Why White Supremacist Women Become Disillusioned, and Why They Leave

• NCJ Number: 253913
• Journal: Sociological Quarterly Dated: 2019
• Author(s): Mehr Latif; Kathleen Blee; Matthew DeMichele; Pete Simi; Shayna Alexander
• Date Published: 2019
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2014-ZA-BX-0005
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Award: Research and Evaluation on Domestic Radicalization to Violent Extremism: Research to Support Exit USA

Annotation

This study examined the relationship between becoming disillusioned with racist ideas and/or groups and the decision to leave organized white supremacism, with a focus on a classical sociological puzzle about the indeterminate ways that beliefs and actions inform each other.

Abstract

Drawing on a unique dataset from in-depth interviews with former members of U.S. white supremacist groups, the study examined disillusionment and exit in a volatile social world in which both beliefs and actions often change abruptly. (publisher abstract modified)