Only Gale provides unparalleled access to primary sources documenting an extensive range of radical movements in the twentieth century
Political Extremism and Radicalism is the 2022 SIIA CODiE award winner for Best Library Reference or Educational Database.
Political Extremism and Radicalism: Far-Right and Left Political Groups in the U.S., Europe, and Australia in the Twentieth Century combines content on Far-Right and fascist movements, alongside significant coverage of radical left groups, allowing researchers to access material from both sides, and providing points for comparison. By providing primary source material from both sides in one comprehensive, meticulously indexed resource, Gale makes it possible for researchers to make connections not previously discoverable. Researchers in contemporary topics will also find value in the content, allowing them to explore the origins and development of present-day issues, including the resurgence of right-wing politics, evolution of various civil rights movements and the nature of extreme or radical political thought.
EXPLORE THE DEVELOPMENT, ACTIONS AND IDEOLOGIES BEHIND TWENTIETH CENTURY EXTREMISM AND RADICALISM
As one of the first digital archives on Far-Right and far-left political groups, Political Extremism and Radicalism: Far-Right and Left Political Groups in the U.S., Europe, and Australia in the Twentieth Century contains over 600,000 pages of content and 42 oral histories making it the most extensive resource of its kind. Political Extremism and Radicalism: Far-Right and Left Political Groups in the U.S., Europe, and Australia in the Twentieth Century offers researchers a diverse range of content, including campaign materials, propaganda, government records, and various ephemera that when combined with the Gale Primary Sources technology, enable researchers to explore extremism and radicalism in new and innovative ways.
A deeper look at the sub-collections:
Since 1970, the American Radicalism Collection at Michigan State University has been collecting ephemera on radical political groups, across a range of extremist movements including those involved in religion, race, gender, the environment, and equal rights. The collection covers four general categories , each with a different focus: leftist politics and anti-war movements; religion and the radical right; race, gender and equal rights; and social, economic and environmental movements. The collection also includes materials on such topics as survivalism, Holocaust denial, creationism, and anti-Catholicism from groups like John Birch Society and the Black Panther Party.
The Hall-Hoag Collection of Dissenting and Extremist Printed Propaganda, from Brown University, includes printed propaganda from US anti-integrationist, anti-Semitic and racist groups from the post-World War II period to the present. The collection began when Gordon Hall, a young veteran of the Pacific Theatre during the war, first encountered the printed propaganda issued by domestic hate-your-neighbor organizations/groups in the late 1940's. Includes publications of Anti-Abortion organizations; Anti-Integrationist organizations; Anti-Semitic and Racist political parties; Christian Identity organizations; Communist organizations; Congressional investigating committees; Cults and Alternative religions; Extreme Left-Wing publishers; Ku Klux Klan organizations; LaRouche organizations; Militant Anti-Communist organizations; Militant Populist organizations; Neo-Nazi organizations; Pacifist organizations; Racial and Ethnic Consciousness organizations; Right-Wing Christian religious organizations; and Right-Wing publishers.
The Searchlight Archive, held at the University of Northampton in the UK, consists of documents from Searchlight Associates, an information service founded in 1967 that aimed to expose racist and fascist groups. In 1975 it launched a magazine, Searchlight, intended to promote intelligence on the far-right from around the world. This archive includes oral histories from activists who acted as undercover informants on far-right organisations or members of anti-fascist groups. The interviews are available within the platform both as audio recordings as well as searchable transcripts. This archive also includes various ephemera including booklets, leaflets and posters.
Working with the National Archives in the UK, Gale has digitized government documents relating to inter- and post-war British extremist movements. These include Security Service personnel files on right-wing extremists, suspected communists and terrorists as well as Home Office papers on detainees, such as Oswald Mosley, who were related to far-right groups including the British Union of Fascists, British National Party, Imperial Fascist League, the Nordic League and The Link.
FEATURED REVIEW
"First-rate content, usability, and features make Political Extremism & Radicalism a strong option for libraries that subscribe to databases on pacifism. . . Researchers interested in the nature, evolution, and contemporary state of extreme political thought from a variety of perspectives will be highly satisfied."
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Additional Details
subjects covered
- European Studies
- Judaic & Holocaust Studies
- Western European Studies
- Gender & Women's Studies
- History
- Humanities & Social Sciences
- Law & Legal Studies
- Political Science & Diplomatic Studies
- Political Science
- Politics
- Religion & Philosophy
- Regional History
- Twentieth Century Studies
- U.S. History
- World History
- Current Events
- Social History
- WWII
- Rights and Immigration Law
Platform Features & Tools
Topic Finder
By grouping commonly occurring themes, this tool reveals hidden connections within search terms—helping to shape research by integrating diverse content with relevant information.
Cross-Search Capability
Search across the content of complementary primary source products, including books, in one united, intuitive environment, enabling innovative new research connections.
Digital Scholar Lab
This collection is available in Gale's Digital Scholar Lab, a cloud-based research platform which brings historical content together with popular text-analysis tools to remove key barriers to entry into the digital humanities.
Reviews & Testimonials
"What sets this database apart are the extra features that facilitate comprehension and searching...Highly recommended for academic libraries."