CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2022
| Author | Naous, Rebecca |
|---|---|
| Title | American White Supremacist Reactionism and Group Formation: A Comparative Analysis in the Wakes of Emancipation and Reconstruction (1863-1877) and the Global Rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement (May 25th, 2020 - Present Day) |
| Summary | White supremacist reactionism in America tends to arise and intensify during periods of major social, political, and economic shifts that threaten the white hegemonic power structures built into the foundations of the United States. This thesis diachronically compares two periods in American history which characterize waves of white supremacist reactionism: (1) The Reconstruction era (1863-1877) following the Union victory of the Civil War and the subsequent emancipation of the enslaved Black populations in the South, and (2) The Black Lives Matter (BLM) era, (May 25, 2020-present) identified in this thesis as the period following the global rise of the BLM movement after the 2020 Memorial Day police murder of unarmed Black man, George Floyd. These selected eras will be diachronically compared through the subject case study of two reactionary white supremacist groups for each era that formed or significantly grew in response to the associated trigger event(s). Two groups were selected from each era based on the trajectory of their organization during the given era and the availability of relevant sources. The Reconstruction era groups looked at are the Ku Klux Klan (1865-1877) and the Red Shirts (1876-1900). The selected BLM era groups are Patriot Front (2017-present) and The Base (2018-present). Chapter 1 will provide background and context on the eras while Chapter 2 provides the beliefs, ethos, and aims of White Supremacist Reactionaries through the examination of concepts such as Replacement Theory and constructions of ‘Whiteness’ and ‘Blackness’. Chapter 3 is dedicated to case studies and analysis. This thesis found significant overlap in each era’s ideologies, grievances and fears, and aims, while recruitment tactics and group actions and activities. This thesis concludes that these differences in each groups’ violent actions and activities are dependent on the degrees of law enforcement and government intervention imposed upon the group and its members in the given time and context. |
| Supervisor | Constantin Iordachi & Emese Lafferton |
| Department | History MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2022/naous_rebecca.pdf |
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