Dr Jim Saleam’s doctoral thesis on the Far-Right is unique, as it is the only scholarly work on Australia’s Far-Right produced by a participating nationalist who has come up against the varied forms of conservatism and patriotism.
Dr Saleam’s inclusion in this history has in no way biased his account of the Far-Right, but better informed it.
Not too many works investigate this aspect of Australian history and those in existence are in the majority written by partisan academics either with a prejudice against the subject matter or else have failed to grasp the important nuances that can change one’s understanding of what motivated certain groups and individuals politically and ideologically. Subsequently, preconceptions of that period and those politics have been shed in favour of analysis which can temper our understanding of what passes for the Far-Right today.
By reading Dr Saleam’s thesis, one perceives that while times change, much stays the same. This work is essential for anybody active or becoming active in Australia’s counter-politics as it offers not only an interpretation of what has passed but on how the system continues to function.
Titled ‘The Other Radicalism: An Inquiry Into Contemporary Australian Extreme Right ideology, Politics And Organization 1975 – 1995’, it can be downloaded here in PDF format:
