ABSTRACT

Jeffrey Kaplan has been one of the most influential scholars of new religious movements, extremism and terrorism. His pioneering use of interpretive fieldwork among radical and violent subcultures opened up new fields of scholarship and vastly increased our understanding of the beliefs and activities of extremists. This collection features many of his seminal contributions to the field alongside several new pieces which place his work within the context of the latest research developments. Combining discussion of the methodological issues alongside a broad array of case studies, this will be essential reading for all students and scholars of extremism, religion and politics and terrorism.

chapter |34 pages

Introduction

part |21 pages

Methodology and theory

chapter |19 pages

Interpreting the interpretive approach

A friendly reply to Thomas Robbins

part |58 pages

Firsts

chapter |16 pages

Leaderless resistance

chapter |28 pages

Tommy Rydén

A national socialist life

part |227 pages

Case studies

chapter |54 pages

The context of American millenarian revolutionary theology

The case of the ‘Identity Christian' Church of Israel

chapter |36 pages

Absolute rescue

Absolutism, defensive action and the resort to force

chapter |20 pages

America's last prophetic witness

The literature of the rescue movement

chapter |38 pages

Islamophobia in America?

September 11 and Islamophobic hate crime 1

chapter |26 pages

The Lord's Resistance Army

Millennialism, violence and the timeless dream

part |74 pages

New directions

chapter |31 pages

The fifth wave

The new tribalism? 1

chapter |38 pages

On tribalism

Auxiliaries, affiliates, and lone wolf political violence