Political Extremism and Radicalism

This archive provides primary sources on radical and extremist political movements from the 20th century in North America, Europe, and Australasia. Covering both left- and right-wing ideologies, it supports research on civil rights, race, gender, religion, and other key social and political issues. McMaster users have access to two parts: 

• Far-Right and Left Political Groups in the U.S., Europe, and Australia in the Twentieth Century: This archive offers rare primary sources on far-right and far-left political groups from the 20th century across the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Spanning 1900s–2010s, it includes periodicals, propaganda, government records, oral histories, and ephemera that reveal the origins and influence of extremist and radical movements. Topics include civil rights, white nationalism, socialism, environmentalism, and more—supporting research into the global impact of fringe ideologies.
• Global Communist and Socialist Movements: This archive provides insight into how communist, socialist, and Far-Left groups and figures saw themselves and the world around them during the major political and social events that occurred in the twentieth century. The primary sources in this collection come from multiple regions, offering the opportunity for a comparative study of left-wing thinking and government ideology, and connect researchers to firsthand narratives to explore left-wing political radicalism and extremism across Europe, America, Latin America, and more. Collections include documents and correspondence that shed light on the political ideologies of Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, Trotskyism, and anarchism. Researchers can analyze the world’s response to major extremist events, like the Russian Revolution, the rise of the Soviet Union, and the Red Scare.