This section includes book notes of 150-300 words as well as some book reviews of 600-900 words on books of particular interest to the members of our group. This was the last time the Book Notes & Reviews appeared under the editorship of Cas Mudde. From now on, if you have either suggestions for books you would like to review or see reviewed (including recent books of your own), please contact Nigel Copsey of Teeside University (UK).

Book Notes

Hans-Georg Betz, La droite populiste en Europe. Extrême et démocrate?, Paris: CEVIPOF/Autrement, 2004, 140 pp., EUR 22.00, ISBN 2-7467-0451-X (hbk).

Reviewed by Jan Jagers (University of Antwerp)

This book provides a profound analysis of the most recent tendencies and explanations in the literature on right-wing populism in Western Europe. Following an all-embracing approach, the author reveals the true nature of these parties and their electoral failure or success. At the same time, stressing the similarities and unity of the phenomenon, Hans-Georg Betz pays attention to specific characteristics of the situation in each country. To verify his insights, he refers abundantly to other research and carefully selected material of different party manifestos, election campaigns, party convention texts and speeches.

As in his earlier writings, the author puts the success of right-wing populism down to the ability of these parties to “channel and exploit the public resentment against the established parties” (p. 159). However, recent study of the ideology and discourse of right-wing populist parties shows that they evolved from the margins to presenting themselves as a serious alternative by a form of “identitarian politics.” Their answers to uncertainties connected to globalization, migration and the loss of traditional group-ties, is a strong defence of traditional European values and cultural identity. Embedded in Christian history, their discourse is immediately directed against, and therefore not compatible with, the idea of multicultural society of Islam and ‘cosmopolitism’.

Concerning content, the chapters could have been structured more clearly, and it is a pity that in making his point, the author does not consistently give examples from all concerning parties. However, this book undoubtedly is a must for every scholar working in this area as it contains an interesting and profound comparative analysis of the political style, ideology and strategy of right-wing populist parties in Western Europe.

Ethnic Violence and Justice. The Debate over Responsibility, Accountability, Intervention, Complicity, Tribunals and Truth Commissions, Budapest: CPS Books/New York: Open Society Institute, 2003, 155 pp., EUR/USD 19.95, ISBN: 963-9241-74-1 (pbk).

Reviewed by Leigh Payne (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Are conference proceedings ever fully satisfying? Conference participants often find them useful for reconstructing discussions. Those who did not attend the conference can find out what they missed. And bringing together interesting and informed individuals usually stimulates reflection on important matters. But these transcripts rarely provide the depth of analysis that readers seek in a book or even in a collection of conference papers. Ethnic Violence and Justice, the proceedings from a May 2002 workshop organized by the Open Society Institute and Central European University, is, unfortunately, no exception.

The volume promises much with its enticing title, impressive array of participants (Aryeh Neier, Fred Abrahams, Bill Berkeley, Joost Hiltermann, Dinah PoKempner, Samantha Power, and David Rohde), and dazzling set of case studies (Jenin, Srebrenica, Iran-Iraq, Rwanda, Khmer Rouge). In addition, political violence and transitional justice sorely lack analytical and theoretical frameworks that can build on the existing set of rich empirical and descriptive case studies.

The strongest sections of the book, however, are its descriptive case studies. These valuable, beautifully written, and insightful “insider’s” views of events make for a great read. The volume also touches on essential questions underlying ethnic violence and justice: bystanders’ complicity, hierarchies of responsibility, failed deterrence, alibis for those failures, journalists’ roles in violent events, and how to make international justice meaningful locally. One essay even attempts to build a theoretical framework for understanding atrocity using Waltz’s three-level analysis.

Readers will enjoy sampling the tantalizing feast of ideas, insights, and cases in this volume. But they may miss, as I did, savoring the complexity and depth of an artfully-prepared focused analysis.

Tobias Jaecker, Antisemitische Verschwörungstheorien nach dem 11. September. Neue Varianten eines alten Deutungsmusters, Münster: LIT Verlag, 2004, 208 pp., 19.90 EUR, ISBN 3-8258-7917-8 (pbk).

Reviewed by Samuel Salzborn (University of Giessen)

Since 9/11, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have gained more and more currency. Using methods of discourse-analysis, Tobias Jaecker has examined the actual development of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in public debates, held in the Federal Republic of Germany. In his study he focuses on German media discourses on 9/11, the Middle Eastern conflict and the latest war in Iraq. As Jaecker analyzes the topics of conspiracy theories and the anti-Semitic content of these three debates, he shows how different theses of conspiracy theory cooperate and form an anti-Semitic interpretation.

Jaecker describes the current anti-Semitic conspiracy theories as new variants of an old phenomenon. For example, nowadays anti-Semitic stereotypes and ideologies are expressed under the cover of critical remarks against Israel and globalization or as anti-American resentments. However, the central motive remains the imagination of a “Jewish world conspiracy”. As he demonstrates, the particularity of the public debates in Germany is that anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are often linked with a reduction of the German past (especially National Socialism) and with the wish to be noticed as a “normal” nation among others. Even more particular is the fact, that the new variants of anti-Semitism are not limited to only one political spectrum, but can be found equally in movements of right-wing extremists, left-sided opponents of globalization, radical Muslims and even in the center of German society.

Sandra F. Joireman, Nationalism and Political Identity, London/New York: Continuum, 2003, 163 pp., USD 29.95, ISBN 0-8264-6591-9 (pbk).

Reviewed by Michel Huysseune (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

This is a useful, albeit far from perfect textbook. Its main weakness lies in its inadequate historicization of nationalism. While the cases discussed (Quebec, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland and Eritrea) are generally adequately contextualized (with the exception of a too short explanation of Partition in Ireland), nationalism as a phenomenon is too frequently associated with a post-Cold War political context. The emphasis is put on nationalism as an expression of identity and as a form of identity politics, without retracing the history of nationalism as a political concept and as a mobilizing tool. The political dynamics that have created nationalism in the 19^th century remain out of the picture, and the introduction outlining the dimensions that may create identities revealing leaves the state out of the picture (although the state does appear as a promoter of nationalism later on). This said, the various chapters discussing different schools of interpretation of nationalism (primordialism, instrumentalism, social constructivism) are adequate. The author is generally well informed about the cases she analyses, which offer as wide a typological and geographical variety as a short textbook can afford. The book is not uniformly relevant for students of extremism, but some chapters (e.g. the theoretical one on instrumentalism or the case of Bosnia-Herzegovina) can be used as material for introductory courses on political extremism.

Marie-Claire Lavabre and François Platone, Que reste-t-il du PCF?, Paris: Autrement, 2003, 158pp., EUR 13, ISBN 2-7467-0363-7 (pbk).

Reviewed by Cyrille Guiat (Heriot-Watt University)

This is a concise and up-to-date account of the current struggle for survival of the French Communist Party (PCF) written by two of the best specialists of the “societal” dimension of French communism. Starting with a clear outline of the recent debates on the legacy of communism in general, and on the postulated political agony of the PCF and its nevertheless lasting propensity to generate ambivalent, powerful feelings of fascination/repulsion, Lavabre and Platone advocate a less emotional approach to the recent history of this political party. Thus, their key aim is to provide a description and analysis of where the PCF actually stands in French society at the start of the 21st century, and to offset the deterministic prejudice which underpins the predominantly “teleological” vision of this party (e.g. since the demise of the USSR, the PCF has lost its raison d'être, and therefore its terminal decline is inevitable).

Accordingly, the book is organised as follows. The first three chapters offer a well-informed description of organisational change, communist membership and activism and electoral results, and constitute an accurate snapshot of the PCF today. Chapter 4 is an analysis of the phenomenon of marked decline of this party, which the authors attribute primarily to endogenous factors such as the leadership’s missed opportunities to distantiate the PCF from Moscow since 1956, the Party’s perennial inability to adjust to socio-economic change and/or embrace new issues (feminism, immigration, anti-globalisation) and its erratic relationship with the Socialist Party, and Chapter 5 focuses on identity and memory.

In sum, this short and elegantly written book offers both an excellent introduction to the recent history and politics of the PCF, and a stimulating synthesis of the ongoing debates on French communism.

John Keane, Global Civil Society?, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, 234 pp., GBP 14.95/USD 20.00, ISBN 0-521-89462-X (pbk) / GBP 40.00/USD 55.00, ISBN 0-521-81543-6 (hbk).

Reviewed by Petr Kopecky (Leiden University)

Not just global civil society, but civil society in general has dominated the (Western) intellectual and political agenda inside and outside of academia for some time now. John Keane is one of the most well placed authors to shed light on this ambiguous and politically contested concept. His earlier work had already tapped into the language, meaning and theoretical and practical significance of the notion of (domestic) civil society in both Western and non-Western contexts.

Keane presents us, at the beginning of his exploration, with a complex definition of global civil society as “a system of interconnected socio-economic institutions that straddle the whole earth” that include “non-governmental structures and activities”, and comprise of “individuals, households, profit-seeking businesses, not-for-profit non-governmental organisations, coalitions, social movements and linguistic communities and cultural identities”. Within this global civil society, there is also apparently “no clear separating line between the national and the global.”

On the one hand, this definition is interesting and provocative; for example, his inclusion of multi-national companies as part of this “society of societies”. On the other hand, the extreme heterogeneity and all-inclusiveness of groups and networks makes one wonder whether the term does not describe everything and thus nothing. Keane spends several chapters arguing that his broad version of global civil society is indeed taking shape, and that it does (begin to) function like a proper society, with its own norms and rules. But perhaps because this book is not characterized by economy of words and a tight structure, readers might remain unconvinced about the analytic usage of the term. There is no doubt, however, that Keane’s book will appeal to a) those looking for imaginative and innovative ideas surrounding a deeply contested concept; and b) those searching for a powerful defense of global civil society as a moral commitment.

D. J. Mulloy, American Extremism: History, Politics and the Militia Movement, London: Routledge, 2004, 230 pp., GBP 65.00, ISBN 0415326745 (hbk).

Reviewed by Simon Baalham (Oxford Brookes University)

D. J. Mulloy’s book successfully examines the militia movement in the USA, not as a unique and distinct manifestation of extremism but as an extension of ideas and values existent in mainstream politics. Following an introduction mapping out the complex contours of the US right and demarcating the militia movements place in it, Mulloy offers a thorough examination of the historiography of the subject area in which he gently teases out the deficiencies previous analyses of the right in general and the militia movement in particular have suffered. In general he regards the concentration on the negative aspects of the right, such as its paranoid style, as a simplistic explanation that fails to tackle fully the appeal of ‘extremist’ politics. In this sense Mulloy’s aim is both important and evocative of the maturing of fascist studies, in it’s attempt to understand the ‘positive’ appeal of the right in general and more specifically the militia movement.

Mulloy identifies three aspects of the militia movement vital to its understanding, but also integral to both US history and political culture. Centring on the nature of Americanism he demonstrates how the militia movement seeks to use the myths, metaphors and lessons of the American Revolution, the constitutional settlement and the frontier experience to define Americanism, while also illustrating how resonant these themes are within the experience of mainstream political culture. This seems to echo Richard Hofstadter’s comment that America does not have an ideology but is one.

If there is one weakness in the book it is that Mulloy could push his boundaries further. Many ideas of the mainstream right so readily found in the militia movement are also found in the extreme right.

Book Reviews

Mattias Gardell, Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Seperatism, Durham and London, Duke University Press, 2003, 440pp., GBP 18.95, ISBN 0822339717 (pbk).

Reviewed by Graham D Macklin (University of Sheffield)

Gods of the Blood is a meticulously detailed examination of the burgeoning realm of racist paganism currently metastasising through the Euro-American far right fringe. It is also a fascinating exploration of how the contemporary counter-culture of neo-paganism intersects with the contemporary groupuscular extreme right. However, herein lies the central irony of Gardell’s work – the very globalism that has stimulated this subcultural and esoteric religious revival is also testimony to its increased marginality from mainstream culture.

Gardell illuminates an astonishing array of beliefs that are currently gaining intellectual currency on the extreme right, amongst them Theosophy, Ariosophy, magic, occultism, Satanism, black metal, Darkside Asatrü, runes, monist pantheism, Wicca, Wotanism, Odinism and Norse myth, to name but a few. As Gardell demonstrates, when combined with a spiritualised racism and conspiratorial anti-Semitism, this flourishing interest in Western esoteric and hermetic traditions is fermenting on the far right fringe to produce a burgeoning völkisch subculture which, (dismissive of the previously popular racist religion of Christian Identity as irreparably tainted by Judaism), seeks a return to the Ultima Thule mythos of an ‘aboriginal religion’ of Aryan man like the early twentieth century German völkisch Thule Society, which ultimately acted as a tributary to Nazism. At the heart of this subculture lies a brand of racist paganism which seeks to ‘biologise spirituality’ by evoking a ‘folk soul’, a project to be realised, like a Wagnerian opera, though transformative völkisch ceremonies and transcendental acts of violence in order to avert spiritual and racial perdition, an apocalypse only to be averted by adherence to David Lane’s universally accepted ‘14 words’ and the creation of a white homeland. In this respect Gardell’s work provides a welcome addition to the corpus of work produced by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke on the importance of seemingly marginal counter-cultural beliefs and ‘rejected knowledge’ both for the original Nazi party and the contemporary far right.

The result of a massive amount of research Gods of the Blood offers a striking phenomenological exposition of white supremacism, pagan counter-culture, its beliefs, its practices and the political violence it is capable of engendering. As such it is required reading for those seeking a panoramic historical contextualisation of how globalisation is shaping a comparatively new and startling virulent form identity politics.

Lothar Höbelt, Defiant Populist. Jörg Haider and the Politics of Austria, West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 2003, 281 pp., USD 29.95, ISBN 1-55753-230-3 (hbk).

Reviewed by Susi Meret (University of Aalborg)

There is certainly not a shortage of books, essays and articles of different quality and scientific approach dealing with the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and particularly with the charismatic and controversial political figure of Jörg Haider. The interest in the party’s past and fortunes has peaked with the entrance of the FPÖ in the Austrian government in February 2000, which -as many will certainly still remember- provoked a remarkable political turmoil both within the Austrian borders and in several other European member states.

The book of Lothar Höbelt is one of the most recent publications in English on the subject, but unfortunately not so recent to consider those events that, at the end of 2002, led to anticipated general elections, which resulted in a major loss of votes for the FPÖ. About this, only a very short and incomplete account is given in a brief postscript dated September 2002, which the author inserted at the end of the book probably just before this was sent to print. Nonetheless, Defiant Populist provides a quite comprehensive and interesting reading of the history and political fortunes of the FPÖ and of its – at least at the time the book was written – uncontested leadership, all this within the historical frame of Austrian politics.

The book consist in my opinion of two parts/approaches; the first part (chapters one to five) is mainly of a historical character. It is particularly relevant for an English speaking public who has only a basic knowledge of Austrian history and politics, but might be less interesting for those who are already acquainted with the history of the FPÖ and the political biography of Jörg Haider. The analysis of the facts and political actors that have made the FPÖ and particularly the “Haider phenomenon” possible is very detailed (at times perhaps too much) and leaves no doubt about the academic background of the author, but it also shows quite clearly the inside knowledge that Höbelt has on the subject, resulting from his former occupation as consultant for the FPÖ’s party academy. However, what the author wants to make clear to the reader in this first part of the book, is that the rise and success of the FPÖ and that of its now former leader can be understood only within the historical and political context of a country. From the second post-war period until very recently, Austria has led a very sheltered and apparently unproblematic existence both at the European level and within its own borders. In this sense, Jörg Haider has to be considered a particular Austrian political “product”, as Silvio Berlusconi and Umberto Bossi are in Italy the results of that particular historical and political scenario.

In the second part of the book, and particularly in chapters six and seven, Höbelt turns his attention to the analysis of two issues that many scholars still consider relevant in order to understand Haider’s political nature and success: namely the question of his Nazi legacies and his populist appeal. Höbelt is very critical of the way these two issues have been related to the FPÖ and its leadership. As regards the Nazi question, the author asserts that this charge is often based on a lack of historicization (Historisierung) and on a surplus of political correctness. Seeing facts in their historical perspective, means for the author being able to take distance from them, without denying their significance in the particular historical context they took place. Applied to Haider, this would for example mean that the appreciation of the unemployment policies in the Third Reich, or the cordial words of welcome addressed to the veterans of the Waffen-SS at Ulrichsberg, do not necessarily imply any present political connection to that period and ideology. Höbelt interprets Haider’s statements more as a mixture of lack of political correctness and calculated provocation, something Haider makes great use of in order to get the media attention. And the importance of the media in politics, is something the author believes Haider is very aware of, following the example of US politics, where this political strategy is very well-known and practiced.

What Höbelt seems to tell us in these last chapters is that, seen in a broader political perspective (for example the American), Jörg Haider is more of an “ordinary” political type, which contrasts with the way he is generally portrayed at home. This thesis does not always convince, especially when it refers to bad timing, lack of political correctness, sense of exaggeration and American-style populism as some of the more plausible explanations for Haider’s controversial discourses and rhetoric. And what about an analysis of the official party literature in order to come to more substantial conclusions?

However, Defiant Populist is a valuable book with apparently a double character: on the one hand an extensive analysis of the Haider phenomenon seen in the context of a country of contrasts, on the other a book whose clear standpoint will certainly generate an active debate among scholars.

Maryjane Osa, Solidarity and Contention: Networks of Polish Opposition, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2003, 240 pp., GBP 15.50/USD 21.95, ISBN 0-8166-38748 (pbk).

Reviewed by David Ost (Hobart & Wm. Smith Colleges)

This book deals with the question of how collective action is possible in non-democratic societies. As the author puts it, “How is it possible for the seeds of democracy to germinate in the unyielding ground of authoritarianism?” Since the authoritarian state is highly capable of repression, and social groups are not allowed the civic space to pursue protest paths available in democratic societies (such as freely organizing a demonstration, lobbying elected representatives, or electing one’s own), how can challengers bring about genuine political change?

Maryjane Osa gets at these questions through a study of contentious politics in Poland from 1956 to 1980. She looks closely at three waves of protest – 1956-58, 1968-70, and 1976-80 – and asks why the latter one succeeded where the earlier ones did not. Her explanation is based on a clever application of two basic elements of recent social movement literature – political opportunity and framing – to an empirical record she produces by combining historical accounts with quantitative studies of protest events and of the personal networks binding individuals from different protest groups.

The theoretical model is dense, and the early going is slow, but the book largely succeeds. Her network analysis does help explain why the protests of 1980 turned into the massive and unstoppable movement that the previous protest waves did not. Of course, many international factors were also at work here. But favorable moments must be seized, and for Osa the international developments are part of the “opportunity structure” that this particular protest movement was able to seize because of the interconnectedness of its networks, which itself was possible because of the dominance of an inclusive “us vs. them” master frame. (I think Osa overstates her case that this was a religious frame, but that’s a different matter.)

Poland, with its strong Catholic Church and a government that shied away from the worst Stalinist abuses, is far from a model of authoritarianism. Still, there is no doubt that Osa’s model could fruitfully be used to study both successful and failed protest cycles in other nondemocratic societies, and even to predict which protest movements at present have a chance of succeeding. One would look at the density and linkages of the opposition groups and the operative master-frame. Osa herself doesn’t draw out the comparative possibilities of her work, but there’s a lot here.