“We Are Patriots”: Uses of National History in Legitimizing Extremism

One of the recurrent questions in research on political extremism is how extremist groups and movements are able to gain support for their political goals. Increasingly, extremist groups have gained visibility and popularity in countries with liberal democratic traditions – perhaps most prominently in the form of radical right parties and activist groups in Europe and the United States. This paper examines one strategy (by no means the only strategy) by which right-wing extremist movements might gain mainstream support: namely, by claiming national history and the mantle of patriotism. Specifically, the paper investigates how one far-right group in the United States called the Oath Keepers draws parallels between pivotal moments in the nation’s history (especially the American Revolution) and current events, depicting the group and its supporters as the contemporary incarnation of patriots who righteously fought off oppression. This paper provides lessons for analysts of right-wing political extremism more generally, pointing them to particular types of historical events and national political values that extremists who are self-described patriots might attempt to deploy in their political communication with the public.