Autocracy, totalitarianism and dictatorship Books

Book SynopsisAn incisive account of Erdoğan’s Turkey—showing how its troubling transformation may be short-livedTrade Review“A particular strength of [Bechev’s] book is that he does not attribute Turkey’s turn from democracy exclusively to Erdoğan, but emphasises ‘the authoritarian legacies shaping the state,’ rooted in the Ottoman Empire and in the long rule of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the modern secular republic in 1923 and held power until his death in 1938.”—Tony Barber, Financial Times“A scholar unafraid of a good turn of phrase is a welcome thing, albeit rare. Dr Bechev is a scholar and has a good turn of phrase. His expertise guides us through what is a thicket of events, dates, underlying trends, and acronyms, but just when, at times, the going becomes difficult a turn of phrase chops through the text and opens up his train of thought.”—Tim Marshall, Reaction“A sweeping attempt to capture the last 20 years of Turkey, Bechev skilfully traces the radical transformation of Turkey’s domestic and foreign policies under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. An outstanding book from one of the best.”—Gönül Tol, Middle East Institute“A compelling narrative, rich in anecdotes, quotes, and carefully chosen empirical examples, enlivens an in-depth historical analysis of Turkey’s evolution from the 1970s until today. Bechev charts Turkey’s modernization, the rise of Islamist populism, its geopolitical shift from the periphery of the West to its bid for regional hegemony, as well as the weaknesses of the competitive authoritarian regime that its President Erdoğan has crafted.”—Rosa Balfour, director, Carnegie Europe“Bechev analyzes the two decades that witnessed the evolution of President Erdoğan from a seemingly EU-friendly ‘Muslim democrat’ to a strongman. He masterfully portrays how the shifts in AKP’s foreign policy were intertwined with rising authoritarian practices in Turkey.”—Ayşe Kadıoğlu, Sabancı University

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Book Synopsis"Brilliant, beautifully organized, exceedingly readable."—Philip Roth

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the autocratic rulers and dynasties of classical Greece and Rome and the changing concepts of tyranny in political thought and culture.Table of Contents1. Introduction, Sian Lewis; Part I The Making of Tyranny; 2. Tyranny and Kingship in Archaic Rome, Fay Glinister; 3. Ducetius and Fifth-Century Sicilian Tyranny, Trinity Jackman; 4. Adfectatio regni in the Roman Republic, Christopher Smith; 5. Money and the Great Man: military power, aristocratic connections and mercenary service in the fourth century BC, Matthew Trundle; 6. From Agathocles to Hieron II: the birth and development of basileia in Hellenistic Sicily, Efrem Zambon; Part II Tyranny and Politics; 7. Tyrants and the Polis: urban development in the western Mediterranean, Kathryn Lomas; 8. Synchronicity: the local and the panhellenic within Sicilian tyranny, Sarah Harrell; 9. Alexander of Pherae: a model tyrant?, Slawomir Sprawski; Part III The Ideology of Tyranny; 10. Pindar and Kingship Theory, Simon Hornblower; 11. The Comic Pericles, James McGlew; 12. Tyrannical Oligarchs at Athens, Lynette Mitchell; 13. Plutarque et les tyrans siciliens, Claude Mosse; 14. Caesar tyrannos: Cicero's Platonic reckoning with the Roman dictator, Ingo Gildenhard; Part IV The Limits of Tyranny; 15. The Violence of the Thirty Tyrants, Andrew Wolpert; 16. The Limits of Autocracy in the Fourth-Century BC Persian Empire, Stephen Ruzicka; 17. Sulla the Weak Tyrant, Alexander Thein; Bibliography.

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Book Synopsis10 years after the eruption of the Arab revolutions, El Mustapha Lahlali explores the dialectical relationship between discourse and social change during and post the conflict. In particular, the book examines how Arabic public and political discourse shapes and is shaped by the wider social, cultural and political environment. Analysing the dialogue of various actors, Islamic parties and stakeholder ? as well as marginalised voices ? Arabic Political Discourse in Transition identifies the key linguistic strategies and features used to frame, represent and position oneself at times of conflict.

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Book SynopsisFull of political intrigue and corruption, Smouldering Charcoal illustrates the devastating injustice inflicted on society by the ruling classes in postcolonial Malawi. Two couples one poor and working class, the other college-educated and social risers both live under the brutal regime of The Leader. Inside his nation, secret informants are everywhere and any form of protest will get you killed. Following their very different perspectives, both discover that violence and oppression has invaded every level of society. It soon becomes apparent that even after overthrowing an empire, one evil can simply be replaced by another...''Compassionate and real, the book praises the tenacity of the human spirit without glamorizing it.'' New InternationalistTrade ReviewCompassionate and real, the book praises the tenacity of the human spirit without glamorizing it. * New Internationalist *

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Book SynopsisJames Ryan is Senior Lecturer in Modern European (Russian) History at Cardiff University, UK. He is the author of Lenin's Terror: The Ideological Origins of Early Soviet State Violence (2012), and his articles have appeared in journals such as Slavic Review, Europe-Asia Studies, and Historical Research.Susan Grant is Reader in Modern European History at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. She is the author of Physical Culture and Sport in Soviet Society (2013), and articles in journals such as the American Journal of Public Health, Medical History, and Revolutionary Russia.Trade ReviewThis useful volume makes a small step toward filling in some of the blanks of a particularly obscure and gruesome period in human history. * The Russian Review *Scholars of Stalinism will find much of value in this collection of articles. Addressing topics from the Stalin cult to Red Army purges to the Cold War, the contributors add significantly to our understanding of this critical period in Soviet history. * David L. Hoffmann, Distinguished Professor of History, Ohio State University, USA *This edited volume offers a remarkably stimulating and comprehensive discussion of Joseph Stalin’s style of political leadership. Without in any way playing down Stalin’s role as one of history’s great mass murderers, the cast of leading scholars in the field brought together in this volume focus on other elements of his leadership, such as his revolutionary motives and administrative qualities and effectiveness, thus helping us to acquire a more balanced reading of the dictator. * Erik van Ree, Research Associate of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands *Table of ContentsList of Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction: Revisioning Stalin and Stalinism, James Ryan (Cardiff University, UK) and Susan Grant (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) Part I. The Controversial Vozhd’: Stalin as Leader and Statesman 1. The Many Lives of Joseph Stalin: Writing the Biography of a ‘Monster’, Christopher Read (Warwick University, UK) 2. Stalin’s Purge of the Red Army and Misperception of Security Threats, Peter Whitewood (York St. John University, UK) 3. Stalin and the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939: The New Historiography, Daniel Kowalsky (Queen's University Belfast, UK) 4. Brute Force and Genius: Stalin as War Leader, Chris Bellamy (University of Greenwich, UK) Part II. Challenging Stalinist Models: Cults of Personality 5. The Stalin Cult in Comparative Context, Judith Devlin (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland) 6. From Heroic Lion to Streetfighter: Historical Legacies and the Leader Cult in 20th Century Hungary, Balázs Apor (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland) Part III. New Ways of Understanding the Stalinist System: The Cold War 7. Revisioning Stalin’s Cold War, Caroline Kennedy-Pipe (Loughborough University, UK) 8. Working Towards the Vozhd’? Stalin and the Peace Movement, Geoffrey Roberts (University College Cork, Ireland) 9. Construction of a Confession: The Language and Psychology of Interrogations in Stalinist Czechoslovakia, Molly Pucci (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland) Part IV. In Lieu of an Epilogue 10. Reckoning with the Past: Stalin and Stalinism in Putin’s Russia, James Ryan (Cardiff University, UK) Select Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis‘A heartbreaking portrait of an ordinary family shattered by a war they didn’t want’ The Times They've wrecked the world, these men, and still they're not done. They'd take the sky if they could. Germany, 1945, and the bombs are falling. In Heidenfeld, Etta and her husband Josef roam an empty nest: their eldest son Max is fighting on the frontlines, while fifteen-year-old Georg has swapped books for guns at a Nürnberg school for the Hitler Youth. At home, news of the war provokes daily doses of fear as the planes grow closer, taking one city after the next. When Max is unexpectedly discharged, Etta is relieved to have her eldest home and safe. But soon after he arrives, it’s clear that the boy who left is not the same returned. With Georg a hundred miles away and a husband confronting his own difficult feelings toward patriotic duty, Etta alone must gather the pieces of a splintering family, determined to hold them together in the face of an uncertain future.Trade ReviewBinder was born in Germany herself and evokes great sympathy for Etta and her painfully fractured family, while opening up unusual angles on the terrible conflict. Written in purposefully even prose that is nonetheless harrowing, it’s an intimate tragedy that’s all the more powerful for refusing the ending we fervently hope for * Daily Mail *A moving tale of a family destroyed by war . . . Inspired by her family's history, Binder unfolds a harrowing tale in limpid, expressive prose * Sunday Times *Binder’s debut explores familiar territory from a fresh perspective. The result is an engrossing novel peopled by believable and sympathetic characters * Mail on Sunday *Achingly beautiful . . . Binder's work is subtle and compassionate yet also clear and devastating in its depiction of a nation - and its people - suffocating under the weight of an insidious and inhuman ideology, one that ultimately devastates those who believe its illusions. Enduringly relevant * The Advertiser *Eloquent, and painfully human * Irish Examiner *An empathic portrayal of the human cost of war . . . Binder's etched prose, her unwillingness to whitewash complicty, and the focus on Etta, a mother trying to hold her family together as madness and horror descend, offers a genuinely tragic vision * Sydney Morning Herald *Heartwarming and exciting . . . This book, along with movies such as Hitler’s SS, A Portrait of Evil, and JoJo Rabbit, explain how the strands of hatred reached out and entrapped whole families in a web of evil * Jerusalem Post *The novel has an unfussy, understated feel - reflected in Binder's calm prose - that belies its powerful impact. It's alternately subtle and striking, quiet and then, suddenly, deafeningly loud * Country and Town House *A Time to Love and a Time to Die by Erich Maria Remarque has always been one of my favourite books, and Reunion by Fred Uhlman I consider a masterpiece, so it was with great pleasure that I read The Vanishing Sky, which told the same story from a completely different angle -- Jeffrey ArcherIn her intimate and epic debut novel, L. Annette Binder lifts the lid on one family’s darkest story to offer vital insight into daily life under the last days of the Third Reich. The Vanishing Sky is a heartrending and blazingly lucid depiction of Nazi Germany as not a simple monolith of evil but as an oppressive, fanatical political regime that was encountered, accommodated, rejected, and survived by ordinary people, people just like you and me -- Miriam Toews, author of 'Women Talking'L. Annette Binder’s The Vanishing Sky is so fiercely imagined, so wondrously conjured, that what you hold not only pulls you into its history but into a world of pure yearning, determination, struggle and hope. This is a story – in all its rich layers – that dazzles, breaks your heart, clutches you and gets you back up again. I’m grateful to have experienced it, and grateful to Binder for the gift she has given us -- Paul Yoon, author of 'The Mountain'L. Annette Binder is a stunningly talented writer. Her stories are the stories of outsiders, gripping and heartfelt, heightened with hidden undertones of the surreal. It is this tension that makes the worlds she creates so vibrant, and allows her readers to see so deeply into these characters' souls -- Hannah Tinti, author of 'The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley'The challenge in humanising the Western world’s most tortured history proves no match for Binder’s intellect, compassion, and unflinching gaze; one gets the feeling this writer, in the stunning precision of her painterly details, would prove virtuosic with any material she was handed to use. A hugely ambitious novel whose consummate, patient artistry is moving beyond measure -- Matthew Thomas, New York Times-bestselling author of 'We Are Not Ourselves'L. Annette Binder arrives with worlds of empathy and strange surprise -- Praise for 'Rise', Ron Carlson, author of 'Return to Oakpine'Oustanding . . . A must read if you are fan of WWII historical fiction * The Portugal News *

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Book SynopsisWhat does the future hold for the left? How does the left adapt to, and prepare for, the crises of our time? In moments of crisis it is always important to rethink longstanding assumptions, jettison wishful thinking and dated ideas, and recover wisdom from the past. In so doing, we have the opportunity to plot a new way forward. The authors of this edited collection do just this: putting forward a diversity of approaches and issues to strategize for the work that awaits us in the 2020s, particularly in the struggle against capitalism, climate change and the far right.Working within five major thematic areas, the contributors examine how to engage working class people in anti-capitalist struggles, undermine reactionary currents of ethno-nationalism while supporting anti-colonial movements, strategically build power inside and outside the state apparatus, demand new forms of resistance to address environmental crises, and effectively promote solidarity and ecological responsibility. This book provides suggestions for working with popular disaffection, taking the rich, fragmented, conflicted history of refusals and defeats as a starting point for next steps in the struggle against capitalism and the far right, rather than as the basis for more conflict or defeatism.

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Book SynopsisFor Christians living as a persecuted minority in the Middle East, the question of whether their allegiance should lie with their faith or with the national communities they live in is a difficult one. This collection of essays aims to reconcile this conflict of allegiance by looking at the biblical vision of citizenship and showing that Christians can live and work as citizens of the state without compromising their beliefs and make a constructive contribution to the life of the countries they live in.The contributors come from a range of prestigious academic and religious posts and provide analysis on a range of issues such as dual nationalism, patriotism and the increase of Islamic fundamentalism. An insightful look into the challenges religious minorities face in countries where they are a minority, these essays provide a peace-building and reconciliatory conclusion for readers to consider.Trade ReviewSince Jesus raised a denarius and instructed his incredulous bystanders to "render unto Caesar what is Caesars" but "to God what is Gods" Christians have labored to understand and to practice a kind of duel citizenship. The faithful, Christian political witness is on trial today, hardly more so than in this book's focused region of the Middle East, where followers of Jesus continue to live "under Caesar's sword." This is why Christian Citizenship in the Middle East is an urgent book, not just for scholars of Jesus' homeland, but for disciples on political pilgrimage all throughout the world, under many Caesars, owing many obligations - some perhaps proper patriotism, others needing vigorous resistance. This book is an indispensable guide for such a time as this. -- Robert Joustra, Associate Professor of Politics & International Studies, Redeemer University College (Toronto, Canada)Topping headlines in today's news are reports of the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and other parts of the world. Many Christians who are able to flee are leaving their homes to escape danger. This tragedy requires serious investigation of its roots and causes. What better place to begin (or continue) the search for understanding than this book on Christian citizenship in the Middle East. It does more than assess the multi-dimensional crisis. Its authors point constructively to ways Christians can hold fast to their faith while making the wisest decisions possible to exercise their citizenship. -- James W. Skillen, Ph.D., Duke University, president (retired), Center for Public Justice, Washington, D.C.This book provides a provocative set of reflections on an important and timely theme: Christian citizenship as a response to the crisis arising in the Middle East. It begins a conversation that is essential to the preservation of pluralism in the Middle East that also extends to our own western societies. -- Paul S. Rowe, Professor of Political and International Studies, Trinity Western UniversityTable of ContentsForeword - Paul S Williams, British and Foreign Bible Society. Introduction; 1. Citizenship: A Christian Conception - Mohammed Girma, BFBS and University of Pretoria, South Africa; 2. The Bible and Patriotism - Nigel Biggar, University of Oxford, UK; 3. A Place to Call Home: Middle Eastern Christian Experience of Living on the Intersection of Two Allegiances - Issa Diab, Near East School of Theology, Lebanon; 4. The Contributions of Syrian Christians to Social Harmony - Najib Awad, Hartford Seminary, USA; 5. Displacement and Dual Identity: Faithful Presence Here and Now - Casey Strine, University of Sheffield, UK. 6. States, Citizens and Migration - Ben Ryan, Theos, London. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisWe are plagued by leaders who mislead and repress – it is more important than ever to stand up to them. The Covid-19 catastrophe has exposed the fabulists who rule throughout the world, in dictatorships, democracies and hybrids of the two. The misinformation they spread and the fake policy solutions they tout have become their own pandemic. Here, Michael Peel vividly recounts ferocious international battles over truth and the right to tell it. From Britain’s struggle with itself over Brexit to Syria’s civil war, he reveals the trademark deceptions and the powerful interests that profit from them in the defining fight of an era.Trade Review‘Excellent investigative journalism exposing global corruption…devastating.’ * Irish Times *'Quite astonishingly on point... A riveting book' -- James O'Brien, author of How to Be Right‘There are few more important topics than the rise of global authoritarianism, and no better guide than Michael Peel’s The Fabulists – a book that is not just grippingly written but also authoritative and wryly perceptive on the many foibles of the world’s most fascinating fantasist autocrats.’ -- James Crabtree, author of The Billionaire Raj

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Book SynopsisSeventy-five years ago, Henry Wallace, then the vice president of the United States, mounted a campaign about the "Danger of American Fascism." As fighting in the European and Japanese theatres drew to a close, Wallace warned that the country might win the war and lose the peace; that the fascist threat the United States. was battling abroad had a terrifying domestic variant, growing rapidly in power: wealthy corporatists and their allies in the media. Wallace predicted that if the New Deal project was not renewed and expanded in the postwar era, American fascists would use fear mongering, xenophobia, and racism to regain economic and political power. He championed a progressive postwar world-an alternative to the rising triumphalist "American Century" notion in which the United States rejected colonialism and imperialism.Wallace's political vision-as well as his nomination to remain vice president-was sidelined by Democratic big city bosses and southern segregationists. In the decades to come, other progressives would mount similar campaigns: George McGovern and Jesse Jackson most prominently. As John Nichols chronicles in this book, they ultimately failed-a warning to would-be reformers today-but their efforts provide us with insights into the nature of the Democratic Party and strategic lessons for the likes of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.Trade Review"Every progressive must read this book. John Nichols reminds us that Henry Wallace was the true heir to Roosevelt's New Deal. He stood up against militarism, championed health care as a right, and fought for racial justice. When the party bosses denied Wallace a place on the Democratic Party's 1944 ticket, they chose caution over a bold vision for 'winning the peace' with an Economic Bill of Rights and the Four Freedoms. As Nichols reveals, that set a pattern for compromise that sold the party and the nation short. Now, seventy-five years later, as progressives again fight for the soul of the Democratic Party, Nichols gives us the history and vision for a new progressive era." -REPRESENTATIVE RO KHANNA "Henry Wallace is a political figure--one of the giants of the mid-twentieth century--who has kind of been pushed out of the national political discussion ... Nichols [tells us] that one of the reasons Wallace was not renominated in 1944 was because of his opposition to racism. The segregationists didn't want him around." -SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS "More than a history book--this is an examination of what progressives must do to retake our democracy. Nichols points the way toward how we can build a party based on peace, liberty, and justice for all." -REPRESENTATIVE ILHAN OMAR "Nichols is a remarkable thinker and writer. He recognizes that fights that were not won in the past by advocates of economic and racial justice and peace can now be won--if we are determined enough, and hopeful enough, to carry the struggle forward." -REVEREND JESSE JACKSON "Nichols is so good at exploring the roots of U.S. radical politics, including our long socialist history. He puts the fights we're in now into perspective--and gives us inspiration to carry on." -MARIA SVART, National Director of Democratic Socialists of America "Henry Wallace thought we could avoid the Cold War internationally and work on addressing racism at home. He was ahead of his time, and he was punished for that. Maybe, now, we can recognize he was right about a lot of things." -NOAM CHOMSKY

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Book SynopsisBelarus is an isolated country dominated by one man. Few tourists go there despite its fascinating, cultured past and beautiful countryside. Belarussians are friendly and hospitable yet they rarely have the chance to speak their minds and are deprived of access to unbiased information. They have been removed from the flow of European history by a tyrannical regime described by Condoleezza Rice, the former US Secretary of State, as 'the last dictatorship in Europe'. The people of Belarus were not ready for independence in 1991 and were misled into believing that the young, unsophisticated Alexander Lukashenko would lead them into a bright future. Instead he foisted upon them a dictatorship little different from what they had known before. Bennett's book tracks the history of Belarus from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the eventual establishment of dictatorship in 2006. It takes the reader through the excitement and mistakes of the first presidential election in 1994, undemocratic referenda and elections, suspicious disappearances of critics of the regime and the suppression of opposition. It ends with a close look at the enigmatic Alexander Lukashenko and hazards a guess as to how his regime will end. Belarus deserves to be better known; this book pulls back the curtainTrade Review'The author had the critical advantage of first-hand experience of Belarussian political transformations by living for several years in Minsk, the capital city of Belarus, from 2003 to 2007. His book is a clear and well-documented history of social, cultural, economic, and political change during the autocratic rule of Alexander Lukashenko, a welcome addition for scholars and students of the history and politics of post-Soviet Belarus. ... Lukashenko's fabricated victory in December 2010 will ensure a sustained interest in this book in the coming years.' * Professor Christian W. Haerpfer, University of Aberdeen *'Incisive and well researched - The Last Dictatorship in Europe is an important contribution to a shamefully neglected subject.' * Edward Lucas, author of The New Cold War *

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Book SynopsisA collection of photographs depicting the surreal reality of Turkmenistan whilst under the harsh dictatorship of Saparmurat Niyazov.

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Book SynopsisYes To A Rosy Future documents Swiss photographer Nicolas Righetti's stay in Syria in 2012, captioned with statements from Bashar al'Assad's official speeches. An afterword by Christian Bråndle, director of the Zurich Design Museum, considers the relationship between the ruler and his people and how his image is used to hint at his omnipresence a smiling face, always there for his loyal subjects. It was an overwhelming sight that met photographer Nicolas Righetti when he arrived in Dasmascus in May 2007. Preparations for the coming election were in full swing and the city was smothered with one image, that of the unopposed President, Bashar al'Assad, who was to be re-elected another seven years. From monumental portraits to publicity handouts in both public and private spaces, the ruler of Syria became unavoidable and the message was clear; 'Yes To A Rosy Future' was emblazoned on campaign posters everywhere. Yes To A Rosy Future documents Righetti's stay in Syria and presents the photos taken during this time, captioned with statements from Bashar al'Assad's official speeches. An afterword by Christian Bråndle, director of the Zurich Design Museum, considers the relationship between the ruler and his people and how his image is used to hint at his omnipresence a smiling face, always there for his loyal subjects. With the Arab Spring and the protests that took place in Syria starting in early 2011, this relationship was questioned and tested. One thing is certain Bashar al'Assad is still there for his people, whether they want him to be or not. The propagandistic images and slogans of 2007 have taken on a new relevance: images of triumphant power and his obdurate statements reveal a completely different portrait, that of the smiling face of repression.

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Book SynopsisIn American Zealots, Arie Perliger provides a wide-ranging and rigorously researched overview of right-wing domestic terrorism. He analyzes its historical roots, characteristics, tactics, rhetoric, and organization, assessing the current and future trajectory of the use of violence by the far right.Trade ReviewAmerican Zealots is an immensely timely and important publication. Written by one of this country's foremost authorities on far-right extremist violence, it provides a comprehensive analysis of this movement's evolution and trajectory and its implications for American society and politics. -- Bruce Hoffman, author of Inside TerrorismWith unparalleled expertise, Arie Perliger makes sense of the complicated and contentious reality of domestic right-wing terrorism. His explanation of the complexities, deep historical roots, and ideological diversity of the threat is clear and dispassionate. His conclusions are all the more important for being bluntly realistic: there is unlikely to be a decline in right-wing violence unless we devise a wide-ranging public policy response. -- Martha Crenshaw, Stanford UniversityAt a time when both DHS and the FBI have underlined the threat posed from the radical right, Arie Perliger’s American Zealots is a comprehensive and comparative study of right-wing terrorism that sheds light on how the movement emerged, grew within the US military, and our society to become the center of current domestic political debates. Using original data that he collected, the book is anchored in rigorous empirical evidence to explain how we got here and identify the path forward. -- Mia Bloom, author of Small Arms: Children and TerrorismThis arresting book explores the backgrounds of right-wing activists who have terrorized America’s heartland from Oak Creek, Wisconsin to El Paso, Texas in recent decades. Far from being lone wolves, they are supported by a vast community of hatred, this revealing study shows. It descends into America’s underground cultures of violence and helps the reader understand the motivations and organizations of what has become America’s number one terrorist threat. It is essential reading for anyone concerned about the widening chasms of political extremism in the United States. -- Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious ViolencePerliger is impassioned and cleareyed about how troubling the trends are...a plainspoken and data-driven yet essential book for understanding the underpinnings of today’s domestic terrorists. * Kirkus Reviews *This book illuminates the threat of the far-right in an accessible, non-jargony way and Perliger’s introduction to the topic may encourage readers to become more informed about some of the complexities and nuances of the far-right...a multifaceted analysis. -- Samantha Kutner, Khalifa Ihler Institute * Critical Studies on Terrorism *A refreshing and valuable perspective...American Zealots provides a valuable contribution to the growing literature of the contemporary far-right in the United States. -- Matthew Valasik * Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Book Reviews *An exceptional read into the domestic terrorist threat....for anyone interested in reading into domestic terrorism, its cultural impact, and the potential for continued acts of violence the book is highly recommended. * Populism *Offers a useful ideological typology of the American far right. * Survival *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments1. The Challenges of Comprehending and Responding to Domestic Terrorism2. An Ideological Typology of the Violent Far Right3. Historical Pillars of the Violent American Far Right4. Tactics of the American Far Right5.The Rise and Decline of Far-Right Violence in the United States6. Perpetrators of Far-Right Violence7. Contemporary Discourse of the American Far Right8. The Future of the Violent American Far RightAppendix: Methodology and Statistical ResultsNotesReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisOffering a much-needed global perspective on the "dark side" of the internet, Digital Hate is a timely and critical look at the raging debates around online media's failed promises.Trade Review"Timely, original, and powerful, this anthology is packed with new insights about digital media and political cultures. Contributors comprise an interdisciplinary and international group of scholars grounded predominantly in anthropology and media studies. Their diverse studies in the global north and south approach extreme speech online as a cultural practice situated within wider social struggles. The collection reveals the dynamics of exclusionary politics that paradoxically thrive in the age of digital connectivity."—Victoria Bernal, author of Nation as Network: Diaspora, Cyberspace, and Citizenship, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine"This superb collection contains a number of stimulating contributions by authors from around the world. The introduction lays out the book's unique intellectual re-reading of online extreme speech, civility, and rationality. It offers insightful and innovative ways of understanding these issues from decolonial and ethnographically grounded approaches. This is the only book to connect history, colonial formations, and coloniality in the study of extreme speech in the digital age."—Sarah Chiumbu, Associate Professor, Department of Communication & Media, University of Johannesburg"How is the term 'hate speech' mobilized to further specific political ends, so deepening rather than alleviating inequalities in the public domain? This is the question that this highly sophisticated collection of essays addresses, drawing on a wide range of cases from Kenya to Chile, the Philippines to Germany. These deeply contextualized studies constitute a huge step forward in our understanding of the cultural and technological underpinnings of extreme speech on a global scale—a landmark study."—Nick Couldry, London School of Economics and Political ScienceTable of ContentsHate Cultures in the Digital Age: The Global Conjuncture of Extreme Speech, by Sahana Udupa, Iginio Gagliardone, and Peter HervikPart One: Extreme Speech as a Critique: Power and Agonism1. There's no such thing as hate speech and it's a good thing, too, by David Boromisza-Habashi2. The political trolling industry in Duterte's Philippines: Everyday work arrangements of disinformation and extreme speech, by Jonathan Corpus Ong3. It is Incivility, not hate speech: Application of Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory to analysis of non-anthropocentric agency, by David Katiambo4. The moral economy of extreme speech: Resentment and anger in Indian minority politics, by Max KramerPart Two: Colloquialization of Exclusion5. Us and (((them))): Extreme memes and anti-Semitism on 4Chan, by Marc Tuters and Sal Hagen6. Nationalism in the digital age: Fun as a metapractice of extreme speech, by Sahana Udupa7. A presidential archive of lies: Racism, Twitter, and a history of the present, by Carole McGranahan8. Racialization, racism and anti-racism in Danish social media platforms, by Peter Hervik9. Follow the memes: On the construction of far-right identities online, by Amy C. Mack10. The politics of Muhei: Ethnic humor and Islamophobia on Chinese social media, by Gabriele de Seta11. Writing on the walls: Discourses on Bolivian immigrants in Chilean meme humor, by Nell HaynesPart Three: Organization and Disorganization12. Blasphemy accusations as extreme speech acts in Pakistan, by Jürgen Schaflechner13. Localized hatred: The importance of physical spaces within the German far-right online counterpublic on Facebook, by Jonas Kaiser14. "Motherhood" revisited: Pushing boundaries in Indonesia's online discourse, by Indah S. Pratidina15. Networks of political trolling in Turkey after the consolidation of power under the Presidency, by Erkan SakaContributors' BiographiesIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade Review‘An extraordinarily rich historical fresco, groundbreaking in many ways’—Chiara Saraceno, L’Indice dei libri del mese -- Chiara Saraceno * L'Indice die libri del mese *

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Book SynopsisAn incisive account of how Mussolini pioneered populism in reaction to Hitler’s rise—and thereby reinforced his role as a model for later authoritarian leadersTrade Review“Much attention has been paid to the populist politics of modern leaders such as Trump and Erdogan, and one of the many interesting strands of this new book is whether Mussolini might reasonably be considered the first such populist.”—BBC History Magazine“An engaging and persuasive guide…Bosworth is surely right when he argues, in this most enjoyable and wide-ranging book, that the word “facist” is used today too often and too loosely.”—Caroline Moorehead, Times Literary Supplement ‘In his inimitable style and with peerless erudition, Bosworth provides us with a passionately engaged history of a Mussolini and an Italy caught up in the monstrous gravitational waves engendered by the coming of Third Reich.’—Giuseppe Finaldi, author of Mussolini and Italian Fascism‘This trenchant, eminently readable, book is a convincing analysis of the decline and fall of Fascism. Its conclusion – that Mussolini’s Italy was a “weak regime that went to its collapse broadcasting fake news about itself” – ensures that the book also has a contemporary ring.’— Professor Mark Gilbert, Johns Hopkins University‘An original and fascinating analysis of the degeneration of the Italian Fascist regime in its last decade of peace, and of ‘the first modern dictator’s’ place in the broader context of contemporary history, especially in relation to present-day populist movements.’—John F. Pollard, author of The Vatican and Italian Fascism, 1929–32"At a time when the specter of fascism haunts contemporary society, Bosworth provides a timely reminder that populist bluster tends to mask profound inadequacies. Benito Mussolini may have been the first modern dictator, but he was also a failure who led his nation to catastrophe.”—Professor Joshua Arthurs, West Virginia University

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Book SynopsisThis title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Pressâs mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1979.

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Book SynopsisConventional histories of modern Jewish politics emphasize the agency offered by Zionism, liberalism, and socialism. Kenneth B. Moss traces a darker reckoning with powerlessness amid grave dangers in Europe’s largest Jewish community, recovering a search for realism about minority experience, the nation-state, and the making of a future.Trade ReviewScholars of Jewish history have devoted a great deal of attention to interwar Poland as the site of a cultural efflorescence that emerged out of the devastation of World War I…Now Kenneth B. Moss…has come to complicate the story, in ways at once surprising and intuitive, in his new book An Unchosen People…The reluctant recourse to Zionism tells us a good deal about the limited agency and sense of futurelessness found among Polish Jews in this age of cultural pessimism. It is a story exceptionally well told…a brilliant affective history of Jewish political culture in interwar Poland…It is one of the merits of Moss’s fine book to show that, for Polish Jews even before the German invasion of 1939, immigration to Palestine was nothing more or less than a path of escape from a hellish abyss, the full depths of which they could not yet imagine. -- David N. Myers * Los Angeles Review of Books *An insightful, incisive, thoroughly documented study of how interwar Polish Jews understood their situation in real time…In a tour de force of investigation and erudition, [Moss] has uncovered troves of unpublished private correspondence, journals, notes, and memoranda that, taken together with a substantial body of published works, constitute an ongoing conversation in Yiddish, Polish, and Hebrew among some two dozen guiding figures who tried to predict where the increasingly treacherous currents might lead and what Jews might do in response. -- David Engel * Jewish Review of Books *An original, provocative, inspiring, challenging, and even haunting book. -- Piotr J. Wróbel * Journal of Modern History *Unsettling and important…The poignancy of this carefully researched and thoughtful volume lies not only in the story it recounts but in the way it surreptitiously causes the reader to reflect on the fragility of democracy and the rise of extrusionary nationalism in our day. -- Robert Brym * Canadian Jewish Studies *One of the most important studies of Polish Jewry to appear in years, An Unchosen People is a deeply original exploration of how Jewish political thought in interwar Poland grappled with rising antisemitism and a growing sense of Jewish vulnerability. -- Samuel D. Kassow, author of Who Will Write Our History?: Rediscovering a Hidden Archive from the Warsaw GhettoWith stunning erudition and deep compassion for its subjects, An Unchosen People portrays an interwar Polish-Jewish community shaped and sustained by a sense of desperation in the face of a bleak future. Moss’s book bristles with insights about the relationship between global economic crisis, political extremism, and Jewish national identifications in the twentieth century. -- Derek Penslar, author of Theodor Herzl: The Charismatic LeaderA profound, eloquently narrated study germane not only to the debates over the 1930s ‘Jewish Question’ but also to our engagement today with racism and political alienation. Moss makes clear that Jews were becoming increasingly convinced their identity-politics ideologies were no match for the incipient ethnochauvinism and fascism already ensconced in the politics of Central Europe. This is a work that resonates quite beyond Jewish history in addressing the precariousness of liberal and progressive ideals in illiberal times. -- Eli Lederhendler, The Hebrew University of JerusalemA brilliant new account of Jewish political thought and activism in interwar Poland. Moss tells a troubling story of how a politically, socially, and religiously diverse Jewish community confronted questions about belonging and the possibilities for a future in Poland, Palestine, or elsewhere abroad. In the process he reframes the history of Zionism, diasporism, and interwar Polish-Jewish life itself. This is essential reading for anyone interested in Jewish history, East European history, and the history of minorities in Europe and beyond. -- Tara Zahra, author of The Great Departure: Mass Migration from Eastern Europe and the Making of the Free WorldA landmark publication that brilliantly reinterprets the arc of Eastern European Jewish history. Well before the Holocaust, Moss demonstrates, Polish fascism and antisemitism had bankrupted every extant Jewish political ideology—from Communism to Zionism to liberalism to religious Orthodoxy—leaving Polish Jews a futureless people as they entered the fateful era of war and genocide. Never have we had such a fine-grained historical analysis of the Polish-Jewish predicament framed against the backdrop of the crisis of Western modernity. The result is a revelatory book. -- James Loeffler, author of Rooted Cosmopolitans: Jews and Human Rights in the Twentieth CenturyAn Unchosen People deftly illuminates the struggle of Polish Jews to come to terms with modernity in general and with the growing threat to their everyday existence in the crucial period of 1928–1935. Moss analyzes the complex arguments among Jews about how to meet the fearsome challenges of discrimination, racial antisemitism, and poverty that emerged with the Depression, the rise of Hitler, and the growing virulence of Polish nationalism. An essential read for any student of modern Polish-Jewish history. -- Norman M. Naimark, author of Stalin and the Fate of Europe: The Postwar Struggle for SovereigntyThis fascinating, masterfully written book is a breakthrough in our understanding of Jewish political thinking in interwar Poland. Moss shows both the devastating effects of ethnic nationalism and fascism on Polish Jews and the novel ways in which Jews reacted. An essential work for readers interested in Jewish politics in Eastern Europe and issues of emigration and transnationalism, as well as crucial background for Polish-Jewish relations before and during the Holocaust. -- Kamil Kijek, University of WrocławMoss has produced a grand history of Jewish political disillusionment—the equivalent of a photographic negative in which the polychromatic period of interwar Polish-Jewish history, full of cultural vitality, is transformed into a sepia-tinted frame marked by despair and fear for the future. In the spirit of Wilderson’s Afropessimism, Moss marshals his unparalleled skills as historian and thinker to capture an ominous and chilling moment of Judeopessimism. -- David N. Myers, coauthor of American Shtetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New York

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Book SynopsisWhen the Soviet Union collapsed, many hoped that Russia's centuries-long history of autocratic rule might finally end. This book traces the history of modern Russian politics from the Bolshevik Revolution to the presidency of Vladimir Putin.Trade Review"Western democracies often view the Russian political structure as something 'abnormal.' Zimmerman peels back this Western lens and looks systematically into Russian political history from Vladimir Lenin to Vladimir Putin. He delves into how a consolidated political structure solidified with each passing generation of rulers."--Library Journal "William Zimmerman's new book is perfectly timed to furnish a backdrop to this discussion, providing the first major overview of Russian leadership politics from 1917 to the present... Ruling Russia is written in a lively style, with flashes of humour."--Lara Cook, Times Higher Education "William Zimmerman ... has written an important book rich in historical detail."--Survival "This is a book for those who know a little about Soviet and Russian politics but who wish to gain a balanced and intelligent deeper understanding of the process of change that may one day end up with Russia becoming a 'normal' system."--Richard Sakwa, Russian Review "Zimmerman's book is a major contribution, which speaks to comparativists, Russia scholars, and the broader public alike."--Inga A.-L. Saikkonen, Democratization "Zimmerman's book is a welcome addition to the literature on comparative authoritarianism, and it is a unique contribution to the study of contemporary Russian politics in particular."--Kathryn Stoner, Political Science Quarterly "This is an important and impressive scholarly work... One would be hard-pressed to find another work that covers as much in just over 300 pages."--Paul Kubicek, Soviet and Post-Soviet ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 From Democratic Centralism to Democratic Centralism 14 Chapter 2 Alternative Mobilization Strategies, 1917-1934 43 Chapter 3 From Narrow Selectorate to Autocracy 75 Chapter 4 The Great Purge 102 Chapter 5 From Totalitarianism to Welfare Authoritarianism 130 Chapter 6 Uncertainty and "Democratization": The Evolution of Post-Brezhnevian Politics, 1982-1991 164 Chapter 7 Democratizing Russia, 1991-1997 196 Chapter 8 The Demise of Schumpeterian Democracy, the Return to Certainty, and Normal ("Full") Authoritarianism, 1998-2008 220 Chapter 9 The Return of Uncertainty? The 2011-2012 Electoral Cycle 267 Chapter 10 The Past and Future of Russian Authoritarianism 291 Selected Bibliography 311 Index 323

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Book SynopsisWhen the Soviet Union collapsed, many hoped that Russia's centuries-long history of autocratic rule might finally end. Yet today's Russia appears to be retreating from democracy, not progressing toward it. Ruling Russia is the only book of its kind to trace the history of modern Russian politics from the Bolshevik Revolution to the presidency of VlTrade Review"Western democracies often view the Russian political structure as something 'abnormal.' Zimmerman peels back this Western lens and looks systematically into Russian political history from Vladimir Lenin to Vladimir Putin. He delves into how a consolidated political structure solidified with each passing generation of rulers."--Library Journal "William Zimmerman's new book is perfectly timed to furnish a backdrop to this discussion, providing the first major overview of Russian leadership politics from 1917 to the present... Ruling Russia is written in a lively style, with flashes of humour."--Lara Cook, Times Higher Education "William Zimmerman ... has written an important book rich in historical detail."--Survival "This is a book for those who know a little about Soviet and Russian politics but who wish to gain a balanced and intelligent deeper understanding of the process of change that may one day end up with Russia becoming a 'normal' system."--Richard Sakwa, Russian Review "Zimmerman's book is a major contribution, which speaks to comparativists, Russia scholars, and the broader public alike."--Inga A.-L. Saikkonen, Democratization "Zimmerman's book is a welcome addition to the literature on comparative authoritarianism, and it is a unique contribution to the study of contemporary Russian politics in particular."--Kathryn Stoner, Political Science Quarterly "This is an important and impressive scholarly work... One would be hard-pressed to find another work that covers as much in just over 300 pages."--Paul Kubicek, Soviet and Post-Soviet ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 From Democratic Centralism to Democratic Centralism 14 Chapter 2 Alternative Mobilization Strategies, 1917-1934 43 Chapter 3 From Narrow Selectorate to Autocracy 75 Chapter 4 The Great Purge 102 Chapter 5 From Totalitarianism to Welfare Authoritarianism 130 Chapter 6 Uncertainty and "Democratization": The Evolution of Post-Brezhnevian Politics, 1982-1991 164 Chapter 7 Democratizing Russia, 1991-1997 196 Chapter 8 The Demise of Schumpeterian Democracy, the Return to Certainty, and Normal ("Full") Authoritarianism, 1998-2008 220 Chapter 9 The Return of Uncertainty? The 2011-2012 Electoral Cycle 267 Chapter 10 The Past and Future of Russian Authoritarianism 291 Afterword to the Paperback Edition 311 Selected Bibliography 327 Index 339

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Ed A Hewett Book Prize, Association for Slavic, Eastern European, & Eurasian Studies""Rosenfeld’s book is essential reading for anyone interested in questions of development and democratisation. In its successful effort to illuminate the role of the middle class in promoting democracy, it should serve as an important reference point for future scholarship in the field. As such, it deserves wide attention."---Europe-Asia Studies, Zuzanna Brunarska"A must-read for anyone interested in autocratic politics. . . . The Autocratic Middle Class is a masterclass in the analysis of public opinion and an important contribution to the literature on autocratic politics and democratization.—Natalie Wenzell Letsa, Political Science Quarterly"

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