Modern neo-Nazi accelerationism is dominated by the ideology of James Mason’s book Siege, which disavows public-facing activism and conventional electoral politics in favor of violence and terrorism. However, some proponents have sought to combine both strategies. This Dispatch analyzes the motivations behind this seemingly contradictory behavior, drawing on two case studies of individuals associated with both accelerationist and white nationalist activist groups. Understanding this crossover will enable policymakers and law enforcement to better counter the risks it poses, including efforts by accelerationists to mobilize members of activist groups to violence. Introduction Accelerationism is a doctrine adopted by many violent extremists which seeks to hasten the collapse of modern societal and political structures. Most accelerationist neo-Nazis are heavily inspired by Siege, a series of essays written by neo-Nazi James Mason, as well as writings from the now-defunct Iron March forum. Drawing on those texts, they advocate for the use of targeted violence, including industrial sabotage and terrorism, while also encouraging adherents to “drop out” of the system to starve it of resources and legitimacy. By contrast, white nationalist activists seek to work within the system to promote anti-migrant and other racist policies by engaging in lawful activities such as protests, banner drops and stickering. For a subset of accelerationist neo-Nazis (often called ‘Siege accelerationists’ due to the importance of Mason’s book to their ideology), activism has typically been viewed as ideologically impure, tactically unsound and ineffective in advancing their goals of collapsing modern society to enable the formation of a white ethnostate. However, this Dispatch shows that neo-Nazi accelerationism and white nationalist activism are not mutually exclusive: some accelerationists combine public-facing activism with their support for ideological violence. Using two case studies—Kristoffer Nippak (alleged Atomwaffen Division member) and Andrew Takhistov (alleged Terrorgram affiliate) — we demonstrate the challenge that this development poses for law enforcement.
via isd global: Bridging extremes: The intersection of neo-Nazi activism and accelerationism
