In 2022, Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware wrote “The Accelerating Threat of Political Assassination,” where they explored the increased frequency of political violence and assassination in Western democracies. Following last week’s assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, we invited them back to revisit the topic and discuss the evolution of political violence in the last two years.Read more below.Image: Flickr user Geoffrey FairchildIn your 2022 article “The Accelerating Threat of the Political Assassination,” you discuss the growing trend of political violence and assassination, particularly in democracies such as the United States. In what ways could the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump affect the upcoming presidential election from a political and security standpoint?Until we have a motive behind the attempted assassination of former President Trump, it is difficult to predict how the shooting will affect the remainder of the campaign. That and the tone struck by Trump at this week’s Republican presidential nominating convention will likely determine how people will react, against whom, and when.A motive, however, is not necessary to be able to confidently say that, from a counter-terrorism and personal security protection standpoint for elected officials, we are now at an extremely elevated threat level. To borrow a cliché commonly deployed by terrorism scholars, the alarms are flashing red, with multiple political factions actively promising retribution or threatening violence against a variety of targets. This assassination attempt was not the beginning of political violence during this election cycle, but it will likely also not be the end.Since your original article where you posit “accelerationism” as a strategy for violent extremists, how do you see the current political climate, particularly surrounding the upcoming election, exacerbating the trend of political violence and assassination attempts? Are there specific factors or events in the past two years that have significantly contributed to
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In 2022, Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware wrote “The Accelerating Threat of Political Assassination,” where they explored the increased frequency of political violence and assassination in Western democracies. Following last week’s assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, we invited them back to revisit the topic and discuss the evolution of political violence in the last two years.Read more below.Image: Flickr user Geoffrey FairchildIn your 2022 article “The Accelerating Threat of the Political Assassination,” you discuss the growing trend of political violence and assassination, particularly in democracies such as the United States. In what ways could the recent assassination attempt on
