Hate in the Homeland is a great introduction to understanding far right and how it grows and operates in the modern world. I am offering a straightforward assessment of this book because it is a straightforward guide to its topic, so much so that I feel like it reads like a university research paperm which makes sense considering this was published by the Princeton University Press and written by Cynthia Miller-Idriss who, after a quick Google, is a university professor and the founder of a research center on extremism in Washington D.C.
Therefore, what you will receive is a functional book dedicated to conveying the research Miller-Idriss has done in this field. Perhaps some readers may not like the research paper style of writing. I personally am totally fine with it, because the information obtained from this book is interesting and useful. I must admit, I've read and studied (and am currently working in a lab focusing on) the far right so much of this was information I knew but perhaps didn't necessarily have one book that squeezed it all into a easily digestible volume. But for people who haven't gone to school for counterterrorism, this is an excellent guide to the modern far right: its ideologies, its recruitment efforts, its propaganda, and its growing support in the mainstream.
For those who are well versed in extremism studies, this book does offer something which I thought was second nature to researchers at this point but Miller-Idriss seemed to think it wasn't: the importance of space and place in modern far right radicalization. As opposed to the right wing movements of perhaps the 90s which relied on specific concerts and gangs and bars and other places and spaces, the new far right has exploited the internet and youth culture to seemingly its fullest to further far right goals and political ambitions. Technically I don't see this as a new thing, most journalists have been covering online radicalization of individuals ever since the rise of ISIS in 2013. But it is true that the United States in particular has lagged behind most of its allies in tackling domestic terrorism, most of which is conducted by individuals on the far right, so I can see the purpose of publishing a book like this to bring these newish radicalization methods to the fore. I learned quite a few things about radicalization avenues, particularly about cooking shows and MMA gyms.
If there are particular points I disagree on in this book, it's that it's not necessarily deep enough to really dig through the idiosyncrasies and hypocrisies of far right talking points and revisionist history (though she did do that a bit with her discussion of the history of race science). But then again, this book is more of an exploratory research paper and not a comprehensive analysis and critique of far right culture. The conclusion of the book did actually shift my thinking about deradicalization programs though. I've typically been cautiously optimistic about the concept of deradicalization, but Miller-Idriss shows that perhaps a more effective way of combating extremism is to interrupt radicalization rather than wait for it to take hold. And while I am impressed at hearing in particular German efforts at promoting society-wide programs that seem to accomplish this mission decently well, I know for a fact that no such program would be possible in the US for a myriad of complicated reasons. Still, it's good to have real world examples in action.
A recommend for me for anyone who needs a straightforward academic introduction to the far right today.