As of the next issue, we hope to include mainly book reviews in this section. Several academic publishers have already agreed to send us review copies of books of relevance to the field of extremism and democracy. The idea is that books will be reviewed within 700-1100 word by members with a particular expertise in the area of the book, though written for the more broad membership of the group. In addition, if members either have a review that they consider of interest to the SG, or a recent book of their own, which they would like to see reviewed in the newsletter, they should contact Cas Mudde at: c.mudde@ed.ac.uk •
Robert L. Hilliard and Michael C. Keith, Waves of Rancor: Turning in the Radical Right Armonk, New York and London: M.E. Sharpe, 1999, 288 pp, $32.95 (cloth), ISBN 07656-0131-1
Reviewed by Russell F. Farnen (University of Connecticut): Waves of Rancor is a sound, scholarly study of an important political and mass media phenomenon in the United States, namely the historical and contemporary context for domestic terrorism and the mutation of diseased conservatism run amok, growing into the extremely deformed phenomenon of hate groups in their myriad forms (neo-Nazis, patriots, anti-Semites, militias, Freemen, survivalists, antienvironmentalists, conspiracy theorists, the KKK, revisionists, and Holocaust deniers). Each of these groups is meticulously described and analysed, interviews with some of their leaders are reported, and many of their favourite media technologies are depicted in great detail. Most revealing is the hidden communications system used to spread hate messages using devices unknown to the average citizen, who is easily lulled into complacency regarding the extent of the threat from the millions of people involved in one phase or another of this movement. For example, while talk radio and TV may be very public expressions of these activities, this book makes clear that these media are not the medium of choice for American rightists. Rather, it is shortwave, fax networks, pirate radio, microstations, and low-power television which are the new delights of political extremists when choosing vehicles for rapid communication and cheap networking. The reasons for these choices as well as the extent of usage are all fully developed topics in Hilliard and Keith's treatment of radical right political paranoiacs. Their basic view, as the authors say, is the Nazi credo, "God is with us." Other goals are Aryan superiority, capitalism, rigid religious and family customs, and promulgation of US nationalism and military might. Among the various groups described, it is the religious terrorists who are the most dangerous, according to the two authors, because they are answerable only to God and use force without conscience or regret. Hilliard and Keith also argue that it is important to expose these radicals because they recognise the enormous power of mass media and their influence is growing without much opposition or debate. Another useful aspect of this book is its encyclopedic coverage of major rightist figures such as William Pierce, the author of "The Turner Diaries", or Ernst Zundel, the creator of the neo-Nazi "Zundelsite". Additionally, to provide historical context, the authors take us back to the 1920s and 1930s, to the era of Father Charles Coughlin and Walter Winchell, and to the war years and Cold War era with "Axis Sally" and "Tokyo Rose" and later Joe Pyne, William Buckley, and Martin Agronsky. Moreover, this book fulfils its stated purpose to expose some of the political sources of domestic violence, to uncover the right's media systems, messages, and leadership, as well as to place radical communications in the context of conservative dominance of the US mass media structure and organisation. They describe the right as a three-dimensional object consisting of the right wing comprised of "moderates" (such as Liddy, North, and Buckley); the far right of racists, anti-Semites, anti-government ideologues (such as David Duke, Pat Buchanan, and Louis Beam); and the extreme or radical right (including Zundel, Pierce, and "Bo" Gritz).
At the end of the book appear the counter-propagandists or those (from the American perspective) who can be considered as such. Edward Bernays once called them distributors of "proper"-ganda in support of the democratic process, pluralism, rationality, and Bill of Rights freedoms (especially the First Amendment). However, the latter do not merely subscribe to a "free marketplace of ideas" rationale for their tolerance of hate speech, but also recommend specific courses of positive action to offset, balance, and countermand far right extremism and violence. For example, these groups (such as Radio for Peace International, Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, Southern Poverty Law Center) have proposed a variety of possibly effective countermeasures. Among these are insisting that mainstream media cover the extreme right (not just Limbaugh, Liddy, and North), using citizen coalitions to threaten media and producer-advertiser boycotts if necessary, establishing web sites to track hate mongers and to educate the public in reasonable alternatives to these messages of despair, distrust, division, violence, and hopelessness. These specific proposals for taking back the initiative from extremist groups are one of this book's greatest strengths. All too often, observers merely shrug their shoulders and cite the First Amendment and Supreme Court guarantees of protection for such groups absent a clear and present/probable danger of imminent violence or personal harm. It is also gratifying to read about the activities of other groups such as Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, Political Research Associates, and the Center for Defense Information in terms of their reports on Limbaugh's lies, exaggerations, and inaccuracies; Buchanan's racism; and the perils of militarism and unbridled nationalism. All such groups, unlike their opponents, do not want to silence the right. Instead, they prefer to expose their obvious fallacies through counter-education while actually trying to raise the quotient of overall public support for free speech everywhere, not just for the left, liberal, moderate, or middle-of-the-road groups. These positive measures amply summarised in this book are especially important when we also read about the recent rapid growth of both hate groups and their Internet sites, especially among neo-Nazi and KKK cells. Fortunately, all but ten states have hate crime laws that can be used to limit threats of violence. The broad scope, admirable purposes, and in-depth treatment of significant content material make this book a well-documented and unique study of American authoritarians and authoritarianism. Sources used are current and the footnoting is extensive. The book is well-organised, well-written, and achieves its stated aims. It is quite well-suited for an audience of communications, politics, sociology, and interdisciplinary scholars. There are very few weaknesses in this book. For example, the indexing is not complete or thorough enough. Another more serious problem with the otherwise excellent book is its lack of a tie-in to a theoretical context such as (in political science and political psychology) the theories of authoritarianism as a political system and authoritarianism as a personality construct, syndrome, or political malaise. •
Tonci A. Kuzmanic, Hate-Speech in Slovenia. Slovenian Racism, Sexism and Chauvinism. Ljubljana: Open Society Institute - Slovenia, 1999, 81 pp.
This book is remarkable for two reasons: first, it is one of the few studies on political extremism in Slovenia; second, it is a bilingual publication, including both an English and a Slovenian version. From the author's summary: "This paper is an analytical study and presentation of the Nightwatch column (Nocna kronika) that has been published weekly in the Slovenian Sunday paper Nedelo since the end of summer 1995. (...) Through the analysis of this rich material and particularly the characteristic 'bar flies discourse', the author exposes the inner workings of unprecedented dehumanisation of those seen as 'other' and different in Slovenia. (...) The analysis of Nightwatch reveals numerous criminal dimensions of chauvinism, sexism, racism and radical intolerance in general. The author's main interpretative point is directed towards
antipolitical and criminal impacts of the Nightwatch discourse which should be taken extremely seriously as a direct incitement to more or less violent action against those who are seen as other and different. Last but not least, the author shows that the issue of violence and even killing cannot be ascribed only to those who kill, but also to those who sow seeds of hatred or, if you like, hearts of potential murderers, thus causing and directing the very possibility of slaughter." For more information about purchasing this publication, please contact either: Open Society Institute, Vegova 10, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia ; or the author, Tonci Kuzmanic, at: tonci.kuzmanic@guest.arnes.si •
Zsolt Enyedi and Ferenc Erös (eds.), Authoritarianism and Prejudice: Central European Perspectives. Budapest: Osiris, 1999, 306 pp, $ 26.00 (pb), ISBN 963 379 707 1.
From the authors: "This book is a truly international enterprise that aims at answering the following questions: How can we measure authoritarianism, ethnocentrism and prejudices? In what way are authoritarian and nationalist attitudes combined with political-ideological affiliations? Are attitudes like antisemitism and anti-Gypsy sentiments similar or have they a different structure and logic? Can we explain prejudice and authoritarianism by referring to the impact of status, religion and education? Are new generations less or more xenophobic than their parents? Can we regard extreme right wing parties as transitory phenomena, or are they likely to stay with us? Hungarian, Dutch, Yugoslav, Austrian, American and German scholars offer answers to these questions by looking at surveys and political documents from a number of countries. There is a special emphasis on the lessons learned from the quickly transforming and turbulent Central Europe. The readers are offered a systematic evaluation of the causes of ethnic hatred; an overview of the development of sociological and social psychological literature on the topic, particularly the studies emanating from the famous work by Adorno et. al., The Authoritarian Personality. There is a comparative evaluation of nationalism and authoritarianism among such groups as Eastern and Western Germans, Serbs and ethnic minorities in Yugoslavia, the religious and the atheists, the rich and the poor, the educated and the non-educated in a number of European countries. The chapters include data analyses and methodological discussions that may benefit, first of all, university students, but the book offers new and revealing information for anyone interested in the mechanisms and in the explanations of ethnic intolerance." The book can be ordered from Osiris Bookshop, Veres Pálné u. 4-6, 1053, Budapest, Hungary. Tel: +361-318-2516, Fax: +36-1-266-4999, e-mail: Please send your request also to Zsolt Enyedi at: enyedizs@ceu.hu