By Manfred Halpern

Defensive Aggressiveness: Groups may retreat to defensive aggressiveness, risking repression of individual consciousness and creativity.

Group vs. Individual: True societal transformation requires new individual consciousness and creativity, not just group victories.

Racism and Ideologies: Racism is compared to other ideologies like nationalism and revolution, showing how they can become reified and lead to incoherence.

Global Comparisons: The document compares the capacity of different societies, including American and African Blacks, to deal with continuity,change, collaboration, conflict, and justice in the face of incoherence.

Race and Nations Monograph Series, 1970, 41 pages

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By John E. Tropman

Dualistic Perspective on Values: The book explores the idea that values come in pairs of partially contradictory concepts, such as permission and control.

Alcohol in American Society: It examines the historical shifts in attitudes toward alcohol in the U.S., highlighting the cyclical nature of permission and control.

Cultural and Social Systems: The interaction between social and cultural systems is discussed, emphasizing how changes in one can lead to changes in the other.

Permission/Control Balance: The book delves into the balance between permissions and control in society, particularly in the context of alcohol use.

University Press of America, 1986, 105 pages

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By Murray Clark Havens, Carl Leiden & Karl M. Schmitt

Nature of Assassination: The book explores the definition, scope, andstate of knowledge on political assassinations, emphasizing their impact on political systems.

Case Studies: It includes detailed case studies of notable assassinations,such as Martin Luther King Jr., Henrik Verwoerd, and Patrice Lumumba,analyzing the assassins, conspiracies, and impacts.

Impact Analysis: The authors discuss the varying impacts of assassinations, from negligible to destructive, on political systems,personnel, and policies.

Research Challenges: The book highlights the difficulties in studying assassinations, including data collection and interpretation, and calls for further research in this area.

Prentice-Hall, 1970, 174 pages

By Jake Addams

Social Service and Progressive Party: The document discusses the role of Hull-House in social reform and its connection to larger movements,including the Progressive Party and various social surveys.

Efforts for Peace: It highlights efforts for peace during World War I,including the Woman's International Peace Congress and the FordPeace Ship.

Immigration and Quota Acts: The document examines the impact of immigration policies and quota acts on families and communities,emphasizing the challenges faced by immigrants.

Education and Integration: It underscores the importance of education in integrating immigrants and the role of settlements in providing educational opportunities.

Macmillan, 1930, 413 pages

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By Carol J. Adams

Feminist-Vegetarian Connection: The book explores the interconnections between feminism and vegetarianism, arguing that both movements challenge patriarchal structures and the oppression of animals and women.

Patriarchal Culture: It discusses how patriarchal culture authorizes the eating of animals and links this to male dominance and control.

Historical Context: The book provides a historical analysis of vegetarianism and its ties to feminist movements, particularly from the1790s to the present.

Cultural Critique: It critiques how meat consumption is embedded in cultural norms and language, reinforcing gender roles and violence.

Continuum, 2000, 256 pages

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By Samuel E. Wallace

Two Ways of Living: The document contrasts two lifestyles within the economic system: one bound by societal obligations and the other, amore carefree, nomadic existence.

Skid Row Research: The author conducted extensive research on skidrow, including participant observation and interviews, to understand the community's way of life.

Historical Context: Skid row has been a subject of study for over a century, with numerous empirical studies, biographies, and programmatic statements documenting its existence and the lives of its inhabitants.

References: The document contains many references to previous studies, reports, and literature on skid row and related topics.

Bedminster Press, 1965, 219 pages

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By Leon Ray Livingston

Book Overview: "The Trail of the Tramp" by Leon Ray Livingston, also known as A-No. 1, is a narrative based on the author's own experiences as a tramp.

Content Summary: The book includes various chapters detailing different aspects of tramp life, such as "The Harvester," "TheSamaritans," and "The Wages of Sin is Death."

Publication Details: This edition was republished in 2010 using Print onDemand technology, which may result in typos or missing text due to the condition of the original book.

Availability: The book can be purchased from newsagents, train stations, and book stores, and a free digital copy is available on the publisher's website.

A-No. 1 publishing Company, 1913, 71 pages

By Pamela G. Faber, Megan K. McBride, Sarah Fusco, and Cheryl B. Rosenblum

The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the wide-ranging disruption that nontraditional threats such as pandemics can have on the US economy, military, diplomatic corps, and national security apparatus. The US, its partners, and its competitors have tried to curb the spread of the virus by closing schools, workplaces, social gathering spots, and borders. Militaries have scaled back operations, postponed exercises, and curtailed engagements. Economic futures remain uncertain. Low‑income workers in industrialized countries have been disproportionately affected by rolling shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, and wealth inequality is increasing. Social interactions, such as religious gatherings, family celebrations, athletic activities, and concerts have been forced online or suspended. For many, extended periods of isolation and loneliness are a hidden side effect of the virus, with experts predicting a mental health crisis to come. Although the vaccine rollout is underway in many parts of the world, it will be many more months—possibly years—before the entire global population is vaccinated and a return to “normal” becomes possible. The pandemic, moreover, has affected both violent extremist organization (VEO) operations and US capacity to conduct counterterrorism (CT)  intelligence gathering, analysis, and activities. It has increased global instability—political, economic, and social—which will almost certainly benefit terrorist and extremist groups. Jihadi movements such as ISIS and far-right groups such as the Russian Imperial Movement thrive in environments of uncertainty and chaos. COVID-19 has contributed to instability and expanded opportunities for VEOs to recruit and operate. Accordingly, there has been an observable uptick in VEO activity in places such as sub-Saharan Africa, West Africa, Iraq, and Syria; in addition, movements such as ISIS and Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) have adjusted their rhetoric by claiming that the virus is divine punishment for unbelievers. In the US, citizen frustration with COVID-19 mitigation efforts drove (thwarted) attacks against public officials in New Mexico, a hospital in Missouri, and police headquarters in Orlando, Florida, and extremists have also encouraged followers to disrupt National Guard activities. In addition to COVID-related violence in the US, rising political unrest, including the January 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol, has drawn attention to domestic security issues.

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2021. 26p.

By Pamela G. Faber, Megan K. McBride, Julia McQuaid, Emily Mushen, Alexander Powell, William G. Rosenau and Elizabeth Yang With contributions by Megan Katt and Annaleah Westerhaug

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict – Stability and Humanitarian Affairs (OASD (SO/LIC-SHA)) asked  CNA to study the role of women and gender in both violent extremist organizations (VEOs) and US counterterrorism (CT) and counter violent extremism (CVE)  operations (hereafter CT/CVE). This request emerged from the recognition that greater understanding of the role of gender and women in CT/CVE operations is necessary as mandated in section 1047 of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and in accordance with the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Act of 2017. This study addresses the following research questions: 

• What roles do women play in VEOs organizationally and operationally? 

• How have these roles shifted over time, and how might they evolve in the short and long terms?

• What are the existing Department of Defense (DOD) and Special Operations Forces (SOF) approaches and policies regarding gender and CT/CVE? 

• What opportunities are presented to DOD, and SOF in particular, through increased consideration of gender in CT/CVE? What are the risks of failing to do so? 

• How should the US factor the role of gender into future CT/CVE operations, training, and education?

To carry this out, we developed a three-part approach: 

• Identified the roles of women and gender in VEOs through nine case studies: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People’s Army, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Kurdistan Workers’ Party, Al-Shabaab, National Socialist Underground and National Action (two white supremacist groups in Europe), Boko Haram, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Lord’s Resistance Army, and Abu Sayyaf Group.

• Assessed whether current US DOD CT/CVE strategy, policy, and activities incorporate gender considerations.

• Identified gaps, risks, and opportunities according to four thematic categories: strategy, policy and doctrine, internal activities,1 external activities, and conceptual understanding.

Our findings demonstrate that women play supporting, enabling, and operational roles in VEOs, and that there is no deliberate or coordinated effort to integrate these roles into CT/CVE strategy, policy, or activities.

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2021. 232p.

By William Rosenau, Megan McBride

The alleged participation of off-duty law enforcement personnel in the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol has generated fresh interest in the broader issue of police participation in right-wing extremist groups and activities. Such extremism poses obvious but significant challenges for police agencies and their  communities. It can undermine the rule of law, damage police morale, compromise investigations, hinder successful prosecutions, and disrupt relationships between the police and the communities they serve (particularly communities of color). In the words of one police captain, “whenever the police department shirks its unbiased responsibility. . .the community then is in for real trouble.” Although we know that there are right-wing extremists among the nation’s 800,000 law enforcement officers, we do not know the extent of that presence or the most common ideologies. We also lack a detailed understanding of the strategies and tactics right-wing extremists use to infiltrate and recruit within police ranks and the extent to which the extremist presence may imperil investigations, including those concerning criminal extremist activities. In addition, while much has been made of the threat posed by intentional infiltrations, a potentially greater concern is the organic and gradual radicalization of those already on the force. This paper provides an overview of the current state of knowledge about police officer engagement in rightwing extremism, including the sustained use of racist, misogynistic, and homophobic language and stereotyping, both online and offline. After surveying the contemporary right-wing extremist landscape, this paper uses publicly available sources to explore in a preliminary way aspects of extremist penetration and recruitment, pre-employment screening challenges, police participation in extremist activity, and the role of social media platforms and the internet in enabling extremism. The paper concludes with a set of analytical questions that practitioners and policy-makers must answer if they hope to mitigate the rightwing extremist threat. 

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2021. 9p

By Alison L. Cammack, Mark R. Stevens, Rebecca B. Naumann, Jing Wang, Wojciech Kaczkowski, Jorge Valderrama, Deborah M. Stone, Robin Lee,

What is already known about this topic?

In 2022, approximately 49,000 persons died by suicide in the United States. A comprehensive approach that addresses health-related community factors, such as health care access, social and community context, and economic stability, could help prevent suicide.

What is added by this report?

Suicide rates were lowest in counties with the highest health insurance coverage, broadband Internet access, and income. These factors were more strongly associated with lower suicide rates in some groups that are disproportionately affected by suicide.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Implementing programs, practices, and policies that improve the conditions in which persons are born, grow, live, work, and age might be an important component of suicide prevention efforts. Decision-makers, government agencies, and communities can work together to address community-specific needs and save lives.

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 10 September 2024. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7337e1.

By T. Markus Funk

Determining an offender’s criminal culpability is an evergreen challenge. It demands a careful blending of the offender’s moral responsibility for the crime and the offense’s identifiable harmful impacts on its individual victims and on society. Far from a mere abstract or occasional theoretical exercise, this process represents a critical iterative stage before charges can be filed, findings of legal guilt rendered, or sentences imposed.

Prosecutors, judges, and other participants in the criminal justice system manage millions of criminal cases a year. In each instance, they must grapple with the weighty responsibility of determining an offender's criminal accountability and blameworthiness. The decisions made in these deliberations have profound real-world consequences. They affect not only individual cases but also influence broader societal morality and cohesion. Indictments are issued, guilty verdicts pronounced, prison sentences handed down, and punishments justified based on these intrinsically imprecise and largely retrospective assessments.

This Article contends that the current mainstream approach to criminal culpability takes an unnecessarily narrow view. More specifically, it argues that criminal conduct involves two distinct forms of injury to the victim. One form of injury, physical or emotional harm to victims, is widely acknowledged. However, the other form, the wronging by imposing unequal standing on the victim, has been unjustly overlooked, with significant societal implications.

Our current failure to properly account for the antisocial self-elevation inherent in almost all crimes as a separate and distinct injury has significant implications. It prevents us from accurately describing the crime that was committed, the offense’s full spectrum of adverse impacts on the victim and society, or why a particular punishment is appropriate. More importantly, a justice system that fails to effectively protect our equal standing and associated legal interests virtually ensures that the erosion of the rule of law will soon follow.

Reevaluating how we define and publicly articulate criminal culpability holds the promise of positive real-world impacts. By more effectively communicating the full extent of an offender’s injury to a victim and society, we materially enhance criminal punishment’s crucial expressive, evaluative, descriptive, and conduct-directing objectives. From a systemic perspective, the proposed victim-centric approach advances the justice system’s ability to foster the equality-supporting civic bonds and shared social norms essential for a thriving society.

By: Ximena Canal Laiton

LGBTIQ+ people on the move in Latin America can face significant risks of targeted violence and discrimination related to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. This paper explores the experiences of LGBTIQ+ individuals travelling towards the United States from Latin America and the Caribbean. Data was gathered in Tijuana, Monterrey and Mexico City (Mexico) through the 4Mi project between September 2023 and March 2024.

Findings are based on 474 in-person surveys, with 131 LGBTIQ+ individuals and 343 non-LGBTIQ+ individuals to compare their migration experiences, along with 15 interviews with LGBTIQ+ migrants and key informants.

Highlights

LGBTIQ+ phobia, discrimination and violence: a driver for migration

LGBTIQ+ individuals often migrate to escape discrimination and violence related to their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).

LGBTIQ+ phobia and violence on the migration route

Nearly all LGBTIQ+ individuals surveyed (98% of 131 respondents) indicated a high or very high level of exposure to risks related to their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).

91% of LGBTIQ+ respondents surveyed (119 of 131 respondents) said they experienced some form of LGBTIQ+ phobic incident themselves during their migration, mainly in Mexico and Guatemala.

Attacks against trans-women migrants were reported as relatively frequent by interviewees. They also said that attacks sometimes culminate in transfemicide or attempted transfemicide.

Surveyed trans women reported more frequent experiences of social discrimination than other LGBTIQ+ respondents.

Disparity in Perpetrators of Violence

Organised crime: LGBTIQ+ respondents identified members of organised crime groups as primary perpetrators of abuse to a far greater extent (73%) than the non-LGBTIQ+ group (42%).

Migrant perpetrators: While 38% of LGBTIQ+ respondents reported other migrants as the main perpetrators, only 5% of the non-LGBTIQ+ control group did the same. This difference can be attributed to the widespread presence of LGBTIQ+ phobia across diverse groups, including among migrants themselves.

Self-protection strategies

The two most common self-protection strategies reported by LGBTIQ+ respondents were careful planning of journeys and keeping in regular contact with friends and family.

Safe Space and other needs

LGBTIQ+ migrant interviewees and key informants stressed that access to safe spaces and shelters is essential for the protection of life and dignity of LGBTIQ+ individuals on the migration route. Psychological support is also a pressing necessity.

Methodology

Quantitative data was based on 474 in-person surveys conducted with individuals in transit in Mexico towards the United States. This included 131 individuals who identified as LGBTIQ+ and 343 individuals who didn’t. This allowed to draw comparisons between the migration experiences of the two groups.

Qualitative data was collected through 15 semi-structured interviews in Mexico: eight interviews with LGBTIQ+ migrants and seven with key informants from organisations that assist LGBTIQ+ migrants and refugees.

Geneva, SWIT: Mixed Migration Centre, 2024. 24p.

By Olivia Brown , Laura G. E. Smith, Brittany I. Davidson, Daniel Racek, and Adam Joinson

Psychological theories of mobilization tend to focus on explaining people’s motivations for action, rather than mobilization (“activation”) processes. To investigate the online behaviors associated with mobilization, we compared the online communications data of 26 people who subsequently mobilized to right-wing extremist action and 48 people who held similar extremist views but did not mobilize (N = 119,473 social media posts). In a three-part analysis, involving content analysis (Part 1), topic modeling (Part 2), and machine learning (Part 3), we showed that communicating ideological or hateful content was not related to mobilization, but rather mobilization was positively related to talking about violent action, operational planning, and logistics. Our findings imply that to explain mobilization to extremist action, rather than the motivations for action, theories of collective action should extend beyond how individuals express grievances and anger, to how they equip themselves with the “know-how” and capability to act.  

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 1–20, 2024.  

By Sarah J. Jackson

Shifting understandings and ongoing conversations about race, celebrity, and protest in the twenty-first century call for a closer examination of the evolution of dissent by black celebrities and their reception in the public sphere. This book focuses on the way the mainstream and black press have covered cases of controversial political dissent by African American celebrities from Paul Robeson to Kanye West. Jackson considers the following questions: 1) What unique agency is available to celebrities with racialized identities to present critiques of American culture? 2) How have journalists in both the mainstream and black press limited or facilitated this agency through framing? What does this say about the varying role of journalism in American racial politics? 3) How have framing trends regarding these figures shifted from the mid-twentieth century to the twenty-first century? Through a series of case studies that also includes Eartha Kitt, Sister Souljah, and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Jackson illustrates the shifting public narratives and historical moments that both limit and enable African American celebrities in the wake of making public politicized statements that critique the accepted racial, economic, and military systems in the United States.

New York; London: Routledge, 2014. 218p.

By Katie N. Johnson

The early drama of Eugene O’Neill, with its emphasis on racial themes and conflicts, opened up extraordinary opportunities for Black performers to challenge racist structures in modern theater and cinema. By adapting O’Neill’s dramatic writing—changing scripts to omit offensive epithets, inserting African American music and dance, or including citations of Black internationalism--theater artists of color have used O’Neill’s texts to raze barriers in American and transatlantic theater. Challenging the widely accepted idea that Broadway was the white-hot creative engine of U.S. theater during the early 20th century, author Katie N. Johnson reveals a far more complex system of exchanges between the Broadway establishment and a vibrant Black theater scene in New York and beyond to chart a new history of American and transnational theater.  In spite of their dichotomous (and at times problematic) representation of Blackness, O’Neill’s plays such as The Emperor Jones and All God’s Chillun Got Wings make ideal case studies because of the way these works stimulated traffic between Broadway and Harlem—and between white and Black America. These investigations of O’Neill and Broadway productions are enriched by the vibrant transnational exchange found in early to mid-20th century artistic production. Anchored in archival research, Racing the Great White Way recovers not only vital lost performance histories, but also the layered contexts for performing bodies across the Black Atlantic and the Circum-Atlantic.

Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2923.  271p.

By Nick Gill, Nicole Hoellerer, Jessica Hambly, Daniel Fisher

Appeals are a crucial part of Europe’s asylum system but they remain poorly understood. Building on insights and perspectives from legal geography and socio-legal studies, this book shines a light on what takes place during asylum appeals and puts forward suggestions for improving their fairness and accessibility. Drawing on hundreds of ethnographic observations of appeal hearings, as well as research interviews, the authors paint a detailed picture of the limitations of refugee protection available through asylum appeals. Refugee law can appear dependable and reliable in policy documents and legal texts. However, this work reveals that, in reality, myriad social, political, psychological, linguistic, contextual and economic factors interfere with and frequently confound the protection that refugee law promises during its concrete enactment. Drawing on evidence from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom, the book equips readers with a clear sense of the fragility of legal protection for people forced to migrate to Europe. The book will appeal to scholars of migration studies, legal studies, legal geography and the social sciences generally, as well as practitioners in asylum law throughout Europe and beyond.

Oxford: New York: Routledge, 2024.

Edited by Dunkel, Mario and Schiller, Melanie

This book focuses on the role of popular music in the rise of populism in Europe, centring on the music-related processes of sociocultural normalisation and the increasing prevalence of populist discourses in contemporary society. In its innovative combination of approaches drawing from (ethno)musicology, sociology, and political science, as well as media and cultural studies, this book develops a culture-oriented approach to populism. Based on shared research questions, an original theoretical framework and a combination of innovative methodologies that pay attention to the specific socio-historical contexts, taking into account musical material as well as processes of reception, the five chapters in this volume offer detailed analyses of the nexus of popular music and populism in Hungary, Italy, Austria, Sweden and Germany. All of these countries have seen a marked increase in populist parties and discourses over the last years, as well as significant interactions between populism and popular music. This book will be essential reading for those investigating popular music as a crucial aspect in the study of populism as a cultural phenomenon in Europe. 

London; New York: Routledge, 202

By Parker Gilkesson

Health care, food, secure housing, and a livable wage are basic human needs. And seeking the help you need to succeed is a statement of human dignity and justice. However, coded language, dog-whistling, and racist stereotypes have reinforced the lie that folks receiving public benefits are exaggerating how poor they really are and that they are likely committing fraud. People experiencing poverty, particularly people of color, have routinely been profiled and policed, leading to higher rates of arrests and fines due to minor offenses. Over-policing and criminalization of people experiencing poverty and hunger also shows up in public benefit programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

At a minimum, those who receive public benefits are forced to endure intrusive questioning, public scrutiny of food choices, and even surprise visits to their homes. However, charges of fraud can lead to disqualification from public benefits and even jail time. This brief will explore the damage of criminalizing hunger through charging SNAP recipients with Intentional Program Violations (IPVs). The report concludes with a list of equitable, anti-racist solutions that shift the focus from fraud and program integrity to dismantling systemic, historical, and structural inequities that exacerbate hunger, while at the same time trusting SNAP recipients to know what’s best for their families.

Of course, no program can survive if it does not take abuses seriously. However, when actions taken in the name of improving program integrity have a strong negative and racially skewed impact on public perceptions of the program, policymakers have a moral obligation to first determine whether those actions achieve their stated goals and then look for less harmful ways to fight fraud. They also must repair the harm these actions have inflicted on innocent recipients’ dignity and trust in government.

Historically, anti-hunger advocates have been afraid to criticize the negative consequences of the focus on “program integrity” and its disproportionate impact on people of color for fear of being accused of defending fraud or legitimizing racist tropes. The reality is that we must properly discuss and address fraud, program integrity, and the over-policing of people experiencing poverty or “aporophobia” to achieve policies that reflect equity, trust, and truth instead of mistrust, mistreatment, and systemic oppression.

Washington DC: CLASP, 2022. 26p.

By Hilary Pilkington

The book uses interviews, informal conversations and extended observation at EDL events to critically reflect on the gap between the movement's public image and activists' own understandings of it. It details how activists construct the EDL, and themselves, as 'not racist, not violent, just no longer silent' inter alia through the exclusion of Muslims as a possible object of racism on the grounds that they are a religiously not racially defined group. In contrast activists perceive themselves to be 'second-class citizens', disadvantaged and discriminated by a 'two-tier' justice system that privileges the rights of 'others'. This failure to recognise themselves as a privileged white majority explains why ostensibly intimidating EDL street demonstrations marked by racist chanting and nationalistic flag waving are understood by activists as standing 'loud and proud'; the only way of 'being heard' in a political system governed by a politics of silencing. Unlike most studies of 'far right' movements, this book focuses not on the EDL as an organisation - its origins, ideology, strategic repertoire and effectiveness - but on the individuals who constitute the movement. Its ethnographic approach challenges stereotypes and allows insight into the emotional as well as political dimension of activism. At the same time, the book recognises and discusses the complex political and ethical issues of conducting close-up social research with 'distasteful' groups.

Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2016. 328p.