A "Former" Perspective: A Qualitative Thematic Exploration of the Disengagement Process from Violent Right Wing Extremism.

In today's society the rise of extremist/terrorist violence is an increasing threat. As a researcher, and a former violent right wing extremist, with experiential knowledge of the realistic threats posed by violent right wing extremists in Northern BC, Western Canada, and abroad this study contributes insights into developing effective counter-extremists messaging. This autoethnographic study aligns the researcher's personal, professional, and academic experience into a theoretical interpretive analysis that explores and identifies thematic categories within the disengagement process, found within the published stories of four separate violent right wing extremists. These identified themes reflect that there are a number of common experiences amongst the dataset, former violent white supremacists. This study also details aspects of the author's disengagement process, which includes post-secondary education as healing, First Nations cultural influence, and the concept of decolonization. This study is a seminal induction for the concept of decolonization into counter-extremist studies. --Leaf 6.