Date of Award

Spring 5-10-2025

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Global Policy

First Committee Advisor

James Settele

Second Committee Member

Nicholas Micinski

Third Committee Member

William Farrell

Abstract

Far-right violent extremism is not a new phenomenon; however, the recent resurgence of far-right ideological beliefs has made far-right extremism a pressing security issue. In far-right literature, the experiences of women violent extremists have been understudied. This thesis aims to explore pathways of radicalization and mobilization among N=42 subjects, n=22 men and n=20 women, and observe the effects of gender on the pathways to radicalization. Several gendered differences were found in indicators for radicalization and mobilization using a convergent mixed methods design with a data transformation. A content codebook analysis checked for indicator propensity across genders, and a series of Fisher Exact Tests showed significant interactions between genders. Additionally, five indicator groupings were found to occur across the two genders examined in the study. The findings suggest that current policies and practices concerning CVE must be reevaluated to consider the differences in radicalization and mobilization to violent extremism between men and women. Further, alternative CVE policies, such as the Arhus Model, which focus on curated community prevention and intervention plans, should be considered in the United States.

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