Suspect Communities
Anti-Muslim Racism and the Domestic War on Terror
The first major qualitative study of “countering violent extremism” in key U.S. cities
Suspect Communities is a powerful reassessment of the U.S. government’s “countering violent extremism” (CVE) program that has arisen in major cities across the United States since 2011. By undertaking this analysis, Nicole Nguyen offers a vital window into the inner workings of the U.S. security state and the devastating impact of the CVE program on local communities.
"Suspect Communities is a detailed account of ‘countering violent extremism' policies within the United States, bringing together the current state of play and existing research in a well-rounded analysis. It will be useful for scholars and activists alike." —Arun Kundnani, author of The Muslims Are Coming!: Islamophobia, Extremism, and the Domestic War on Terror
Suspect Communities is a powerful reassessment of the U.S. government’s “countering violent extremism” (CVE) program that has arisen in major cities across the United States since 2011. Drawing on an interpretive qualitative study, it examines how the concept behind CVE—aimed at combating homegrown terrorism by engaging Muslim community members, teachers, and religious leaders in monitoring and reporting on young people—has been operationalized through the everyday work of CVE actors, from high-level national security workers to local community members, with significant penalties for the communities themselves.
Nicole Nguyen argues that studying CVE provides insight into how the drive to bring liberal reforms to contemporary security regimes through “community-driven” and “ideologically ecumenical” programming has in fact further institutionalized anti-Muslim racism in the United States. She forcefully contends that the U.S. security state has designed CVE to legitimize and shore up support for the very institutions that historically have criminalized, demonized, and dehumanized communities of color, while appearing to learn from and attenuate past practices of coercive policing, racial profiling, and political exclusion.
By undertaking this analysis, Suspect Communities offers a vital window into the inner workings of the U.S. security state and the devastating impact of CVE on local communities.
Suspect Communities is a detailed account of ‘countering violent extremism' policies within the United States, bringing together the current state of play and existing research in a well-rounded analysis. It will be useful for scholars and activists alike.
Arun Kundnani, author of The Muslims Are Coming!: Islamophobia, Extremism, and the Domestic War on Terror
Nicole Nguyen’s innovative research reveals important nuances and context around the white supremacist racism embedded within so-called counterterrorism policy. She provides powerful critiques of ‘countering violent extremism’ programs, their precursors from the ‘War on Terror,’ and their successors in the ‘Muslim Ban’ era. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in counterterrorism policy.
Erik Love, author of Islamophobia and Racism in America
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Defining the Enemy Within
1. Ethnographic Dilemmas: Rethinking Power Relations when Studying Up
2. Left of Boom: Remaking the Global War on Terror
3. “The R Word”: Radicalization Theories and Their Discontents
4. Patriot Acts: Managing Public Objections to CVE
5. The Generational Threat: Youth Radicalization and the Domestic War on Terror
Conclusion: Reimagining National Security
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index
