What is Political Extremism?

Liberal democracies of North America, Europe and Australasia throughout the twentieth century have experienced a variety of forms of extremism and radicalism that have shaped mainstream political thinking as well as cultural norms.  To comprehend modern governmental and societal systems researchers must understand the environment that created them, their origins, and their adversaries.  In the series Political Extremism and Radicalism Gale provides insight on unorthodox (by contemporary standards), fringe groups from both the right and left of the political spectrum through rare, hard to access primary sources.  Content supports scholars and students answering questions on philosophical, social, political and economic ideologies as well as on contemporary issues surrounding gender, sexuality, race, religion, civil rights, universal suffrage, and much more.

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Collections

Political Extremism and Radicalism: Far-Right and Left Political Groups in the U.S., Europe, and Australia in the Twentieth Century

One of the first digital archives on far-right and left political groups, the content focuses on political extremism and radical thought in the UK, Europe, Australia and North America, providing a range of documents and audio recordings covering the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Political Extremism and Radicalism: Far-Right Groups in America

Political Extremism and Radicalism: Far-Right Groups in America centres around groups considered to be on the right of the political spectrum, with a particular focus on white supremacist and nationalist groups in the U.S

Political Extremism and Radicalism: Global Communist and Socialist Movements

Political Extremism and Radicalism, Part III: Global Communist and Socialist Movements contains c. 890, 000 pages of documents focusing on left-wing thinking so researchers can explore political ideologies such as Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, Trotskyism, and anarchism across different countries, as well as the world's response to the Russian Revolution, the rise of the Soviet Union, and the Red Scare.

FEATURED REVIEW

"A comprehensive archive of over one million pages of primary sources, Gale’s summation of ideological renegades incorporates digitized media materials and cartoons, campaign leaflets and mottos, oral histories and transcripts, and other audio recordings. The database is divided into two parts, one covering right-wing, unorthodox, and fascist polarization in the U.S., UK, Europe, and Australia in the twentieth century, and the other, to be completed in July 2021, focusing on far-right groups in the U.S. Topics run the gamut of human concerns: the metric system, Synanon, neo-Nazis, mixed race children, anti-vaxxers, transgender suppression, Black Panthers, medical marijuana, fluoridation, Armageddon, and the ACLU. Downloadable citations preserve reference perusals of such subjects as Mormonism, Vatican probes, white slavery, compulsory castration, nudity, sensitivity training, and the Unabomber. The online resource surveys the impact of fringe politics nationally and across borders from a global perspective. An invaluable boon to college, graduate, and postgraduate coursework, Gale’s database sets a high academic standard for innovative research and analysis featuring diversity in political science, sociology, history, religion, and gender studies".  — Mary Ellen Snodgrass published in Booklist May 15 2021

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