UC Riverside

This dissertation attempts to understand the contemporary phenomenon of White politicalviolence in the United States. Specifically, I challenge the notion that such violence can be considered merely a deviant or criminal aberration by showing how the fluctuating relationship between White violence and either support for or condemnation of State institutions reveals how fundamentally intertwined such violence is to Whiteness and American democracy more broadly. From within a theoretical perspective that emphasizes the historical relationship between White violence and democracy in the United States, this dissertation presents a mixed-methods approach that explores the commonalities between mainstream Whites who have high levels of attachment to their White identity and members of extremist hate groups who engage in overt racist language and violent activity. The main difference between these subsections of the population appears to rest on whether they see mainstream institutions as sufficiently enforcing White hierarchy and privilege, or whether violent action is needed to supplement or replace official avenues. This is shown through analyses of survey data, machine learning performed on hate crimes and extremist blog text, and my own field work within online pro-White and extremist groups.