It was all a Meme: examining the strategic utility of lone-actor, right-wing violent extremist manifestos

The publication of manifestos prior to carrying out acts of domestic terrorism is a rising trend within the far-right extremist movement. Despite these publications being analysed by terrorism studies scholars, often through thematic or linguistic analyses, the basic strategic utility of these manifestos remains underexplored. This thesis seeks to generate hypotheses as to why extremists author and disseminate these manifestos. It does so by performing a multidisciplinary evaluation of the strategic significance the manifestos serve for their authors, and for the broader right-wing extremist movement. Five manifestos are examined through an inductive close-reading. They are then analysed using three interpretive frameworks drawing on the theories of three academic disciplines: sociology and political science, communication studies, and postmodern philosophy. The findings suggest that in-group signalling and identity formation provide the strongest explanation of why extremists release their manifestos prior to their violent acts. It is hoped that this thesis can provide a starting point for future research into the purpose of these publications.