Electronic Newsletter of the ECPR Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy
e-Extreme
March 2013 Volume 14 Number 1
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Volume 14, No. 1, March 2013
Managing Editor Mark Pitchford Teesside University, UK Email: m.pitchford@tees.ac.uk
Book Reviews Editor Janet Dack Teesside University, UK Email: j.dack@tees.ac.uk
The e-Extreme is the newsletter of the ECPR Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy and is published quarterly. For any enquiries about the newsletter, please contact the managing editor, Mark Pitchford. For inquiries regarding book reviews please contact the book reviews editor, Janet Dack. Copyright Š 2013 by the ECPR Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, or otherwise, without permission in writing from the ECPR Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy.
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Table of Contents
Standing Group Announcements ……………………………………………………………4 Conference & Workshop Reports ……………………………….…….…………………… 6 Book Reviews …………………………………………………….….……………………........ 8 Publications Alert ………………………………………………………………………….…. 10
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Standing Group Announcements
Forthcoming conferences and workshops Please do visit our website for details of forthcoming conferences, workshops and symposia: www.extremism-and-democracy.com. There are upcoming events at Warwick, Edinburgh, Manchester, Northampton and the ECPR’s General Conference at Bordeaux. Below are details of a conference in July, at which Professor Cliff Hardcastle of Teesside University will launch a new research centre. The new centre, headed by Professor Nigel Copsey, is the Centre for Fascism, Anti-Fascism and Post-Fascism.
Member database by research interest Also, remember that the website contains a database which enables members to browse and search for other members by research interests, as well as by name. If you would like to update your own details, please just email us at info@extremism-and-democracy.com. Please also encourage colleagues and PhD students to join the Standing Group.
Book Reviewers The book review section is one of the highlights of e-Extreme. We know that producing book reviews can seem like a chore in our busy lives, so we are grateful to those who have done so. However, we are always open to new reviewers, so if anyone is happy to produce reviews and has not yet done so, please make our book review editor, Janet Dack, aware at J.Dack@teesside.ac.uk.
Keep us informed! Please keep us informed of any upcoming conferences or workshops you are organizing, and of any publication or funding opportunities that would be of interest to Standing Group members. We will post all details on our website. Similarly, if you would like to write a report on a conference or workshop that you have organized and have this included in our newsletter, please do let us know. Please also tell us of any recent publications of interest to Standing Group members so that we may include them in the ‘publications alert’ section of our newsletter, and please get in touch if you would like to see a particular book (including your own) reviewed in e-Extreme, or if you would like to review a specific book yourself. Finally, if you would like to get involved in the production of the newsletter, the development of our website, or any of the other activities of the Standing Group then please do contact us. Mark Pitchford is especially keen to hear colleagues’ views about revamping the newsletter, so any ideas and comments are very welcome. We are always very keen to
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involve more members in the running of the Standing Group! Email us at: info@extremismand-democracy.com
Book series in Extremism and Democracy As you might know, the Standing Group has close links with the Routledge Book Series in Extremism and Democracy. Originally founded by Roger Eatwell and Cas Mudde, this series has two strands aimed at different audiences. The ‘Routledge Studies in Extremism and Democracy’ is targeted at students and teachers, while the ‘Routledge Research in Extremism and Democracy’ is aimed at a more specialist readership. Matthew Goodwin recently replaced the estimable Cas. Please contact Roger or Matthew via the Standing Group website if you would like to discuss ideas or suggestions for titles.
New Research Centre Launch Teesside University is hosting a conference, Fascist Ideologues Past and Present, at its Darlington campus on 4-5th July. The first day will begin with a consideration of ‘ideology and empowered regimes’, and will then continue with papers on fascist ideologues in ‘central and eastern Europe’, and ‘pre-war and post-war ideologues’. The first day will end with a case study on ‘Britain from the fascist epoch to the post-war world’. Themes for the following morning will include ‘Ideologues in the Post-war USA’ and ‘Music and Culture Ideologues’. After lunch, the conference will look at the ‘Faces of ultra Nationalism today’. The afternoon session will include presentations on ‘The far right and the PREVENT agenda’ by Paul Jordan, and the ‘Tell MAMA report’ by Matthew Feldman and Nigel Copsey. The event will conclude with Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Cliff Hardcastle launching Teesside University’s Centre for Fascism, Anti-Fascism and Post-Fascism.
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Conference Report “Multiculturalism and after?” Bournemouth University 25 January 2013
On Friday 25 January an audience of seventy-five people gathered in Bournemouth University's (BU) Executive Business Centre’s airy 2nd floor lecture theatre to hear a distinguished panel of speakers offer their thoughts on social cohesion in Britain, and on whether the idea of ‘multiculturalism’ which has underpinned much policy and practice in recent years has had its day. Critics of multiculturalism argue that it has impeded integration and increased tensions between different cultural groups. The first speaker, Professor Ted Cantle of the iCoCo Foundation and the University of Nottingham, argued that a new vision – of interculturalism – was necessary, with more emphasis on transnational identities and on social cohesion. Professor Ann Phoenix of the Institute of Education agreed, while also stressing our capacity for switching between identities across different sectors of life. Jamie Bartlett of the think tank Demos reported on research into politics and community relations online, where exchanges between different groups seem to lead to greater polarisation. Jasvinder Sanghera of the national charity KarmaNirvana argued that multiculturalism’s tolerance of some cultural values had brought a failure to challenge oppressive practices such as forced marriage. David Aaronovitch of The Times advised careful use of the word ‘multiculturalism’, which has a multiplicity of definitions, and saw greater interaction between groups as the best way to promote social cohesion. The half-day event ended with a lively and rich discussion between audience and panellists. The event was primarily a public engagement one, not an academic conference, and the audience included a good mix of people from local authorities, the voluntary sector and the police as well as BU academics and students from three schools. It was also linked to a Media School research agenda on political extremism being pursued by Professor Barry Richards and Dr. Roman Gerodimos: levels of extremist activity are linked inversely to those of cultural integration and social cohesion. And it was an example of how BU can create spaces for its own staff and students to engage in debates about key societal issues of the day. The video recording of is now available on the BU YouTube channel. The event was organised by Professor Richards, chaired by Stephen Jukes, Dean of the Media School, and supported by the BU Public Engagement unit and the School’s Politics and Media Research Group.
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Workshop Report “The Future of the Front National: L’effet Marine Le Pen” University of Bath 1 February 2013
The workshop discussed the impact of the Front National on French politics and its future under the leadership of Marine Le Pen. Each paper focussed on a different aspect of the issue, collectively providing an overview of the current state of the extreme right in France. Aurelien Mondon, from the University of Bath, opened the workshop by discussing the process of normalisation undertaken by the party in the past three decades. Rather than describing Le Pen’s result as a shock or a surprise, by focusing on Presidential elections since 2002, Mondon explained that the ebb and flow of the FN’s results were in fact the logical outcome of a process of mainstreaming. The paper argued that Marine Le Pen’s rise was in fact greatly facilitated by a decade of right-wing populism, which was given impetus by Nicolas Sarkozy’s role as President. Jim Shields, from Aston University, then provided an account of the FN’s impact on the 2012 elections and its implications for French politics. Drawing on election results at various levels and on a range of polling data, Shields analysed the strength of support for Le Pen and her party and identified some key, determining factors in their electoral appeal. The paper concluded that the sympathy for Marine Le Pen and the FN’s policies is actually more widespread than electoral results suggest. As such, there exists a substantial reservoir of untapped, potential support for Le Pen and her party. Rainbow Murray, from Queen Mary, University of London, explored the impact of Marine Le Pen’s leadership on the most ‘masculine’ party in France. Murray argued that Le Pen’s image immediately changed the face of the party to one that was younger, softer and more feminine. Furthermore, the paper highlighted the way in which some of her policy proposals have either become less explicitly anti-feminist, or have been repackaged to make them appear less antagonistic towards women, leading to the image of the party improving among women voters, and to the gender gap in the FN's electorate narrowing considerably in the 2012 elections. However, a closer look at the substance of the FN's policies revealed that the party retains a chauvinist ideology. Finally, Nicholas Startin, from the University of Bath, offered a comparative analysis of the contrasting fortunes of the Front National and the British National Party. Concentrating primarily on ‘supply side’ theories of the rise of the Far Right, Startin explained the contrasting electoral fortunes and potential durability of these two parties. The paper examined the importance of variables such as charismatic leadership, the role of the media and political opportunity structures to account for their differing electoral performances. Attended by over 30 delegates, the workshop was a great success. There was particular praise for the way in which the contributions fitted together. The findings from the four contributions will inform a themed section on the future of the Front National – and in particular, on the Marine Le Pen effect – that will appear in Modern and Contemporary France in 2014. The workshop was organised by Dr Aurelien Mondon and Dr Nicholas Startin.
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Book Reviews
Terror, Security, and Money By John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart (Oxford University Press, New York, 2011), 268 pp., ISBN 978-0-19-979575-8 The Islamophobia Industry By Nathan Lean (Pluto Press, London, 2012), 222 pp., ISBN 978-0-7453-3253-6 Reviewed by Dr Janet Dack University of Teesside, UK There have been massive increases in government spending on homeland security, or antiterrorism measures, in the western world over the last decade. In the United States, the figure is $1 trillion and rising. Given this vast outlay, Mueller and Stewart argue that there is a need for that expenditure to be examined carefully and systematically, using measures that are standard practice in other areas of government spending. While the need for such scrutiny is occasionally acknowledged in official documents, in almost all cases the cost effectiveness of the measures implemented has not been properly assessed. Their analysis focuses on the US, only chapter four looks beyond US borders in any detail, comparing the costs and benefits of increased security spending in the US to that in the UK, Canada and Australia. The nine chapters cover the basic approach to risk analysis, the nature of the challenge presented by terrorism, the costs typically associated with terrorism, the costs and benefits of enhanced security, the measures used to protect people and assets and the risks of an attack occurring, the cost-effectiveness of protecting potential infrastructure targets, the value of policing and intelligence, and the political realities associated with the perceived threat presented by terrorism and the need to avoid over-reaction. Despite the occasional use of tables and statistics to reinforce their argument, Mueller and Stewart have produced a book that is accessible and easy to understand. However, at times, the argument becomes repetitive and, though the points they make are valid, their case could have been more concisely made. Essentially, they maintain, convincingly, that the cost-effectiveness of anti-terrorism measures have not been adequately assessed, that there is a tendency to rely on ‘worst case’ scenarios when in reality the risks of any particular target being attacked are very small and, given the limited capabilities of those would-be terrorists that have been arrested, a successful attack is not certain. Measures that have been introduced have not eliminated the risk, merely transferred it, and the changes may well have resulted in a greater loss of life than the measures were intended to prevent. Additionally opportunities have been missed as the money spent on anti-terrorism could potentially have saved more lives if spent elsewhere. Finally, while Mueller and Stewart do not suggest that there will not be further successful terrorist attacks, there is a need to avoid over-reaction. Western societies are resilient and are used to dealing with disasters, natural and man-made, they endure and carry on. Where Mueller and Stewart warn against over-reaction and the dangers of letting fear influence demand for radical changes in our attitudes to civil liberties and to minorities within our communities, Nathan Lean examines the rising tide of Islamophobia and points to examples that show anti-Muslim sentiment has recently reached a much higher level than in the years immediately following 9/11. He argues that Islamophobia ‘is the product of a tight-
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knit and interconnected confederation of right-wing fear merchants.’ Those peddling Islamophobia validate and legitimise each other and use the media and the Internet to expand their networks, sometimes achieving national and international influence. The book is written in a journalistic style and concentrates on a selection of specific figures on the populist right. Concentrating on several high-profile figures makes it possible to trace connections between them, but does not allow for a broader assessment of the extent antiMuslim sentiments are disseminated and recycled across a wider range of networks and organisations. Lean, like Mueller and Stewart, focuses on the US, although chapter seven does consider Europe and Scandinavia, albeit largely in relation to Anders Brevik. The first chapter looks at other groups in US history that have been perceived as a threat to the nation and demonised in a similar way to Muslims. Chapters two through four examine how right-wing panic-mongers use the Internet and mass media to promote ant-Muslim feeling and to campaign against the building of Mosques, especially the Park 51 project. The Christian Right also uses the Internet and other media to advocate religious intolerance against Muslims using similar tactics to those employed in their campaigns against homosexuality and abortion. Chapter five includes a section on the financing of anti-Muslim activities, which, while illuminating, warranted a more in-depth chapter of its own. Similarly, chapter six, which suggests that anti-Muslim attitudes have become institutionalised citing examples from the FBI, NYPD and the Committee on Homeland Security, does not fully engage with the issues raised. Nonetheless, Lean makes a clear case for tackling anti-Muslim rhetoric and hate crimes in the same way as discrimination against other minority groups. Both books urge us to think more closely about the implications of Islamophobia, its impact on our perceptions of the nature of the society we live in and its influence on government policy, which affects us all.
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Publications Alert
Acosta, B. & Childs, S. J. (2013) Illuminating the Global Suicide-Attack Network. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 36, 49-76. Alonso, R. (2013) The Madrid Bombings and Negotiations With ETA: A Case Study of the Impact of Terrorism on Spanish Politics. Terrorism and Political Violence, 25, 113136. Ashcraft, W. M. (2013) Terrorist Groups and the New Tribalism: Terrorism's Fifth Wave. Nova Religio-Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, 16, 139-141. Bandres, J., Llavona, R. & Zubieta, E. (2013) Criminal Psychology in Franco's Police. Psicothema, 25, 55-60. Blair, G., Fair, C. C., Malhotra, N. & Shapiro, J. N. (2013) Poverty and Support for Militant Politics: Evidence from Pakistan. American Journal of Political Science, 57, 30-48. Brathwaite, R. (2013) The Electoral Terrorist: Terror Groups and Democratic Participation. Terrorism and Political Violence, 25, 53-74. Brittain, V. (2013) Shadow Lives. Race & Class, 54, 33-43. Caluya, G. (2013) Sexual Geopolitics: The Blue Balls' Theory of Terrorism. ContinuumJournal of Media & Cultural Studies, 27, 54-66. Campos, N. F. & Gassebner, M. (2013) International Terrorism, Domestic Political Instability, and the Escalation Effect. Economics & Politics, 25, 27-47. Cavdar, G. (2012) Islamist Rationality: An Assessment of the Rational Choice Approach. Politics and Religion, 5, 584-608. Choi, S. W. & Salehyan, I. (2013) No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Refugees, Humanitarian Aid, and Terrorism. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 30, 53-75. Cochrane, M. (2013) Security Force Collusion in Northern Ireland 1969-1999: Substance or Symbolism? Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 36, 77-97. Cohen-Almagor, R. (2012) The Failed Peace Process in the Middle East 1993-2011. Israel Affairs, 18- 4, 563-576. Cohen-Almagor, R. (2012) Is Law Appropriate to Regulate Hateful and Racist Speech? The Israeli Experience. The Israel Studies Review, 27-2, 41–64. Collard, S. (2013) The Expatriate Vote in the French Presidential and Legislative Elections of 2012: A Case of Unintended Consequences. Parliamentary Affairs, 66, 213-233. Dack, J. (2012) In From The Cold? British Fascism and the Mainstream Press 1925-39 (Lambert Academic Publishing, Saarbrßken). Dalgaard-Nielsen, A. (2013) Promoting Exit from Violent Extremism: Themes and Approaches. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 36, 99-115. Davis, F. (2013) The Jury as a Political Institution in an Age of Counterterrorism. Politics, 33, 5-18. de la Calle, L. & Sanchez-Cuenca, I. (2013) Killing and Voting in the Basque Country: An Exploration of the Electoral Link Between ETA and its Political Branch. Terrorism and Political Violence, 25, 94-112. Donovan, J. & Coupe, R. T. (2013) Animal Rights Extremism: Victimization, Investigation and Detection of a Campaign of Criminal Intimidation. European Journal of Criminology, 10, 113-132. Foray, J. L. (2013) An Old Empire in a New Order: The Global Designs of the Dutch Nazi Party, 1931-1942. European History Quarterly, 43, 27-52. Fournier, A. (2012) Forging Rights in a New Democracy: Ukrainian Students between Freedom and Justice (University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia). Gaibulloev, K., Sandler, T. & Sul, D. (2013) Common Drivers of Transnational Terrorism: Principal Component Analysis. Economic Inquiry, 51, 707-721. Ganor, B. & Falk, O. (2013) De-Radicalization in Israel's Prison System. Studies in Conflict &
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Terrorism, 36, 116-131. Gerhards, J. & Lengfeld, H. (2013) European Integration, Equality Rights and People's Beliefs: Evidence from Germany. European Sociological Review, 29, 19-31. Goodfellow, S. H. (2013) Fascism as a Transnational Movement: The Case of Inter-War Alsace. Contemporary European History, 22, 87-106. Halikiopoulou, D., Mock, S. & Vasilopoulou, S. (2013) The Civic Zeitgeist: Nationalism and Liberal Values in the European Radical Right. Nations and Nationalism, 19, 107-127. Hegghammer, T. (2013) The Recruiter's Dilemma: Signalling and Rebel Recruitment Tactics. Journal of Peace Research, 50, 3-16. Henderson, C. M. (2013) State Responsibility for International Terrorism: Problems and Prospects. Leiden Journal of International Law, 26, 229-234. Hussain, Y. & Bagguley, P. (2013) Funny Looks: British Pakistanis' Experiences after 7 July 2005. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36, 28-46. Jacques, K. & Taylor, P. J. (2013) Myths and Realities of Female-Perpetrated Terrorism. Law and Human Behavior, 37, 35-44. Kailitz, S. (2013) Classifying Political Regimes Revisited: Legitimation and Durability. Democratization, 20, 39-60. Kassimeris, G. (2013) Greece: The Persistence of Political Terrorism. International Affairs, 89, 131-142. Kelle, A. (2013) The Third Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention and Beyond: Key Themes and the Prospects of Incremental Change. International Affairs, 89, 143-158. Knapp, A. (2013) A Paradoxical Presidency: Nicolas Sarkozy, 20072012. Parliamentary Affairs, 66, 33-51. Lefkofridi, Z. & Casado-Asensio, J. (2013) European Vox Radicis: Representation and policy Congruence on the Extremes. Comparative European Politics, 11, 93-118. MacDonald, M. N. & Hunter, D. (2013) The Discourse of Olympic Security: London 2012. Discourse & Society, 24, 66-88. Mammone, A., Godin, E. & Jenkins B. (eds.) (2012) Varieties of Right-wing Extremism in Europe (Routledge, Abingdon). Meierrieks, D. & Gries, T. (2013) Causality between Terrorism and Economic Growth. Journal of Peace Research, 50, 91-104. Miller, G. D. (2013) Terrorist Decision Making and the Deterrence Problem. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 36, 132-151. Mondon, A. (2013) Nicolas Sarkozy's Legitimization of the Front National: Background and Perspectives. Patterns of Prejudice, 47, 22-40. Newman, L. S. (2013) Do Terrorist Attacks Increase Closer to Elections? Terrorism and Political Violence, 25, 8-28. North, C. S., Pollio, D. E., Hong, B. A., Suris, A. M., Westerhaus, E. T., Kienstra, D. M., Smith, R. P. & Pfefferbaum, B. (2013) Experience of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks by Airline Flight Staff. Journal of Loss & Trauma, 18, 322-341. Panasenko, N. (2013) Czech and Slovak Family Patterns and Family Values in Historical, Social and Cultural Context. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 44, 79-+. Pantucci, R. (2013) Radical: My Journey from Islamist Extremism to a Democratic Awakening. International Affairs, 89, 200-201. Phillips, A. (2013) The Wars on Terror, Duelling Internationalisms and the Clash of Purposes in a Post-unipolar World. International Politics, 50, 77-96. Pop-Eleches, G. & Tucker, J. A. (2013) Associated with the Past?: Communist Legacies and Civic Participation in Post-Communist Countries. East European Politics and Societies, 27, 45-68. Putzer, G. J., Koro-Ljungberg, M., Duncan, R. P. & Dobalian, A. (2013) Preparedness of Rural Physicians for Bioterrorist Events in Florida. Southern Medical Journal, 106, 21-
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26. Rosenau, W. (2013) "Our Backs Are Against the Wall": The Black Liberation Army and Domestic Terrorism in 1970s America. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 36, 176-192. Rostami-Povey, E. (2013) Globalizing Afghanistan: Terrorism, War, and the Rhetoric of Nation Building. Signs, 38, 495-498. Sacchi, S., Carnaghi, A., Castellini, F. & Colombo, M. (2013) Group Merger Between Political Parties: The Role of the Ingroup Projection Process. Political Psychology, 34, 91-105. Santifort, C., Sandler, T. & Brandt, P. T. (2013) Terrorist Attack and Target Diversity: Changepoints and their Drivers. Journal of Peace Research, 50, 75-90. Satana, N. S., Inman, M. & Birnir, J. K. (2013) Religion, Government Coalitions, and Terrorism. Terrorism and Political Violence, 25, 29-52. Sharma, D. (2013) Growing Overlap between Terrorism and Organized Crime in India: A Case Study. Security Journal, 26, 60-79. Sivek, S. C. (2013) Packaging Inspiration: Al Qaeda's Digital Magazine Inspire in the SelfRadicalization Process. International Journal of Communication, 7, 584-606. Smith, J. I. (2013) American Christians and Islam: Evangelical Culture and Muslims from the Colonial Period to the Age of Terrorism. Journal of Religion, 93, 77-87. Stutzer, A. & Zehnder, M. (2013) Is Camera Surveillance an Effective Measure of Counterterrorism? Defence and Peace Economics, 24, 1-14. Thomson, D. (2013) Counter-terrorism at the Movies: The Large Implications of an Important Israeli film. New Republic, 244, 60-62. Toye, R. (2013) From 'Consensus' to 'Common Ground': The Rhetoric of the Postwar Settlement and its Collapse. Journal of Contemporary History, 48, 3-23. Varela-Rey, A., Rodriguez-Carballeira, A. & Martin-Pena, J. (2013) Psychosocial Analysis of ETA's Violence Legitimation Discourse. Revista De Psicologia Social, 28, 85-97. Willson, P. (2013) Italian Fascism and the Political Mobilisation of Working-Class Women 1937-43. Contemporary European History, 22, 65-86. Wodak, R. & Richardson, J.E. (eds.) (2013) Analysing Fascist Discourse: European Fascism in Talk and Text (Routledge, Abingdon).
ECPR Standing Group on Extremism and Democracy Convenors: David Art (David.Art@tufts.edu); Elisabeth Carter (e.carter@keele.ac.uk)
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