George Michael (professor)

George J. Michael (born 1961) is an associate professor of political science and administration of justice at The University of Virginia's College at Wise. He studies right-wing extremism, including the convergence of militant Islam and the extreme right,^[1] and is the author of Confronting Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism in the USA (2003), The Enemy of My Enemy: The Alarming Convergence of Militant Islam and the Extreme Right (2006), Willis Carto and the American Far Right (2008), and Theology of Hate: A History of the World Church of the Creator (2009).

Education

Michael has a B.S. from Widener University and an M.A. from Temple University.^[2] He obtained his Ph.D. in public policy from George Mason University in 2002,^[3] where he studied under Francis Fukuyama, with a thesis entitled "The U.S. Response to Domestic Right Wing Terrorism and Extremism: A Government and NGO Partnership."

Career

Described by The Christian Science Monitor as a political extremism expert,^[4][5][6] he was awarded the University of Virginia's "Outstanding Research Award", awarded to a faculty member who "has contributed significantly to published research in his or her discipline".^[7]

Michael is a U.S. Air Force and Pennsylvania Air National Guard veteran, who has also worked for the U.S. Army as an operations research analyst in a civilian capacity.^[3]

In 2003, he authored Confronting Right-wing Extremism and Terrorism in the USA, which discussed domestic terrorists and the threats they pose to U.S. "homeland security."^[8]

Political Science Quarterly reviewed his 2006 The Enemy of My Enemy, writing:

George Michael's The Enemy of My Enemy explores the connections and possibilities for cooperation between a threat of substantial contemporary interest to policymakers, intelligence analysts, and political scientists—militant Islamic movements like the al Qaeda organization (AQO)--and one that is, in many respects, an incipient one, Western right-wing extremism. The book provides a good overview of the historical and intellectual wellsprings of these two movements, but ultimately does not provide a case that would justify alarm.^[9]

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross of The Weekly Standard also reviewed it, noting that it is from perfect, as at some points it has block quotes with very little analysis, and is too long, but that its value "can be found in its in-depth study of the on-again, off-again love affair between radical Islam and the extreme right."^[10]

His 2008 book Willis Carto and the American Far Right Michael explored how the founder of Liberty Lobby, Willis Carto, shaped the position of the far right on various issues including immigration, globalization, Holocaust denial, and the Middle East conflict.^[11]

Michael says that post-9/11, underground radio stations that traffic in conspiracy theories and incite violence in the U.S. are under greater scrutiny as law enforcement has been given more power to prosecute such speech. He also says the American Free Press newspaper is "the most important newspaper of the radical right."^[4] He has observed that extremist groups such as the Guardians of the Free Republicans, which suggested in 2010 that all 50 U.S. governors step down or face removal, most often show evidence of "both left-wing and right-wing elements in their worldview".^[5][12] In the same vein, he notes that: "Traditionally, critique of the IRS has come from the right, such as the Christian patriot movement, but [sovereign citizen] movements also invoke a lot of left-wing ideas like anti-capitalism that are consistent with the times and the downturn in the economy, where people may have property liens against them."^[6]

Works

References

Further reading