Abstract
Over the past decade, the resurgence of far-right extremism has profoundly altered social and political landscapes, particularly in the United States. In Social Work and the psychosocial journey out of far-right extremism, Danny W. Carroll II confronts one of the most urgent yet underexplored issues within social work — how practitioners can engage with individuals exiting extremist movements and help rebuild communities torn apart by hate. Carroll's study not only fills a critical empirical gap but also invites a reimagining of social work's emancipatory mission through a psychosocial and restorative lens.
The book's premise is clear and compelling: that social work, grounded in values of human dignity, equity, and justice, has an untapped role to play in supporting individuals disengaging from far-right extremism and re-entering democratic community life. Drawing on a constructivist grounded theory approach, Carroll analyzes semi-structured interviews with 19 former white nationalist extremists. From over 3,500 coded items, he constructs a theoretical model that traces the emotional, relational, and structural processes shaping the journey “from hate to humanity.” In doing so, Carroll brings both a scholarly and practice-based sensibility to an issue too often relegated only to criminology or security studies, rather than situated within the ethics of care and transformation central to social work.
Carroll organizes the book into seven chapters that move from contextualization to theorization. Chapter 1, The Threat of Far-Right Extremism, sets the tone by framing white supremacy not as a fringe ideology but as a structural and historical continuum deeply embedded in American life. Carroll argues convincingly that far-right radicalization is inseparable from racial capitalism, patriarchy, and the enduring myth of white grievance. He calls for a “social work of resistance and repair,” one capable of addressing the psychosocial wounds that both drive and result from extremism. In Chapter 2, Roots of Hate, the author traces white supremacy from the founding of the United States to its present-day iterations in online movements and political rhetoric. His analysis resonates with feminist and critical race scholarship that views white nationalism as a gendered project — one that idealizes patriarchal authority, rigid heteronormativity, and racial hierarchy.
While Carroll acknowledges these intertwined dynamics of patriarchy, heteronormativity, and racism, the book could have engaged more deeply with feminist analyses of masculinity and the politics of ressentiment that underpin male recruitment into extremist groups. A stronger feminist engagement here would have illuminated how intersections of gender, race, and class sustain far-right worldviews and hinder disengagement.
Chapters 3 and 4 examine radicalization, disengagement, and the U.S. policy response to domestic extremism. Carroll's use of significance quest theory and Sternberg's duplex theory of hate adds psychological depth, highlighting how unmet needs for meaning, belonging, and recognition can be manipulated by extremist ideologies. The chapter skilfully contrasts the inward, emotional “pull” of belonging with the “push” of cognitive dissonance that often initiates exit. Chapter 4's critique of counterterrorism policies is sharp and timely—showing how U.S. security frameworks, especially post-9/11, neglected white nationalist violence while over-surveilling Muslim and immigrant communities. Here, Carroll implicitly aligns with feminist critiques of the “carceral turn” in social policy, arguing that prevention and rehabilitation — not punishment — should guide responses to extremism. The book's methodological transparency in Chapter 5, Researching White Supremacist and Nationalist Extremism, deserves praise. Carroll's reflexivity about his positionality and ethical considerations reinforces feminist commitments to relational ethics and situated knowledge. He foregrounds the vulnerability of both researcher and participant, particularly when navigating narratives of trauma, shame, and complicity. His qualitative rigor and ethical humility enhance the study's credibility and contribute to social work's qualitative research canon.
Chapter 6, the book's centrepiece, presents the psychosocial journey of transformation among former extremists. Through rich narratives, Carroll maps a progression from identity loss and ideological disorientation to moral reckoning and community reintegration. The process, he suggests, is neither linear nor complete — it involves “living with contradiction” and constant negotiation of self. Particularly powerful is the emphasis on relational repair: empathy from others and critical self-reflection emerge as pivotal catalysts for change. For social workers, this insight underscores the profession's potential role as “bridgers of humanity,” facilitating restorative encounters between those who have caused harm and those harmed by hate. From a feminist social work perspective, the book's most valuable contribution lies in its humanization of both the perpetrator and the process of transformation. Carroll challenges the binary of “victim versus oppressor” by framing disengagement as a site of moral reconstruction and community accountability. However, the text occasionally risks centering the experiences of former extremists without fully amplifying the voices of those targeted by far-right violence — particularly women, queer people, and racialized communities. A feminist praxis of solidarity would require that these narratives of harm remain central to any restorative intervention.
The final chapter, Putting It All Together, situates Carroll's model within broader social work practice and policy. He envisions an integrated framework combining trauma-informed care, community-based rehabilitation, and social policy advocacy. The call to reposition social work at the forefront of anti-hate interventions is inspiring, though it also raises practical challenges. How can social workers maintain empathy for former extremists without reproducing harm or retraumatizing communities? Carroll gestures toward this tension but leaves it largely unresolved—perhaps an inevitable limitation of a first study in an emerging field.
Stylistically, the book is accessible, well-organized, and theoretically grounded without jargon. Carroll's prose balances empathy with analytic rigor, making it suitable for social work educators, practitioners, and students alike. The volume's interdisciplinary appeal — bridging psychology, sociology, and political science — it a valuable resource for developing anti-racist and peacebuilding curricula within social work programs. Social Work and the Psychosocial Journey Out of Far-Right Extremism is an ambitious, timely, and morally urgent contribution. It expands the boundaries of social work inquiry into new terrains of violence, identity, and reconciliation. While its feminist engagement could have been more explicit, the book embodies a social work ethic deeply resonant with feminist commitments to transformation, care, and justice. Carroll offers not a prescriptive manual but a compassionate invitation—to imagine how social work might accompany those emerging from hate while centering the healing of communities scarred by it.
