Uwe Backes is a deputy director of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism and teaches political science at the Technical University of Dresden, Saxony.

• 1. Introduction 2. Extremes, Mean, Moderation and Constitutional Mixture in Antiquity and the Middle Ages 3. Extremes and the Tradition of the Mixed Constitution from Early Humanism to the Age of Democratic Revolutions 4. Extreme Ideologies in the Political Laboratory of the Nineteenth Century 5. Extremism in the beginning of the "Age of Extremes" 6. Extreme Terms in the Political Language of German Ideocracies 7. Extremism as an Element of the Official/Semi-Official Language of the Federal Republic of Germany 8. Lines of Development of the Extremism Concept in the Twentieth Century 9. Political Extremism: Final Results, Classification of Terms and Outlook 10. Appendix

'Backes has written a book that is not only politically highly relevant, but also sheds new light on the subject. Detailed historical work, an original historical perspective and a sophisticated theoretical overview makes this book essential reading for scholars of varying disciplinary background.' -Tjitske Akkerman, e-Extreme, Vol. 12, 1, March 2011

Uwe Backes is a deputy director of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism and teaches political science at the Technical University of Dresden, Saxony.

• 1. Introduction 2. Extremes, Mean, Moderation and Constitutional Mixture in Antiquity and the Middle Ages 3. Extremes and the Tradition of the Mixed Constitution from Early Humanism to the Age of Democratic Revolutions 4. Extreme Ideologies in the Political Laboratory of the Nineteenth Century 5. Extremism in the beginning of the "Age of Extremes" 6. Extreme Terms in the Political Language of German Ideocracies 7. Extremism as an Element of the Official/Semi-Official Language of the Federal Republic of Germany 8. Lines of Development of the Extremism Concept in the Twentieth Century 9. Political Extremism: Final Results, Classification of Terms and Outlook 10. Appendix

'Backes has written a book that is not only politically highly relevant, but also sheds new light on the subject. Detailed historical work, an original historical perspective and a sophisticated theoretical overview makes this book essential reading for scholars of varying disciplinary background.' -Tjitske Akkerman, e-Extreme, Vol. 12, 1, March 2011

Uwe Backes is a deputy director of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism and teaches political science at the Technical University of Dresden, Saxony.

• 1. Introduction 2. Extremes, Mean, Moderation and Constitutional Mixture in Antiquity and the Middle Ages 3. Extremes and the Tradition of the Mixed Constitution from Early Humanism to the Age of Democratic Revolutions 4. Extreme Ideologies in the Political Laboratory of the Nineteenth Century 5. Extremism in the beginning of the "Age of Extremes" 6. Extreme Terms in the Political Language of German Ideocracies 7. Extremism as an Element of the Official/Semi-Official Language of the Federal Republic of Germany 8. Lines of Development of the Extremism Concept in the Twentieth Century 9. Political Extremism: Final Results, Classification of Terms and Outlook 10. Appendix

'Backes has written a book that is not only politically highly relevant, but also sheds new light on the subject. Detailed historical work, an original historical perspective and a sophisticated theoretical overview makes this book essential reading for scholars of varying disciplinary background.' -Tjitske Akkerman, e-Extreme, Vol. 12, 1, March 2011