is this primarily online or offline?

Q3: For VPE, VTE, and NVPE what role does socializing with other radicals or extremists online as opposed to attachment to prosocial sources online have in shaping or preventing the radicalization process? In particular, is it possible that offenders are very strongly attached to parents, peers, or religious leaders but are further radicalized rather than controlled by these attachments (as argued by learning theories)?

  • Is the individual strongly attached with their parents/grandparents?

  • Is the individual strongly attached with other family members?

  • Is the individual married prior to joining an extremist movement/radicalizing?

  • Is the individual strongly attached with religious groups or leaders?

  • Do the religious groups or leaders share an extremist ideology?

  • Is the individual strongly attached to peers (i.e., do they have a strong peer group)?

    • Is the preponderance of individuals in this peer group involved in delinquent activities? To what extent of seriousness were these activities (i.e., mostly misdemeanors or felonies)?

    • Are any of the individuals in this peer group also interested in extremist ideology?

    • Are any of these individuals in this peer group also involved in extremist activity?

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Mills, C. (2022). Pathways to Hate: Applying an Integrated Social Control-Social Learning Model to White Supremacist Violence. In: Perry, B., Gruenewald, J., Scrivens, R. (eds) Right-Wing Extremism in Canada and the United States . Palgrave Hate Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99804-2_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99804-2_13

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-99803-5

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