Review by Choice Review
A useful survey of right-wing extremism, the volume covers most of Europe (dealt with on a country-by-country or regional basis) and includes a chapter on the US. The authors deal with 1990s manifestations of right extremism but locate their analyses in the context of the postwar period as a whole. The reader is thus equipped with a historical perspective. The national descriptions are well drawn for the most part the new extreme right exhibits the same hostilities as its interwar predecessors: racism (in which immigrants and foreigners figure as scapegoats for social ills like unemployment and poor housing); anti-Semitism (even in areas such as Poland where Jews make up 0.2% of the population); anti-socialism and anticommunism; and national chauvinism and ethnic nationalism. The authors attempt to account for its resurgence in individual countries and to assess its future prospects. The structure of the book leads to one weakness the lack of a systematic comparative treatment of the extreme right. Nevertheless, the individual national and regional studies provide valuable information. Undergraduate and general collections. S. McBride; Lakehead University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
