This section includes book reviews of 600-900 words, as well as some book notes of 100- 200 words, on books of particular interest to the members of our group. If members either have a review that they consider of interest to the Standing Group, or a recent book of their own, which they would like to see reviewed in the newsletter, please contact Cas Mudde at: c.mudde@ed.ac.uk. Book Notes Wolfgang Benz (ed.), Auf dem Weg zum Bßrgerkrieg? Rechtsextremismus und Gewalt gegen Fremde in Deutschland, Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Verlag, 2001, 223 pp., EUR 9,90, ISBN 3-59615218-6 (pbk). Reviewed by Andreas Klump (Federal Ministry of the Interior, Berlin) (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Federal Ministry of the Interior or the German Government) Germany on the way to civil war? In this collection of eleven articles, editor Wolfgang Benz (Head of the Berlin Centre for Anti-Semitism-Research) tries to answer this question and has assembled a number of experts in the field of right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism. The essays are of varying depth and length and constitute a more or less incomplete mosaic rather than a complete picture of right-wing extremism in Germany. Theoretically not very well-grounded, most of the articles are descriptive without expressive analysis. For example, Wolfgang Benz argues that the development and tendency of right-wing extremism in Germany represents a "culture-clash" within the society, which marks the beginning of a possible civil war. Unfortunately, neither theoretic reflection nor profound empirical data is provided to substantiate this claim. All in all, this volume is an informative and convenient first reading for anyone interested in the subject and can serve as an (incomplete) overview on a descriptive level (especially the Werner Bergmann's article concerning the results of surveys, which is the best in the collection). But the enervations are obvious: the term "civil-war" seems very exaggerated and distorts the real situation. True, most of the facts are correct, but the interpretation of those facts should be different and include analysis based on the extremismtheoretical level. Undoubtedly, right wing extremism is a threat and a challenge for "open societies" (Karl Popper) – as are all totalitarian ideologies.
Nevertheless, hysteria will not help to fight the problem, so this book should be used carefully and with a critical mind. Jeff Goodwin, James M. Jasper, and Francesca Polletta (eds.), Passionate Politics. Emotions and Social Movements, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2001, 370 pp., USD 21.00, ISBN 0-226-30399-3 (pbk). Reviewed by Mario Diani (University of Trento) Calls for greater attention to be paid to the role of emotions in collective action have been growing for quite a few years now. This book is a collection of contributions to a conference which brought together the usual suspects in this area, as well as some more unusual ones. Part One of the book features chapters that offer different theoretical perspectives on the integration of emotions within broader interpretations of collective action. Part Two analyses the cultural context in which certain sensibilities, conducive to protest involvement, develop. Part Three examines the internal functioning of political groups as well as recruitment dynamics. Finally, Part Four deals with "the emotional dynamics that arise from the interactions and conflicts among political groups and individuals". In their balanced conclusions, Francesca Polletta and Edwin Amenta raise four questions, essential to assess the achievements of the emotions-based approach to social movements so far: "Have scholars made arguments based on emotions that convincingly fill gaps in existing models‌? Have scholars employing emotions advanced coherent and empirically appraisable alternative explanations [for specific movement dynamics]? Have these arguments been substantiated in research? Have scholars identified wholly new questions that we need to answer in order to understand social movements?' In their view, only the first question can receive an unequivocally positive answer. This vindicates the editors' prudent decision to present their approach as complementary, rather than alternative, to more established – and rationalistic – paradigms of social movement research. Susan Friend Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000, 336 pp., GBP 13.95, ISBN 0-691-08958-2 (pbk). Reviewed by Nigel James (University of Manchester) The clue is in the title: this is more than just a book about the life and times of the highly influential 'televangelist' and founder of the 'Moral Majority' in the
US; it is a rich and complex analysis of how Jerry Falwell has presented himself as a biblical figure to his followers, in which Harding particularly highlights the parable-like nature of his narrative. The advantage of this approach is that it provides the reader with insights into the dynamics involved in the relationship between the conservative Christian leader with a flawed personality and some corrupt practices, on the one hand, and his mass following of fundamentalists and evangelicals, on the other, whose support for him can only be understood as acts of faith. Falwell was at the forefront of the process of evangelicals coming back from the margins of society, and into the mainstream. By the mid-1980s his definition of a fundamentalist as 'an evangelical who was mad about something' enabled him to give voice to a huge component of the (previously) 'Silent Majority'. Harding deals with issues such as racism, anti-abortion, creationism, End Times prophecy, and the 'born-again telescandals' which Falwell skilfully rode out whilst the careers of others were destroyed. This book lays down many important clues for understanding the nature of mainstream fundamentalism in America today – vitally important for those of us seeking insights into contemporary ultranationalism, infused as it is with religiosity and piousness. The author clearly understands religious belief systems but is in no way an apologist for them. Nigel Harris, Thinking the Unthinkable: The Immigration Myth Exposed. London: I.B. Taurus, 2002, 183 pp., GBP 12.99, ISBN 1-86064671-9 (pbk) Reviewed by Gary P. Freeman (University of Texas at Austin) In this hilariously mis-titled book, Nigel Harris offers nothing unconventional but instead a hackneyed version of what passes for enlightened opinion about international migration in faculty lounges from Berkeley to Berlin. To wit, immigration is a net good for receiving and sending countries; any problems it brings in its train are the fault of host countries; attempts to arrest this natural force, which is but one aspect of globalization, are bound to fail and are driven in equal parts by governmental stupidity and popular racism. Illegal migration is simply the result of the undesirable imposition of border controls (p. 83) - no controls, no illegal migration; get it? Harris occasionally lurches away from the unpersuasive to the patently false: "It is almost impossible to migrate legally to Europe, North America, or Japan..." (p. 36). Never mind that North America routinely accepts over a million legal immigrants each year. The author can't bring himself to concede
that increasing numbers of asylum seekers are in any way problematic. He opens with genuinely moving stories of the hardships and expense would-be migrants are willing to bear to get to the West (pp. xii-8), only later to label "preposterous" the statement that "immigration to the United States should be attractive to most workers from less economically developed countries" (p. 48). This book has an argument of sorts - globalization, technological change, and the ageing of Western societies call into question the rationale for existing immigration and citizenship regimes. For all his criticisms of Western policy, Harris closes with the observation that some countries are rethinking and opening up their regimes. This is a thesis worth debating, but a fair consideration of the evidence would be required. Peter Marsden, The Taliban: War and Religion in Afghanistan, London: Zed, 2001, 162 pp., GBP 12.95, ISBN 1-84277-167-1 (pbk) / GBP 36.95, ISBN 1-84277-166-3 (hbk). Reviewed by Michael Dartnell (University of New Brunswick in St. John) A book on Afghanistan's Taliban is bound to attract the interest of social scientists, historians, policy-makers and a general readership. This book does not disappoint. It is both timely and an excellent source of information on the complex internal dynamics within Afghanistan and inside the radical Taliban Islamic movement. As such, it would be best read alongside some of the other excellent analyses that have appeared over the past several years, especially that of Ahmed Rashid. The book covers a wide selection of related topic areas. Although a chapter on Osama bin Laden is included in the text, the author avoids the intellectual myopia of the "terrorism" and "OBL" industries that presently shape much Central Asian policy in Washington and elsewhere. Marsden includes chapters on Afghan history, political culture and religion as well as earlier Islamic movements, the Mujahidin, Taliban gender policies, and Afghanistan's relations with the international community, Pakistan and the wider region. More of the text's originality comes from a chapter on the Taliban's difficult dialogue with humanitarian agencies, which was broken off after 9/11. Marsden is uniquely positioned to discuss the relationship due to his background in both Middle Eastern studies and community development and work as Information Co-ordinator for the British Agencies Afghanistan Group.
His background also provided one of the more puzzling moments in the text, as Marsden engaged in a fairly detailed explanation of Taliban's attitude toward women. At times, the attempt to explain came across as justification, but this appearance was subsequently invalidated. The effort to understand the Taliban in this book, coming at a time when they and their ideas are being consigned to the dustbin, is valuable. It will be useful to Western commentators and governments as they continue to try to understand Afghanistan in what is bound to be a lengthy conflict. Thomas Meyer, Identity Mania: Fundamentalism and the Politicization of Cultural Differences, London: Zed, 2001, 125 pp., GBP 12.95/USD 19.95, ISBN 1-84277-063-2 (pbk) / GBP 36.95/USD 59.95, ISBN 1-84277-062-4 (hbk). Reviewed by William Shaffir (McMaster University) First published in German in 1997, this slim volume draws attention to a growing phenomenon in modern times, 'fundamentalism'. Thomas Meyer, a professor of political science, examines the rise of fundamentalism and places at its root peoples' search and need for various identities. While such a search is common and non-problematic across all cultures, cultural identity, when politicized, is transformed into identity mania. Fundamentalism, a political ideology of the 20th century, is representative of such identity mania. Capitalizing on peoples' needs for certainty and security, often challenged by modernization and social change, fundamentalism packages a series of claims whose inevitable outcome expels, debases and subjugates the Other, or those failing to subscribe to those claims. Relying upon seemingly egalitarian arguments, fundamentalists' ultimate objective is to instil a circumscribed system of thinking to any challenges from without. Approximately half of the volume examines S. Huntington's scenario of the inevitable clash of civilizations, a scenario which Meyer maintains lacks empirical evidence. The evidence Meyer does cite, "a broad-based study of 65 countries", underlines that politically significant differences develop within each culture or society. Cultural differences per se, asserts Meyer, become problematic only when politicized to support a particular understanding of cultural tradition. In the end, fundamentalism, which is characterized as the political instrumentalization of cultural differences, is destined to fail even if offering a short-term solution to the search for identity. The emphasis on fundamentalism as a politicization process is, indeed, sound. Meyer observes that symbols, sacred places and events, history, and
stories may be used as ingredients for such politicization. Further studies, hopefully based on qualitative research methods, will examine the myriad dynamics underlying the execution of the process. Byron A. Miller, Geography and social movements. Comparing Antinuclear Activism in the Boston Area, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000, 224 pp., USD 21.95, ISBN 0-8166-2951-X (pbk) / USD 60.95, ISBN 0-8166-2950-1 (hbk). Reviewed by Pascale Dufour (Carleton University) The book is a geographical analysis of peace movement mobilization in three American municipalities, Cambridge, Lexington and Waltham, Massachusetts from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. It is an attempt to build a theoretical framework that takes into account the geographic dimensions of collective action. The book offers a deep understanding of the field (collective action) in a cross-disciplinary way. Not only does the author address his "natural" interlocutors, geographers, but he also dialogues with people from political science and political sociology. This book is for all specialists of the field and also for activists who wants to re-think collective action. In particular, the author proposes a very promising way to use concepts such as place and scale which are over-used in political science but not often rigorously applied. Very well empirically documented, the book looks at how movements appear and develop. Comparison of the political landscapes of Cambridge and the United States shows that the peace movement was able to mobilize only when provocative central state actions produced openings for consensus building around strongly felt grievances. All movements analysed followed scale-specific strategies, attempting to force struggle to the geographic scale at which political opportunity structures seemed most favourable to them at the time (p.160). The conclusions of the book are mainly elaborated in terms of success or failure of social movements. It is a pity that the implications of this work end with this tricky question. In the perspective taken by the author, where all contexts matter, it is not really possible to find general laws concerning movements' evaluation. Instead of addressing Tarrow's and Tilly's debates, it could have been very interesting to address debates occurring in the "State regime literature", where the State-society relationships are the main focus of research. Christian P. Scherrer, Genocide and Crisis in Central Africa: Conflict Roots, Mass Violence, and Regional War. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002, 410 pp., GBP 54.50, ISBN0-275-97224-0 (hbk).
Reviewed by Sabine C. Carey (University of Essex & Harvard University) This book looks at the genocide in Rwanda and its spill over effects into the region of Central Africa. It covers a range of issues related to the genocide; it outlines precursors and preconditions for the massacre, starting from colonial history, and incorporates the outbreak of violence in the wider Great Lakes region, focusing on the role of Western countries and the United Nations. Scherrer shows that the crisis in the Great Lakes region is not ethnic in nature and that prior to colonialism, Hutu and Tutsi were not separate ethnicities. He argues that the colonizers and the Catholic Church created ethnicity and ethnic hatred. He also highlights the role of France and Belgium in assisting the perpetrators and the failure of Western countries to act at the outbreak of the civil war. Additionally, ignorance and the inaction of NGOs and aid agencies aggravated the situation. Scherrer shows how the genocide was well-planned by the totalitarian administrative apparatus in Rwanda. He tracks the beginnings of the conflict from 1988 to the outbreak of the organized massacre, which was sparked by the assassination of Habyarimana in April 1994, and discusses the proceedings and failures of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The final part of the book gives an historic account of how the Rwandan genocide spread out into the neighbouring countries of Burundi and the Congo between 1993 and 1999. The merit of this book is that it is rich in factual information. It offers a detailed account of the events, which are summarised in a chronology of events from October 1990 up to 2001 (pp.96-99 & 342-358). However, sometimes the author's highly engaged viewpoint gets in the way of a more analytical perspective. Michael Shermer and Alex Grobman (2000). Denying History. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 330 pp., USD 27.50, GBP 17.50, ISBN 0-520-21612-1 (hbk). Reviewed by Russell F. Farnen (University of Connecticut) Shermer and Grobman summarize both deniers' claims and responses to them by using "scientific history" and logic. Their major conclusions are that the deniers are unreliable, make outrageous claims, have no external/independent verification for their statements, do not try to falsify but only to confirm their positions, do not play by scholarly/historiographical rules,
produce no real alternative theories while only challenging the status quo, do not demonstrate a convergence of facts/evidence to determine conclusions, and base their findings, theories, and conclusions on previously existent biases, beliefs, and prejudices. In sum, deniers produce dogmatic nonscientific pseudo-history instead of scientific history in which a "convergence of evidence" stems from an assemblage of names, dates, facts, variables, analysis, methods, and theories, allowing appropriate standards of proof to determine findings that are for or against the validity and reliability of a specific theory. The book also explains what motivates deniers: anti-Semitism, authoritarianism, praise for the Third Reich before 1939, taking pleasure in debunking opponents and engaging in heated debates, self-congratulatory praise for fellow partisans, respect for Nazism and fascist militarism, and/or worship of Hitler both as a Nazi leader and as a symbol. In answer to the question "Why did this happen?," the authors say that "the deniers answer - It didn't - is wrong, pure and simple" (p. 252). This book is a well-documented model of scholarship. It is thoroughly researched and amply footnoted, although there are a few minor oversights, errors, or arguable points. It brings together in one volume much of what we need to know about Holocaust deniers as well as their means, methods, and motives. Becky Thompson, A Promise and a Way of Life: White Antiracist Activism, Minneapolis, MN and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2001, 512 pp., USD 19.95, ISBN 0-8166-3634-6 (pbk) / USD 34.95 ISBN 08166-3633-8 (hbk). Reviewed by Jordan Kessler (Anti-Defamation League) (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Anti-Defamation League.) The useful information provided by this book, which is based on interviews with a few dozen antiracist whites, is outweighed by the political bias of author Becky Thompson. Thompson offers valuable observations about the personal lives of white antiracists by describing how they became activists, how familial relationships have affected their work, and how that work has affected them physically and psychologically. However, nearly all of the activists Thompson interviewed are radical leftists, and three of them are currently incarcerated as a result of illegal activities that grew out of their political views. She presents
the viewpoints of violent leftists without criticism, calling them "political prisoners," and explains that she cannot "dismiss the philosophy of the Weather Underground and other militant organizations" because such groups were combating "the brutality of the state". Thompson also holds troubling views about whites. Though she suggests that white antiracists ground their work in "self-love", she maintains that "if any white person is going to be useful, they have to be subordinate". One of her interviewees states that whites are likely to be "90 percent wrong on 90 percent of the questions 90 percent of the time". Furthermore, Thompson's views lead her to include in her book any leftist movement she is knowledgeable about or has participated in, even those that did or do not focus primarily on combating racism, such as the prison reform movement and the movement to aid refugees from Central America. At the same time, Thompson rejects mainstream antiracist activism because it does not "confront the capitalist white culture". At best, she considers such "liberal" activism only slightly better than doing nothing at all, and at worst, as a racist tool used by the capitalist power structure to prevent change. This narrow, biased study does not significantly add to our understanding of white antiracism. Mona N. Younis, Liberation and Democratization: The South African and Palestinian National Movements, Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2000, 264 pp., GBP 15.50, ISBN 0-8166-3300-2 (pbk)/ GBP 39.50, ISBN 0-8166-32995 (hbk). Reviewed by Adrian Guelke (Queen's University, Belfast) This book's point of departure is the achievement of a measure of power by liberation movements in South Africa and Palestine in the 1990s. It sets out to explain, firstly, why the movements attained greater influence in the 1980s, paving the way to negotiations in the 1990s; and, secondly, why the African National Congress achieved greater relative success than the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. Younis outlines what she sees as the conventional arguments put forward to account for the different outcomes. She rejects the notion that the differences in the two movements' trajectory can be explained by the fact that Palestinians constituted only a minority of those inside the boundaries of Israel and the occupied territories. She also dismisses the view that the contrasting attitudes of Western opinion towards the Zionist project and apartheid played a crucial role in determining the fate of the two movements. Using a mix of social movement theory and Marxist analysis, Younis explains the differences by examining the two movements' evolution in class terms over the course of the 20th century. She attributes their success in the 1980s to a process of democratisation and mass mobilisation. She
argues that the South African movement possessed the class resources required for liberation but not for state building, while the Palestinian working class was by contrast weak. However, the Palestinian movement possessed a middle class with a range of skills. The approach is somewhat formulaic and leads the author to some incorrect predictions, such as the impossibility of there being another intifada. Ephraim Yuchtman-Ya'ar and Yochanan Peres, Between Consent and Dissent. Democracy and Peace in the Israel Mind, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000, 181 pp., USD 24.95, ISBN 0-8476-9713-4 (pbk).. Reviewed by Ami Pedahzur (University of Haifa) Yuchtman-Ya'ar and Peres, two of the most prominent political sociologists in Israel, have written an important and interesting book, which explores the complexities of Israeli democracy through the general public's perceptions. The authors' aim was to classify the concept of Israeli democracy into its different components, and to clarify some of its many paradoxes. Among other issues they were interested in was the commitment of Israelis to basic values of democracy, as opposed to contradictory features, such as a strong state or Jewish values. The book is unique in its methodology, which is based on longitudinal studies of public opinions in Israel between 1991-95. The surveys' samples represent the Hebrew speaking Jewish population of Israel. Important concepts such as tolerance, trust and hawkish/dovish attitudes, which are closely related to the paradoxes of Israeli democracy, were measured and the results explain some of the inherent tensions of this troubled society. I especially liked the concluding chapter, entitled "What are you actually saying?", in which the authors answer hypothetical questions that they believe might be troubling the reader after reviewing all the tables and data analysis. It provides further discussion of the concept of democracy outside and inside the Israeli realm, which is of major importance for anyone interested in the concept of democracy and most prominently in the context of new democratic regimes or democracies that are under consistent security pressures. In theoretical as well as methodological terms, Yuchtman-Ya'ar and Peres provide interesting insights into the question of the relationship between public perceptions and democracy, and present the advantages of using public opinion polls based on quantitative methods for a better understanding of Israeli democracy. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in these issues.
Book Reviews Colin Barker, Alan Johnson and Michael Lavalette (eds.), Leadership and Social Movements, Manchester; New York: Manchester University Press, 2001, 272 pp., GBP 50.00, ISBN 0-7190-5901-1 (hbk) / GBP 15.99, 0-71905902-X (pbk). Reviewed by Kelly Moore (Barnard College) In their introduction, the editors express the modest hope that their book will convince readers that "it is worth poking about further in the black box of leadership".Leadership and Social Movements does far more than simply inspire: it provides the backbone for a new theory of leadership. At its heart is the idea that leadership is a conversation between leaders and followers, expressed in words, actions, and symbols. The lives of leaders and followers are changed and sometimes utterly transformed in this conversation, at the same time that it may generate large scale changes. The assumptions and theories of Max Weber, Roberto Michels, and rational choice theorists that have dominated social movement theorising about leadership for the past forty years seem pallid by comparison. Although the contributors to this volume sometimes fail to define terms, or assume that readers have a basic understanding of a particular episode, political theory, or organisation, these minor faults are overshadowed by the freshness of the contributors' and editors' ideas about leadership. The contributors and editors seem to agree that leadership is about the passage to a place. It is the envisioning and articulation of a future, as Anne Mische makes clear in her study of Brazilian youth activists, and it is no less about the articulation and enactment of the means to that future. The contributors share a common assumption that the passage should be democratic, yet the volume is no effort to establish a hegemonic viewpoint. One of the volume's many strengths is that its contributors do not always agree on the strategic virtues or inevitability of particular leadership processes. As in politics, disagreements are critical for pushing theory forward, and for that reason the theoretical differences among the contributors are most welcome. The volume is unified however, by three themes. The first is that history matters in explaining the forms and processes of leadership. For many readers this will be an obvious point, but note that many treatments of leadership by scholars of social movements are efforts to create theories that transcend historical circumstance. History is critical to leadership, first,
because it is invoked by leaders to present "incontestable accounts of who and what we are" (p. 189), as Reicher, Drury, Hopkins, and Scott argue in their study of crowd leadership. Who we are does not immediately tell us what we should do, but the collective experiences of activists and leaders, that is, their own involvements in making history, matter in identifying what paths should be chosen. This point is made clearly by most of the authors in the volume, but especially powerfully by Gibbs' study of leadership in the French anti-racism movement, and by Birchall's analysis of Victor Serge's and Alfred Rosmer's encounter with Leninism. Finally, history matters in the grand sense that contemporaneous events and ideas shape the need for leadership and the form and content that it takes. Colin Barker's opening chapter, a scathing critique of Roberto Michels' pessimism about the possibilities for ordinary people to transform their own lives, begins a second theme that runs throughout the volume: the relationship between leadership and "self- emancipation" (p. 35). Many of the chapters emphasize that leadership transforms its performers, just as they transform followers. Indeed, one of the qualities of a good leader is the ability to embrace self-transformation as they serve their constituents, as Alan Johnson's fresh analysis of Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrates. Purkis' study of Manchester Earth First!, and the contributions of Mische and Birchall underline this point. This Janus-faced quality of leadership is one of the most interesting ideas in the volume. As the editors argue in their introduction, as Carol Hanish argues in her study of the failure of leaderlessness among the American radical feminist movement, and as Alan Shandro argues in his essay on Leninism and the necessity of leadership, "followership" among the rank and file is critical to understanding the dynamics of social movements. Hanish's poignant analysis of being forced to speak when she wanted to listen, and her confusion about her political value if she were happy to be persuaded by other's arguments, offers a fruitful starting point from which to explore this question. Above all else, this volume demonstrates that the content and forms of leadership (hierarchical, inclusive, or bureaucratic, for example) are dependent upon the social categories and networks in which movement participants and leaders are situated. As Lavalette (with Flanagan) show, the strong influence of the Socialist Worker's Party on local branches of the trade union Unison was essential to two unions leaders' decision to defy a strike prohibition. Louise Ryan's analysis of the cult of personality in studies of Irish suffragists makes a similar point. At a 1912 national meeting, suffragists' roles as secretaries, founders, and committee members of non-suffragist political
and cultural groups resulted in a lack of consensus about who should lead, and how suffrage should be achieved. What we learn from these two chapters and the others is that the content of leaders' conversations cannot be understood without careful attention to the meanings given by others involved. Leadership and Social Movements sets a new standard for theorising social movement leadership. It should be on the bookshelf of all scholars of social movements. Anna Cento Bull and Mark Gilbert, The Lega Nord and the Northern Question in Italian Politics, Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001, 216 pp., GBP 45.00, ISBN:0333750683 (hbk). Reviewed by Carlo Ruzza (University of Trento) This book examines the political trajectory of the northern Italian separatist movement/party Lega Nord (LN) from its inception to its electoral decline and recent participation in the current Berlusconi government. It considers various theories accounting for its emergence and transformation and employs a distinctive territorially- based approach. It assesses the role of this political formation in the context of the rapidly changing Italian political landscape of the last two decades. The book begins with a historical survey of the evolution of LN, whose emergence was framed in the 1980s by a distinctive political context of rampant political corruption, increasing taxation, costly southern underdevelopment and the political entrepreneurship of its leader, Umberto Bossi. The second chapter reviews various theories that have set out to explain the success of LN. It shows the usefulness of those that stress the economic-political rebellion of the North, centre-periphery cleavages, the subcultural make-up of LN, and its populist character. However, it disputes readings that only emphasise its xenophobic component, arguing that coexisting within LN are a wealth of motives and political strategies, which make it simplistic to reduce the party to a single factor. The chapter also argues that LN has changed over time, for instance by progressively shedding its early identity of a minority nationalist movement and re- defining its main focus in increasingly xenophobic terms. The central argument of the third chapter is that an ecological approach explains LN better than approaches that stress demographic variables. The authors argue that age, gender and socio-economic background are important, but the most significant feature is the concentration of LN's
electoral strength in a few distinctive geographical areas: the northern industrial districts. This ecological approach explains the subcultural character of the Lega, which according to some observers has replaced the Catholic subculture with its network of voluntary associations in certain areas. The authors refer to work on the diffused small-scale industrialisation of the subalpine regions in order to highlight the correspondence between this industrybased organisation of the territory and the diffusion of LN. With reference to the 1992 parliamentary election, they point out that "despite representing only a sixth of the Lombard electorate, industrial districts accounted for a fifth of all votes gained by the Lega Nord in the region" (see p. 78). This approach lends support to those theories that see the emergence of regionalisms as a response to the fact that increasingly, in economic terms, regions are potentially cohesive and economically distinctive units threatened by statelevel decision making. From this perspective, LN has attempted to articulate in regionalist terms the distinctive small-business character of its territory. The fourth chapter examines the ideological trajectory of LN from its ethnic origins to its recent xenophobic focus. To this end the authors review the changes that have taken place in the movement's objectives and political communication, and particularly its emphasis on separatism, although this has recently been abandoned. They relate these changing strategies to a combination of strategic and tactical motives, including the movement's need to differentiate its political appeal, especially since competitors moved in to occupy the political ground that it had originally staked out, and to forecasts of Italy's future economic prospects and the related attempt to optimise LN's positioning. The authors note and analyse the increasingly pronounced racist content of its political communication, and its adoption of themes propounded by the New Right – a principled rejection of multiculturalism, an emphasis on traditional community, and a rejection of globalisation. This chapter also points to the success of LN in shaping Italian political discourse, for instance through its now widely adopted emphasis on federalism. The fifth chapter and the Conclusions frame the Lega in the broader context of globalisation and its impact on Italian political, social and economic life. It discusses the persistence of the so-called 'northern question' in Italy and the transition to forms of government based on multi-level and multi-layered governance. But this is put in a context where the need for localism reemerges and where industrial districts, like those whose interests the Lega faithfully interprets, become nodes in global networks that bypass nationstates but produce a distinctive political identity. In the 'Postscript to the 2001
general election' the authors discuss the collapse of the Lega at the last election, and its weaker role in the current Berlusconi government. This book is useful for several communities of researchers. It is a valuable tool for analysts of Italy because it pays close attention to the historical and social context. It is useful for scholars working on minority nationalism as it helps to frame the Lega in relation to other ethno-nationalist parties and movements, and it is useful for scholars working on extremist politics in that it clarifies the identity of the Lega in relation to right-wing extremist parties. All the chapters are well organised and clearly written, so the book can usefully serve as a teaching aid as well. It offers a broad assessment not only of the Lega as an important political formation – the producer of a new and distinctive Northern Italian political identity and an instrumental force in the 'Italian Revolution' which ten years ago radically altered Italian politics – but also a general portrait of Italy in transition. Fernando Reinares (ed.), European Democracies Against Terrorism, 2000, Aldershot, UK and Burlington, USA: Ashgate, 278 pp., GBP 22.50, ISBN 0-7546-2019-0 (pbk) / GBP 55.00, ISBN 0-7546-2015-8 (hbk). Reviewed by Andrew Silke (London) One impact of September 11 and subsequent events is that they will certainly focus increased interest on the recent literature of terrorism. Overlooked texts may then get a second bite at the cherry. This is one book that arguably deserves such a chance. The first section of the book, 'Governmental Policies', is mainly focused on a country by country examination of counter-terrorism policies in four European countries (UK, France, Spain and Italy). It opens promisingly with a general introduction from Bruce Hoffman and Jennifer Morrisson-Taw. Their chapter gives a useful account of the problems research on counter-terrorism faces. It is at its best when giving detailed discussions of case examples (e.g. the French problems with GIA in 1995). Had the authors been able to expand along such lines the piece would have been exceptional indeed. Chapter 2 is a lengthy offering from David Bonner looking at the UK's experience. The introduction is good, though certain comments are highly questionable. For example, the statement that the PUP and the UDP should not be considered as loyalist equivalents of Sinn Fein (p.38) seems poorly informed. The chapter provides an account of the various measures UK governments have adopted to combat Irish terrorism. There is, however,
disappointingly little assessment of the impact/effectiveness of these various measures. The chapter is saved somewhat by a good discussion of the legal and other ramifications of the treatment of terrorist suspects in detention. The current controversy over Camp X in Cuba gives this section added vibrancy. Chapter 3 is written entirely in French (the only non-English chapter in the entire book). No explanation is given for this curiosity. In a standard introduction, Reinares briefly mentions the chapter (as he does all the rest) but he makes no reference to the (surely significant) fact that it is in a different language to the rest of the text! Sadly my French is not up to the task of reviewing a lengthy academic paper. That I should have to reflects poor value for money if nothing else. Reinares redeems himself somewhat with Chapter 4. This is possibly the best in the book, providing an account of Spanish efforts to combat Basque terrorism. Reinares and Jaime- Jimenez's chapter shows the reader exactly what is missing in other contributions. In a review spanning three decades, the authors highlight some of the most important counter- terrorism lessons to emerge from their country. Particularly interesting are some of the experiences relating to the handling of terrorist prisoners. For example, the 1989 dispersal programme which scattered terrorist prisoners within the Spanish prison system is identified as a significant factor in encouraging prisoners to leave the terrorist groups. The Italians too have had plenty of experience in dealing with terrorist prisoners and Luciana Stortoni-Wortmann's chapter is also a good one. Its only major failing is that it restricts itself to events only up to 1983. Even the briefest of reviews of what has happened since within the Italian context would have been valuable. The second section of the book is titled 'Intergovernmental Cooperation' and it is with some trepidation that the reader moves onto it, especially when the first chapter is titled 'The Third Pillar on Judicial and Home Affairs Cooperation, Anti-terrorist Collaboration and Liberal Democratic Acceptability'. Peter Chalk has proven he is a good writer elsewhere but the opening pages here are very bland. He acknowledges that it is really still too early to tell what impact (if any) the Third Pillar will have and that "a valid assessment... can only be made apparent over time" (p.182). It feels like time to stop reading, but Chalk is a good writer and the chapter turns around. Particularly interesting is his analysis of the Third Pillar's impact with regard to illegal immigrants. Also thought-provoking are his comments on the formidable power that has rather
quietly slipped into the hands of security forces with little provision for oversight or accountability. Chapters 7 and 8 follow similar ground, but cover it in a less interesting manner. Monica Den Boer views the Third Pillar as a cumbersome and poorly designed foil with which to tackle terrorism. Malcolm Anderson usefully describes how problems in defining terrorism have badly impacted on international co-operation. Chapter 9 finishes the book off with a look at the human rights implications for the new European legislation, but again there is a feeling that the important issues here have already been covered by Chalk. The strengths of this book lie in the first section (French text excluded). All of the chapters here are good and informative. Nearly all go to the trouble of highlighting the lessons for best practice which have emerged from the particular country in question (the exception being the UK chapter). The book would have been even stronger if this aspect of text was expanded upon. For example, there is no chapter looking at the German experience which is a real loss. Nevertheless, overall this is a book which is often useful and thoughtprovoking and it unquestionably has an overlooked relevance in assessing current events. Despite its obvious flaws it deserves a wider readership than it has so far received. Joel P. Rhodes, The Voice of Violence: Performance Violence as Protest in the Vietnam Era, Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001, 240 pp., GBP 52.95, ISBN 0-275-97055-8 (hbk). Reviewed by William Eubank (University of Nevada, Reno) This is a book which, when I received it, seemed to hold much promise. Alas, it did not live up to my expectations. The Voice of Violence offers the opportunity to look at organized violence in, if not a fresh or new way, at least in a reconceptualized way. Much of the argument about violence is that it is "random" or "senseless," or "meaningless", or at the moment, "terror". Yet those of us interested in violence, and especially violence as a means of political expression, know that very frequently violence is just the opposite of these attributes; it is planned, sometimes carefully orchestrated, and certainly purposeful. Rhodes' subtitle indeed indicates such a purpose is at play in this work. Performance violence, a term recalling the phrases guerrilla theater, street theater, performance art, indicates a group of individuals, however small, deliberately seeking to "start something" which will either be itself violent in its expression, or attract
violence. The purpose is to attract a wider audience to the subject at hand, gain attention, adherents and by provoking a response, debase the credibility of those in opposition to the goals of the group, or in rare cases, individuals, and as Rhodes himself suggests, conflict resolution. Such activity requires leaders, participants, choreography, progression, and in some way an anticipation of what would happen, once events were set in motion. The civil disobedience movements and events in the South, between 1957-67 are good examples of such planning. To get these points across to an audience, especially one that does not have a historical, emotional or intellectual connection to the subject, seems to require of the author a device to distill the necessary description of events described into understandable portions, bite sized chunks if you will. This is not what Rhodes does. The work is comprised of seven chapters, the first being an introduction, the last a conclusion. The middle five chapters consist of the events surrounding three episodes of violence; one in Kansas City in 1968 - a riot on two college campuses (Kansas State University and the University of Kansas), an examination of the Detroit Black Panthers, and of women in performance violence. To pull together these cases one needs guidance, and the work begins hopefully enough with a very competent review of how to think about violence, and a very brief discussion of the symbolic purpose of violence. The second chapter, a discussion of the Kansas City Riot of 1968, is embedded in the descriptive account of the riot, its causes (perceived, alleged, or actual), and a framework for understanding the progression of the riot. Rhodes uses terms such as "keynoting" and "carnival"(pp.32-6) through which performance violence progresses to it's ultimate resolution, suppression or accommodation. This is a useful, and interesting way of looking at these events. Yet, this promising start is not followed up in the following chapters. Each in succession is a description of the events, the participants and the motivations of those participants set in a context of Kansas, or Detroit, in the late 1960s. Each chapter, including the description of the Black Panthers, reads as a series of chronological newspaper accounts, and regrettably one learns little more than you would from newspaper accounts. Divorced from some central linkage, these accounts become merely interesting stories of violent activities in a long ago era. Even the descriptions of the Panthers and women have the overtones of that era, and very little more. As such the book becomes merely a rendition of "actions" by "oppressed" people or groups. There is a certain romantic, nostalgic, overtone to the work, a repetition of the situation in which Kansas' and Detroit's African Americans, to use today's term, found
themselves, and the status of elite women some 30 or more years ago. There is a longing for the passion and purpose displayed by these people, and for their commitment; but, little else. Perhaps I was being unkind, I thought, as I read through the work a second time. Perhaps I'm missing something, I thought, as I looked for some connections among the chapters, suppressing the recollection of James Earl Jones, in the film A Field of Dreams, when he recognizes Kevin Costner as one of those people from "the 60's!" and sprays him with a flit gun. I don't think so. Perhaps this is a clash of two intellectual or academic cultures: I am after all interested in finding the commonalities among disparate elements; this is an example of case analysis. And after all, all commonalities arise when cases have been identified, examined, described, and analyzed. Perhaps so. If this final explanation is the case, then this is a very early case analysis, and can be thought of as "throat clearing", a statement the author thinks necessary to be made before getting to the point built from the cases. If so, The Voice of Violence ought to be taken as the first step in a journey to a better understanding of a very interesting sub-text of political violence: performance violence. Cedric Robinson, Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000, 436 pp., GBP 21.50, ISBN 0- 8078-4829-8 (hbk). Reviewed by Christian Davenport (University of Maryland) The readers of this highly recommended book will be surprised not to find a traditional accounting of theorist-scholar x, followed by theorist y or theory t. The book presents so much more. Robinson situates the African American practitioners, researchers and theorists of radical social change within broader critiques of Marxist thought, racism, state-building, global capitalism, and civil society. To understand Black radical thought, we are told, one has to first invoke structuralism and comprehend European racialism as well as the limitations of the meta-critiques of Western capitalism provided within Marxist thought. Following this, one had to invoke culturalism and comprehend the local particularities of the context left/created when a conscious people fashioned a strategy to comprehend, resist and potentially alter the structure and the solution identified above. There is simply no other way to understand this tradition. According to Robinson, European racialism was defined by four traits or moments: "1. the racial ordering of European society from its formative period,
which extends into the medieval and feudal ages as 'blood' and racial beliefs and legends. 2. the Islamic (i.e., Arab, Persian, Turkish, and African) domination of Mediterranean civilization and the consequent retarding of European social and cultural life: the Dark Ages. 3. the incorporation of African, Asian and peoples of the New World into the world system emerging from the late feudalism and merchant capitalism. 4. the dialectic of colonialism, plantocratic slavery, and resistance from the sixteenth century forward, and the formations of industrial label and labor reserves" (p.67). The first established the context where extra-European racism became something which defined their civilization; exported with its trade, exploration, missionary work, conquest and so forth. The second provided the motivation for an antiAfrican campaign in an effort to eliminate their history and all positive reflections about the civilizations contained there. The third initiated the contact between Europeans and other peoples and the fourth identified the cyclical dynamics of formal incorporation/subjugation, exploitation and rebellion. Within this context, Africans throughout the diaspora attempted to fashion their radical traditions: actions and thoughts. Toward this end, Blacks worked through racist categorizations of their existence, first proving that they were human, then that they had humanity and later still that they had a tradition of thought which emerged from their historical experience throughout: slave trade, maroonage (the development of separate communities within the Americas away from plantations and whites), rebellion and direct as well as systematic critique/confrontation with the system with which they were confronted. The agents of this activity were cultivated in the 'belly' of the system with which they existed. As the author notes: "the very nature of colonial domination required the adaptation or creation of privileged strata among the dominated people. And from the conflict, which was inevitable between the native "bourgeiosie" and their colonial masters, a renegade intelligentsia was induced, one to which the idea of a total opposition, a nationalist confrontation and critique of Western society was necessary and natural" (p.312). Marxism becomes important to address here because in many respects it serves as a conduit through which many Africans in the diaspora (e.g., W.E.B Dubois, C.L.R. James) focused on some of the more salient aspects of political-economic existence: conflictual relations between classes, exploitation and so forth. Upon close attention, however, the limitations with Marxism became apparent to the Africans (especially in the Americas): 1) within Marxism nationalism was underestimated and largely denigrated, 2)
class was not as unified a construct as that suggested within the theory, 3) the importance of the petit bourgeoisie was inaccurate, and 4) culture (transmitted historical consciousness) was not dismissed in favor of rationalism. The Black radical tradition asserted that struggle was directed toward and conceived from the vantage point of the metaphysical not the physical, the non-violent not the violent (pp.168-9); the Black masses not the elite; and the preservation of a "particular social and historical consciousness rather than 'revolutionary transformation'" (p.310). While very much taken with the argument; I again strongly repeat my recommendation that individuals should read the work, I did finish the book with a few questions. These do not concern limitations within the research presented by Robinson, but rather extensions that logically follow from the book that have not really been developed well in research that followed. First, it is not clear whether or not the similarity across the diaspora in objectives and tactics trumps local context. For example, the comment is made that nonviolence was largely applied by Africans throughout the diaspora but this is not directly reconciled with instances where Africans used violence. One could make a case that in certain contexts there was no other choice, but this does make one reflect about the subject. Second, after much of the discussion regarding the importance of the Black masses, it would be useful to read something about the degree to which the masses were conscious about what they were doing and why. Finally, it would be useful to see the work extended through the Black Power movement of the 1960s and up through the present. If this were done, it might shed light on the seeming emptiness that exists within Radical Black thought in the current context and it may explain where one would need to look in order to find the next generation. C. X. George Wei and Xiaoyuan Liu (eds.), Chinese Nationalism in Perspective: Historical and Recent Cases, Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001, 246 pp., GBP 51.95, ISBN 0-313-31511-6 (hbk). Reviewed by A. James Gregor (UC Berkeley) Like all collections, this one contains essays of varying quality. Nonetheless, the volume, in its entirety, has a special merit that recommends it. The essays are written by authors who are bicultural - enculturated to both Chinese and Anglo-American academic environments and research methods. The impression they deliver is a sensitivity to the subtleties of Chinese political ideas not always evident in Western accounts.
The central message is clear. Nationalism has been an integral part of modern Chinese revolutionary tradition - finding expression in both Sun Yatsen's Three Principles of the People and the "Marxism" of the Chinese Communist Party. We are told, without equivocation, that "the Chinese brand of (...) supranational Marxism was just a Communist variation of Chinese nationalism" (p. 7) and that, today, "Chinese nationalism remains the bedrock of any political legitimacy" (p. x). For a considerable length of time after China's Maoist revolution, many in the Anglo- American academic community were loath to admit that nationalism, and not "Marxism", was its inspiration. When Chalmers Johnson credited the success of the Maoist revolution, not to its Marxism, but to the exploitation of peasant nationalism provoked by the Japanese invasion, many academics rejected the thesis. In the present collection, the claim is accepted without resistance (Xiaoyuan Liu's essay). These issues have been debated for almost half a century. They now seem to have been resolved, at least in-sofar as the authors are concerned. For about a decade, the question of Chinese nationalism has been at the center of academic exchanges. The result has been the appearance of a number of excellent volumes, including Yongnian Zheng's Discovering Chinese Nationalism in China (Cambridge University Press, 1999) and Maria Hsia Chang's Return of the Dragon: China's Wounded Nationalism (Westview, 2001). The present work makes qualified entry into the list. The essays essentially cover the modern period of China's history -- with detailed essays on the role of women in the 1911 revolution (Weikun Cheng) through an account of the emphatic nationalism of the 1980s and 1990s (Toming Jun Liu). The discussion of the relationship between communism, nationalism and ethnicism is developed by Xiaoyuan Liu in a clear and illuminating fashion -tracing the fungibility, for Marxists, of the notions: 'ethnic' and 'national'. Something of the dynamics of wartime politics during the Japanese invasion (1937-45) is discussed in the essay by Zhijia Shen that profits both a general as well as a specialized audience. The exposition is almost uniformly crisp, easily understood, and remarkably objective. The central disability is one shared by most collections. Only the central topic holds the volume together. The consequence is an oppressive sense of discontinuity. The reader who would profit most from the collection would be someone more or less familiar with the entire trajectory of modern Chinese revolutionary history.
At least one of the essays suffers from what appears to be 'conceptual confusion'. Guoqi Xu maintains that Chinese nationalism was somehow unique because it "transcended" nationalism and internationalism (p. 101). What that is taken to mean is obscure. It seems to mean that the "key concept" of Chinese nationalism is "joining the world and participating in international affairs as an equal member" (p.108; see p.112) - which hardly makes that nationalism unique. One of the minor difficulties non-specialists may have is with the erratic and conjoint employment of the pinyin and the Wade-Giles transliteration of Chinese. Thus, in the various essays one finds both the "Kuomintang" and the "Guomindang" as the Nationalist Party, and "Jiang Jieshi" and "Chiang Kaishek" as leader of that Party. At times, both transliterations are provided. The volume is recommended as a discussion of a critical issue that may exercise significant influence on the future of Sino-American relations during the 21st century. It might help to stimulate some reconsideration of the notion that 'globalization' is destined to erode the future political importance of nationalism. Kristen P. Williams, Despite Nationalist Conflicts. Theory and Practice of Maintaining World Peace , Westport, CT and London: Praeger, 2001, 214 pp., GBP 18.95, ISBN 0-275-96934-7 (pbk). Reviewed by Daniel Chirot (University of Washington) The argument of Despite Nationalist Conflicts is straightforward. It is wise to resist one state's imperialist demands for annexation of another state's territory when the motive is simply control of resources or strategic land. On the other hand, boundary changes sometimes should be envisioned if they are demanded by legitimate ethnonationalist claims that seek limited consolidationist aims. World peace would be better served, according to Williams, by a firm resistance to most demands for territorial change combined with a flexible willingness to consider occasional ones. Sometimes, the alternatives to such flexibility can be endless and irresolvable violence. There are many steps that can be taken short of changing formal boundaries, and these should be tried when various ethnic groups within a state demand separation or the right to join neighboring states dominated by their own ethnicity. Regional autonomy, granting greater language rights, and even some form of shared sovereignty may work. But in the most extreme cases, giving up territory may still be necessary.
This thesis is meant to refute realist theories that see conflicting boundary claims as mere matters of power and material interests rather than what they sometimes become, deeply held, emotional ethnic and nationalist attachments. The book is also supposed to alert us to the fact that territorial exchanges, while often disruptive of international peace, may actually contribute to greater peace if carried out in the right way and for proper reasons. To prove these points Williams examines four cases. The first is Bismarck's three limited wars to unite Germany under Prussian domination from 1864 to 1871. She claims that these limited wars against Denmark, Austria-Hungary, and France, did not disrupt the European balance of power and were justified by German nationalism. Denmark only had to surrender a limited territory, Austria-Hungary none at all, and France surrendered only Alsace, which was mostly German speaking, though Lorraine was not. Unfortunately, this first example fatally damages the entire thesis. Bismarck's easy victories created an aggressive, militaristic great power that did change the balance of power in Europe, annexed lands to the German Empire whose populations did not seek that, and led in reaction to the hyper-militarization of Europe from 1871 to 1914. It also gave the Germans the illusion that quick wars of aggression were a sure way to international success. It is true that Bismarck himself understood that German power should be used sparingly, but his cynical manipulation of weaker states around his borders, his use of violence to annex useful territories, and the creation of Europe's mightiest military machine led directly to the catastrophes of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. The other case studies are equally problematic. Looking at Serbia's two wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, the book claims that they became "imperialistic" because they were pursued for territorial and materialist ends that went beyond legitimate nationalist claims. Needless to say, that is not the way most Serbs feel, even now, though most recognize that provoking American ire proved to be unwise. So what was the difference between Bismarck and Milosevic? The former had a much stronger army and economy compared to that of his enemies, and Bismarck was a lot smarter about handling Europe's other great powers to keep them from uniting against Germany. This may serve as a warning to aggressors that they should know how to weight the strength of their potential enemies and prevent strong coalitions against them, but very old balance of power theories, and common sense told us that a long time ago. Once we move to other parts of the world, the argument becomes even more troublesome. The non-European example presented is that of Kashmir.
Williams is right to point out that repression by India, endless, provocative interference by Pakistan, and international inaction on that issue are unlikely to lead to a happy solution. Yes, flexibility and compromise would be a good idea. But she offers no way of judging whether or not Pakistan's insistence that Kashmir should not be in India is reasonable. After all, this is a controversy that has been used by Pakistan's incompetent, authoritarian military, and the corrupt, inept ruling feudal elite that dominates Pakistan's "democratic" parties to cover up their awful domestic policy failures. As for India's errors in Kashmir, it is obvious, in retrospect, that the conflict has been badly mishandled. But how does Williams' thesis help leaders be wiser? How could this book be used to solve some of the dozens of serious ethnonationalist conflicts and territorial problems in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The test of "legitimacy" that she suggests is that legitimate grievances produce uncontrollable protest and violence. But recent research by David Laitin and James Fearon suggests otherwise. Rather, it is continuing aid from outside and mountainous or otherwise difficult terrain in which to hide that produces endless guerrilla violence, not grievances as such, because there are far more cases of grievances than there are of serious protest and violence. Following Williams' model would reward the determined aggressors who keep wars going in neighboring states on the pretext of ethnic solidarity. Recognizing the legitimacy of claims based on this means crass acceptance of crude "realism," precisely what this book set out to attack.