Wayne State University Wayne State University Dissertations 1-1-2011 Social movement theory and far right organizations Frank Tridico Wayne State University, Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations Part of the Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, and the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Tridico, Frank, "Social movement theory and far right organizations" (2011). Wayne State University Dissertations. Paper 481. This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wayne State University Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState. SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORY AND FAR RIGHT ORGANIZATIONS by FRANK TRIDICO DISSERTATION Submitted to the Graduate School of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2012 MAJOR: SOCIOLOGY Approved by: ___________________________________ Advisor Date ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ©COPYRIGHT BY FRANK TRIDICO 2012 All Rights Reserved DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my parents Orlando and Immacolata Tridico, who sacrificed all their lives for their family, and taught the most important principles to live by through their example. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am most appreciative to my wife Rita, who has been supportive throughout this process. She has listened, helped offer different perspectives, and encouraged objectivity. She has been instrumental in helping me achieve my goals and to become a better person. I am blessed to have my sons James and Daniel, who have given me a greater understanding of the miracle of life and the gift of family. I am thankful to Dr. Leon H. Warshay, who has been my dissertation advisor, graduate school professor and most valued mentor. His insight on theory and advanced levels of critical and comparative analysis has elevated my skills as a scholar. It has been an honor and a privilege. I am thankful to Dr. Janet Hankin, who gave her time and insight generously, helping guide me through the process of HIC, and helping provide direction for my research. Her keen attention to detail has turned me into a better writer and social researcher. I am thankful to Dr. Khari Brown, whose expertise in the area of religion and racial attitudes, and religion and politics has been influential in guiding my perspective on research. I am grateful to Dr. Steven Stack, whose reputation on research and publications is profound. He has been an inspiration and a valued mentor. I would like to acknowledge Dr. Donald Gelfand, former Chair of the Department of Sociology at Wayne State University, who gave me the opportunity to teach my first course in 1998. His commitment in me helped shape my life and my future in academia. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. David Britt, former Chair of the Department, who along with Dr. Gelfand, helped initiate with me the SOC 3870 Hate Crimes, originally taught as a Special Topics course. The course was one of the earliest in the country. iii I would like to express my gratitude to my sisters Grace and Lorena Tridico, who have been supportive throughout this process. I would like to thank Dr. Mark Letteri who has been a valued mentor and friend throughout this process. His commitment to ethics and objectivity were instrumental in helping my research at both the MA level, where he served on my committee, and at the PhD level, where he offered significant insight. I would like to express my gratitude to the four organizations for their consent to be interviewed. The organizations went out of their way to assist me. Most members took time off their work schedules to ensure that the interviews could be conducted as efficiently and thoroughly as possible. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication…..………………………………………………………………………………..…...ii Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………………......iii List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………….…x List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………xii CHAPTER 1 – Research Objectives………………………………………….………………..…1 1.1 The Focus on Social Movement Theory…………………………………………………..…1 1.2 The Study ………………………………………………………………………………….…2 CHAPTER 2 – Assessing the Organized Far Right………………………………………………5 2.1 Southern Poverty Law Center……………………………………..……………………….…7 2.2 SPLC List of Organizations Deemed to be Hate Groups…………………………………….7 2.3 The Ku Klux Klan ……………………………………………………………………….…..12 2.4 The Canadian Context for Analysis…………………………………………………………14 2.5 The European Context for Analysis…………………………………………………………20 CHAPTER 3 – Literature Review and Theory…………………………………………………..26 3.1 Review of the Literature……………………………………………………………………..26 3.2 The Role of Theory in the Research Studies………………………………………….……..26 3.3 Assessment of Theories and their Application……………………………………..……….33 3.4 Findings across the Studies……………………………………………………………..…..34 3.5 Theory…………………………………………………………………………………..…..42 3.6 The Logic of Using Two Different Theories…………………………………………….…43 3.7 Resource Mobilization Theory……………………………………………………………..45 3.8 The Relevance of Resources…………………………………………………………….….47 v 3.9 Organization……………………………………………………………………………..….49 3.10 Leadership…………………………………………………………………..……………..49 3.11 Political Opportunity……………………………………………………….……………..50 3.12 The Nature of the Political System………………………………………….…………….51 3.13 Strengths of Resource Mobilization Theory………………………………………………53 3.14 Weaknesses of Resource Mobilization Theory……………………………………………54 3.15 New Social Movement Theory………………………………………………………........55 3.16 Values, Ideas and Change…………………………………………………………………58 3.17 Building Identity within Civil Society……………………………………………….……60 3.18 Strengths of New Social Movement Theory………………………………………………62 3.19 Weaknesses of New Social Movement Theory……………………………………………62 3.20 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………63 CHAPTER 4 – Methodology…………………………………………………………………..65 4.1 Criteria Used in Interviews to Help Generate Comprehensive Data……………………….65 4.2 Recruitment Procedures……………………………………………………………………67 4.3 Organizations Studied………………………………………………………………………69 4.4 Informed Consent Process…………………………………………………………………70 4.5 Data Collection: Protecting Anonymity and Confidentiality………………………………71 4.6 The Interview Process………………………………………………………………….…..72 4.7 Location Settings for the Interviews…………………………………………………….…75 4.8 Protecting Confidentiality and Anonymity…………………………………………….…..76 4.9 Data Collection and Analysis………………………………………………………….…..78 4.10 Explaining the Approach Taken for Interviews………………………………………….79 vi 4.11 Hypothesis, Null Hypothesis and Research Objectives………………………………….82 4.12 The Interview Schedule Design………………………………………………………….83 CHAPTER 5 – Data Analysis …………………………………………………………………87 5.1 Organization A…………………………………………………………………………….89 5.2 Organizational Structure…………………………………………………………………..90 5.3 Demographic Characteristics for Organization A…………………………………………93 5.4 General Questions…………………………………………………………………………94 5.5 Political Questions (Resource Mobilization Theory)……………………………………..97 5.6 Social/Cultural Issues (New Social Movement Theory)…………………………………107 5.7 Organization B……………………………………………………………………………115 5.8 Organizational Structure…………………………………………………………………116 5.9 Demographic Characteristics for Organization B…………………………………….…..118 5.10 General Questions……………………………………………………………………….121 5.11 Political Questions (Resource Mobilization Theory)……………………………………124 5.12 Social/Cultural Issues (New Social Movement Theory)…………………………………134 5.13 Organization C……………………………………………………………………………140 5.14 Organizational Structure…………………………………………………………………140 5.15 General Questions……………………………………………………………………….144 5.16 Political Questions (Resource Mobilization Theory)……………………………………146 5.17 Social/Cultural Issues (New Social Movement Theory)………………………………..155 5.18 Organization D…………………………………………………………………………..162 5.19 Organizational Structure…………………………………………………………….….162 5.20 General Questions……………………………………………………………………....166 vii 5.21 Political Questions (Resource Mobilization Theory)………………………………..….168 5.22 Social/Cultural Issues (New Social Movement Theory)…………………………….….177 5.23 Comparative Analysis across Organizations……………………………………………184 5.24 Comparative Analysis of the Four Organizations……………………………………….188 5.25 Testing the Research Hypothesis and Two Main Research Questions………………….195 CHAPTER 6 – Conclusion……………………………………………………………………197 6.1 Methodological Approach……………………………………………………………..…197 6.2 The Study’s Findings……………………………………………………………………..198 6.3 Testing the Hypothesis and Two Main Research Questions……………………………..202 6.4 Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………………………..204 6.5 Strengths of the Study…………………………………………………………………….205 6.6 Directions for Future Research……………………………………………………………208 6.7 Policy Implications……………………………………………………………………….208 Appendix A – Interview Schedule…………………………………………………………….210 Appendix B – Research Information Sheet……………………………………………………212 Appendix C – Safety Plan………………………………………………………..……………214 Appendix D – Electronic Flyer…………………………………………………..……….……220 Appendix E – Mock Interview………………………………………………………….……..221 Appendix F – Organization A Structure…………………………………………….………..227 Appendix G – Organization B Structure……………………………………….……………..228 Appendix H – Organization C Structure…………………………….………………………..229 Appendix I – Organization D Structure………………………………………………………230 References………………………………………………………………………..…….….......231 viii Abstract………….…………………………………………………………………………....241