Since 1989 the German extremism scholars, Uwe Backes and Eckhard Jesse, have published the German language 'Yearbook of Extremism & Democracy' (originally with Bouvier Verlag, and since 1995 at Nomos Verlag). The main focus is political extremism in the Federal Republic of Germany, both of the left and right, religious and secular, by Germans or foreigners.

Each issue is divided into three sections. In the 'Analyses' section, experts provide original, academic studies on a wide range of topics including the voters of the Republikaner and the PDS, the LaRouch organisation, Stalinism, democratisation and types of democracy. From time to time a forum on a topic (e.g. Scientology, the Republikaner) is included. The 'Data, Documents, Dossiers' section always includes entries on the German national and sub-national elections, on extremist organisations, and on their documentation. In addition, detailed descriptions of relevant organisations (e.g. DVU, VVN-BdA) and topics (e.g. protests against the CASTOR transports, the role of skinheads within the extreme right camp) are presented, together with biographical studies of extremist leaders and analyses of extremist journals. Finally, the 'Literature' section includes a few review articles, some fifteen book reviews, and several hundred book notes on German and international literature on all aspects of political extremism.

Though the Yearbook has a strong emphasis on the 'extremism-theoretical' approach, and has been criticised by opponents as a result, it is clearly open to other approaches and scholars. The same applies to nationality; while the vast majority of authors are German, various non-German scholars have contributed over the years as well. In conclusion, the Jahrbuch Extremismus & Demokratie provides a vital background source for literature on political extremism in general, and on political extremism in Germany in particular.

A free online sample copy of a recent issue (Vol. 41:3, Jan 2000) of the journal, Race & Class (A Journal for Black and Third World Liberation), is available at:

http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journals/Details/issue/j0320v41i03.html