John Foster "Chip" Berlet is a scholar-activist specializing in the study of extreme right-wing movements in the United States. As an investigative reporter and research analyst, Berlet has written for many newspapers, journals, and anthologies. For thirty years Berlet was senior analyst at Political Research Associates while he produced Eyes Right! Challenging the Right-Wing Backlash and Right-Wong Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort (with Matthew N. Lyons), which won the Outstanding Book Award from Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights in North America. This month, Routledge launches his latest book, Trumping Democracy in the United States: From Ronald Reagan to Alt-Right.

This presentation will examine how activists and scholars theorize the capacity of right-wing political discourse to incite violence.