Ideology is a dirty word in some quarters, but politics would be unrecognisable (and probably undoable) without ideologies. We have experts recommending books on political ideology, covering Maoism, fascism, anarchism, communism and every other “ism”.
We cover what in the United States would be called “conservatism” and “liberal” or “progressive” politics extensively. E J Dionne, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, talks about the appeal of conservatism, Grover Norquist, founder of America for Tax Reform, chooses his best books on Tea Party conservatism. Anne Heller, biographer of Ayn Rand, talks about libertarianism and Mitch Daniels, former governor of Indiana, discusses how libertarians can govern. Journalist Sam Tanenhaus chooses his best books on conservatism and culture.
On the other side of the ledger, Matthew Taylor, former adviser to Tony Blair, talks about progress, Journalist Franklin Foer talks about the roots of liberalism and US Congressman Keith Ellison chooses his best books on progressivism. Former secretary of state John Kerry also talks about progressivism and former mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa chooses his best books on progressive America. Both Kerry and Villaraigosa choose The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
Beyond that, to mention only a handful, former UK Labour cabinet minister, James Purnell, chooses his best books on power and ideas, Professor Harvey Klehr chooses his best books on communism in America. Richard McGregor, former FT Beijing correspondent, looks at the Chinese Communist Party, Nick Thorpe, the BBC’s central Europe correspondent, talks about the fall of communism. Elsewhere, Iraqi poet Nabeel Yasin discusses democracy in Iraq, Professor Mary Habeck terrorism and Martin Sixsmith why Russia isn’t a democracy. Lastly, Professor Michael Kazin looks at the roots of the Occupy movement.
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1
Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe
by Hans-Georg Betz -
2
Revolt on the Right: Explaining Support for the Radical Right in Britain
by Matthew Goodwin & Robert Ford -
3
The Politics of Fear: What Right-Wing Populist Discourses Mean
by Ruth Wodak -
4
The Extreme Gone Mainstream: Commercialization and Far Right Youth Culture in Germany
by Cynthia Miller-Idriss -
5
Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort
by Chip Berlet & Matthew N. Lyons
The best books on The Far Right, recommended by Cas Mudde
The best books on The Far Right, recommended by Cas Mudde
There’s nothing new about the far right and the unpleasant views that its supporters espouse. What’s changed is that some of those views have been embraced by the political mainstream and are now viewed as normal. Political scientist Cas Mudde, Stanley Wade Shelton UGAF Professor at the University of Georgia, talks us through the best books on the far right.
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1
Violence and the Word
by Robert Cover -
2
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
by Michelle Alexander -
3
Black against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party
by Joshua Bloom & Waldo E. Martin Jr. -
4
Critique of Violence
by Walter Benjamin -
5
The Birth of Biopolitics: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1978–1979
by Michel Foucault
The best books on State, Power and Violence, recommended by Geoffroy de Lagasnerie
The best books on State, Power and Violence, recommended by Geoffroy de Lagasnerie
French philosopher and sociologist Geoffroy de Lagasnerie argues for a more realist political theory, one that fully acknowledges that state violence is the one thing in your life that you can never escape. His selection includes works by Michel Foucault and Walter Benjamin, as well as a history of the Black Panther Party.
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Mao’s Last Revolution
by Michael Schoenhals & Roderick MacFarquhar -
2
Maoism at the Grassroots
edited by Jeremy Brown and Matthew D. Johnson -
3
Red Star over China
by Edgar Snow -
4
The Bullet and the Ballot Box: The Story of Nepal's Maoist Revolution
by Aditya Adhikari -
5
A Critical Introduction to Mao
by Timothy Creek
The best books on Maoism, recommended by Julia Lovell
The best books on Maoism, recommended by Julia Lovell
While researching Maoism, China expert Julia Lovell battled against two incorrect assumptions: “firstly that Maoism is a story of China; and secondly that Maoism is a story of the past.” Here she recommends five books for coming to grips with the global, still-relevant impact of Maoism.
The best books on Fascism, recommended by Ruth Ben-Ghiat
In an era of Trumpism and fake news, the word ‘fascist’ is thrown around with increasing ease and little attention paid to its origins and history. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, political commentator and historian at New York University, recommends the best books for understanding fascism’s history and recognizing it today.
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'Anarchism', in the Encyclopaedia Britannica
by Peter Kropotkin -
2
Gates of Freedom: Voltairine de Cleyre and the Revolution of the Mind
by Eugenia C. DeLamotte -
3
The Slavery of Our Times
by Leo Tolstoy -
4
Autonomy, Solidarity, Possibility: The Colin Ward Reader
by Chris Wilbert, Colin Ward & Damian F. White -
5
Anarchism and Syndicalism in the Colonial and Postcolonial World, 1870-1940
by Lucien van der Walt & Steven Hirsch
The best books on Anarchism, recommended by Ruth Kinna
The best books on Anarchism, recommended by Ruth Kinna
Sometimes vilified, often misunderstood, rarely taught in universities, anarchism is a political philosophy and social movement that’s far removed from today’s mainstream politics. But it was and remains a powerful motivator. Political theorist Ruth Kinna talks us through the best books to read to get a better understanding of anarchism.
The best books on The French Revolution, recommended by Lynn Hunt
It’s a revolution that still resonates and yet it resists easy interpretation. Lynn Hunt, a leading historian of the French Revolution, tells us what the events of 1789 and later years really meant, and what relevance they have for us today.
The best books on British Conservatism, recommended by Daniel Finkelstein
Conservatism is different around the world because what it’s trying to preserve, the ‘essence of a nation,’ inevitably varies by country, says British journalist and politician Daniel Finkelstein. And yet, the UK’s Tory party has always been quick to adapt to whatever would get it into power.
The best books on Progressivism, recommended by Keith Ellison
As American congressman Keith Ellison—the first Muslim elected to Congress—enters the race to chair the Democratic National Committee, reread this interview on the cause he stands for: progressivism — and the best books to read to fully understand it.
The best books on The Russian Revolution, recommended by Roland Chambers
The Russian revolution was the beginning of the modern age, says award-winning author Roland Chambers. He tells us what Solzhenitsyn imagined Lenin was like, and about the children’s author who led a double life as a spy in Bolshevik Russia.
The best books on Who Terrorists Are, recommended by Jessica Stern
International terror expert Jessica Stern takes a close look at the mind of the terrorist. She explores why people are drawn to extreme violence and how, in many cases, terrorists can build their identities around ideologies that they hold in an ultimately shallow way
The Best Anti-Communist Thrillers, recommended by Peter Hitchens
Right-wing journalist and political commentator Peter Hitchens says the Left has been liberated by the fall of the Berlin Wall and that speech is probably freer in modern Russia than it is in Britain. He recommends some great anti-Communist thrillers.
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History of the French Revolution
by Jules Michelet -
2
The French Revolution
by Hippolyte Taine -
3
Christianity and American Democracy
by Hugh Heclo -
4
Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France
by Edmund Burke -
5
The Complete Essays
by Michel de Montaigne -
6
The Prince
by Niccolo Machiavelli