The propaganda of extreme hostility: denunciation and the regulation of the group.

This paper discusses how those espousing racist or separatist ideologies seek to persuade others to conform to their beliefs. Using examples from Nazi Germany, White Power movements in the USA and the extreme fringes of Zionist politics, it illustrates how notions of identity are linked to positions of hostility, hatred or separatism from other groups. In particular, it describes how those who maintain relations with other groups or who oppose hostility are discounted through accounts of social influence. The effectiveness of this rhetoric in terms of creating climates of social and self-censure, and of silencing dissent in situations of conflict, is discussed.