129. We've overlooked terrorism from the far-right

About this episode

The episode discusses the rise of far-right terrorism in the U.S. and the government's uneven responses to political violence.

What has caused the rise in political violence in the United States that culminated with the January 6 insurrection? In part, our government’s uneven and counterproductive responses to jihad terrorism. After 9/11, U.S. policy was disproportionately harsh toward Muslims while being comparatively lenient toward violence committed by far-right actors. This imbalance, according to our guest, Laura Dugan, Ph.D., professor of sociology at The Ohio State University, created both backlash and blind spots. On one hand, aggressive policies—mass detentions and heightened surveillance—fueled resentment and contributed to the global spread of extremist movements. On the other, the failure to consistently label as “terrorism” acts of violence committed by white perpetrators and punish them signaled a degree of tolerance, or at least inconsistency, in law enforcement. This disparity helped normalize far-right extremism and allowed it to grow largely unchecked. Terrorism should be defined by behavior, not identity. Using a widely accepted definition—violence or the threat of violence for political purposes—Dr. Dugan argues that parts of the January 6 attack clearly meet the threshold for…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jack D’Aurora, John Gonzales

Guest: Laura Dugan, Ph.D.

Topics covered

• political violence
• far-right extremism
• terrorism
• January 6 insurrection
• government response
• sociology

Keywords

• terrorism
• far-right
• political violence
• January 6
• government policy
• extremism
• sociology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Ohio State University

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