Why do people join domestic violent extremist organizations? This paper examines an understudied reason: organizational outreach. I study how the inflow of new members to the Oath Keepers, until recently America’s largest paramilitary organization, changes when the group’s leadership employs three tactics: showcasing their ideological zeal through armed standoffs with the government, membership discounts, and sports sponsorships. Using a variant of the synthetic control method, I find that standoffs increase new memberships by 150 percent, discounts increase new memberships by over 60 percent, and sports sponsorships decrease new memberships. Membership is less responsive in counties with higher income inequality, but more responsive in politically conservative counties. The findings provide new insights into ways extremist groups attract potential recruits.

中文翻译：

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兜售暴力极端主义


为什么人们会加入国内暴力极端主义组织？本文探讨了一个未被充分研究的原因：组织外展。我研究了当该组织领导层采用三种策略时，誓言守护者（Oath Keepers）——直到最近美国最大的准军事组织——的新成员流入会如何变化：通过与政府的武装对峙、会员折扣和体育赞助来展示他们的意识形态热情。使用合成控制方法的变体，我发现对峙使新会员人数增加了 150%，折扣使新会员人数增加了 60% 以上，而体育赞助减少了新会员人数。在收入不平等程度较高的县，成员资格的响应速度较慢，但在政治保守的县，成员身份的响应速度较强。这些发现为极端主义组织吸引潜在成员的方式提供了新的见解。