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{{short description|American political analyst (born 1949)}}
[[Image:Chip.jpg|right|frame|Chip Berlet. <br><small>Used with permission,
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</small><!-- Copyright 1999, Marilyn Humphries & Political Research Associates-->]]
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{{Dominionism}}
{{Infobox person
'''John Foster "Chip" Berlet''' (born ], ]) is the co-author of ''Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort'' and editor of ''Eyes Right! Challenging the Right Wing Backlash''. He is a senior analyst at ], a left wing ] based in ] that "bills itself as a watchdog group that monitors rightwing extremists" that he joined in 1982. Berlet specializes in the study of ] political movements in the ], particularly the ], ]s, ] groups, and ]. He also studies the spread of ] in the mainstream media and on the ]. Much of his work is published online at PRA's website. He has been featured discussing ] in several recent news articles and at his blog.
|name = Chip Berlet
|image = Chip_Berlet.png
|caption = Chip Berlet in Mexico in 2012
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1949|11|22}}
|birth_place =
|birth_name = John Foster Berlet
|known_for = Study of right-wing movements and conspiracy theories
|occupation = Policy analyst, ], ]
}}
'''John Foster''' "'''Chip'''" '''Berlet''' ({{IPAc-en|b|ɜr|ˈ|l|eɪ}};<ref><!--at 0:03--></ref> born November 22, 1949) is an American ],<ref>{{cite journal|title=Public Intellectuals, Scholars, Journalists, & Activism: Wearing Different Hats and Juggling Different Ethical Mandates| author=Berlet, C. |journal=International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences|volume=3|issue=1|pages=61–90|date=March 2014|doi=10.4471/rimcis.2014.29|doi-access=free}}</ref> research analyst,<ref>{{cite book |last=Chermak |first=Steven M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p1NGyz43INkC&pg=PA92 |page=92 |title=Searching for a Demon: The Media Construction of the Militia Movement |publisher=UPNE |year=2002 |isbn=9781555535414}}</ref><ref name=HateCrimesReference>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/hatecrimesrefere0002alts |url-access=registration |pages=–89 |last=Altschiller |first=Donald |title=Hate Crimes: A Reference Handbook |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2005 |isbn=9781851096244}}</ref> ], scholar, and activist specializing in the study of ].<ref name=HateCrimesReference/><ref name=GeorgeWilcox /> He also studies the spread of ].<ref name=huffpo>{{cite web|last1=Berlet|first1=Chip|title=Holocaust Museum Shooting, Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories, and the Tools of Fear|date=July 11, 2009 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chip-berlet/holocaust-museum-shooting_b_213979.html|publisher=Huffington Post|access-date=May 14, 2015}}</ref> Since the 1995 ], Berlet has regularly appeared in the media to discuss extremist news stories.<ref name=HateCrimesReference/> He was a senior analyst at ] (PRA), a non-profit group that tracks right-wing networks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publiceye.org/about.html|title=About PRA |publisher=Publiceye.org}}</ref>


Berlet, a ], was a vice-president of the ]. He has served on the advisory board of the ] at ], and for over 20 years was on the board of the ]. In 1982, he was a Mencken Awards finalist in the best news story category for "War on Drugs: The Strange Story of ]", which was published in '']''. He served on the advisory board of the ].


== Background ==
Berlet is a former vice-president of the ], a body described as pro-] by ] critics. He has served on the advisory board of the ] at ], and currently sits on the advisory board of the ]. In 1982, he was a Mencken Awards finalist in the best news story category for "War on Drugs: The Strange Story of ]," which was published in '']''.
Berlet attended the ] for three years, where he majored in ] with a minor in ]. A member of the 1960s ],<ref name=GeorgeWilcox>{{Citation | last1 = George | first1 = John | last2 = Wilcox | first2 = Laird M. | title = American Extremists: Militias, Supremacists, Klansmen, Communists & Others | year = 1996 | publisher = Prometheus Books | page = 295 | isbn = 978-1-57392-058-2 }}</ref> he dropped out of the university in 1971 to work as an alternative journalist without completing his degree. In the mid-1970s, he went on to co-edit a series of books on student activism for the ] and ]. He also became an active shop steward with the National Lawyers' Guild.


During the late 1970s, he became the ], bureau chief of '']'' magazine, and in 1979, he helped to organize citizens' hearings on ] surveillance practices. From then until 1982, he worked as a ] investigator at the Better Government Association in Chicago, conducting research for an ] case, involving police ] by the Chicago police (which became known as the "Chicago ]" case).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagohistory.org/static_media/pdf/historyfair/chicago_police_depts_red_squad.pdf|title=Bibliography: Chicago Police Department's Red Squad's Involvement In Social Protest|access-date=February 18, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929121933/http://www.chicagohistory.org/static_media/pdf/historyfair/chicago_police_depts_red_squad.pdf|archive-date=September 29, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> He also worked on cases filed against the FBI or police on behalf of the ] (S.A.C.C.), the ], the ], ], the ], and the ] (a ] group). He was a founder member of the ], leaving the organization when he relocated to Boston in 1987.<ref name=GeorgeWilcox />
==Biography==
===Background===
Berlet attended the ] for three years, where he majored in ] with a ] minor. He left the university in ] to work as an alternative journalist. Berlet did not complete his degree. In the mid-1970s, he went on to co-edit a series of books on student activism for the ] and ]. He also became an active shop steward with the National Lawyers' Guild, a liberal bar association.


Along with journalist ], Berlet has written about ]'s ], calling it anti-Jewish and neo-Nazi, and urging an investigation of alleged illegal activities.<ref name=HateCrimesReference/><ref> By Russ Bellant, Chip Berlet, & Dennis King, Political Research Associates, December 16, 1981</ref> In 1982, Berlet joined ], and in 1985 he founded the Public Eye BBS, the first computer ] aimed at challenging the spread of white-supremacist and ] material through electronic media, and the first to provide an online application kit for requesting information under the U.S. ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publiceye.org/aboutpra/pe_bbshist.html|last=Berlet|first=Chip|title=History of the Public Eye Electronic Forums}}</ref> He was one of the first researchers to have drawn attention to the efforts by white supremacist and antisemitic groups to recruit farmers in the ] in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref>{{cite news |author = Jason Berry |title = Bridging chasms of race and hate |work = St. Petersburg Times (Florida) |publisher = Times Publishing Company |page = 6D |date = August 22, 1993 }}</ref> Berlet was originally on the board of advisers of Public Information Research, founded by Daniel Brandt. Between 1990 and 1992, three members of Brandt's PIR advisory board, including Berlet, resigned over issues concerning another board member, ] and Prouty's book '']''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://issuu.com/bristlekrs/docs/lobster_24 | title=An Incorrect Political Memoir |first=Daniel |last=Brandt |date=December 1992 |work=] |access-date=May 1, 2018}}</ref> Berlet discussed this in a study titled "Right-Woos Left".<ref>Chip Berlet, "," Cambridge, Massachusetts: Political Research Associates, 1991.</ref>
During the late 1970s, he became the ] bureau chief of '']'' magazine, and in 1979, he helped to organize citizens' hearings on FBI surveillance practices. From then until 1982, he worked as a ] investigator at the Better Government Association in Chicago, conducting research for an ] case, involving police ] by the Chicago police (which became known as the "Chicago Red Squad" case ). He also worked on cases filed against the FBI or police on behalf of the Spanish Action Committee of Chicago, the National Lawyers' Guild, the ], ], the ], and the ] (a ] group). Berlet served as Vice President of the National Lawyer's Guild, although he himself is not an attorney and does not have a law degree.


In 1996, he acted as an adviser on the ] documentary mini-series ''With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America'', which was later published as a book by William Martin.<ref>{{IMDb title|id=0115424|title=With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America| url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780553067453| url-access=registration| isbn= 0-553-06749-4| first=William| last= Martin| publisher=Broadway| year=1996}}</ref> Berlet criticized ] and his associates for a close working relationship with Republican textile magnate ], erstwhile major backer of the 1996 presidential campaign of ], and anti-unionization stalwart.<ref>''Right-Wing Populism in America'' by Chip Berlet, pp. 338–344</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wpunj.edu/newpol/issue29/hawkin29.htm |title=A Green Perspective on Ralph Nader And Independent Political Action (from ''New Politics'', vol. 8, no. 1 (new series), whole no. 29, Summer 2000) |first=Howie |last=Hawkins |year=2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060715145651/http://www.wpunj.edu/newpol/issue29/hawkin29.htm |archive-date=July 15, 2006 }}</ref> Berlet has provided research assistance to a campaign run by the mother of ], a British student died in disputed circumstances near Wiesbaden, Germany, and to reopen the investigation into his death.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.publiceye.org/press/releases/2007/3/27/Berlet_LaRouche.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070802051801/http://www.publiceye.org/press/releases/2007/3/27/Berlet_LaRouche.html |archive-date=August 2, 2007|date=March 27, 2007|author=Berlet, Chip|title=Berlet Joins Call for Probe into Death of Student who Attended LaRouche-Group Conference|publisher=Political Research Associates}}</ref>
In 1982, Berlet joined Political Research Associates, and in 1985, he founded the Public Eye BBS, the first computer ] aimed at challenging the spread of white-supremacist and ] material on the Web, and the first to provide an online application kit for requesting information under the U.S. ] . He helped found the "Chicago Area Friends of Albania", in 1983.


== Photojournalism ==
Berlet is also a ]. His photographs, particularly of ] and ] rallies, have been carried on the ] wire, have appeared on book and magazine covers, album covers and posters, and have been published in the Denver Post, ], and Chronicle of Higher Education.
As a ], Berlet's photographs, particularly of ] and neo-Nazi rallies, have been carried on the ] wire, have appeared on book and magazine covers, album covers and posters, and have been published in '']'', '']'', and '']'',<ref>{{Citation
|author = Grant Kester
|title = Net profits: Chip Berlet tracks computer networks of the religious right - interview with Political Research Associates analyst - Special Issue: Fundamentalist Media - Interview
|url = https://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=MwWfMwn2d85tZv2yLGyy1mcwv1pT220SL9Rv1ctbfXb8X0M1Q2Z9!-371328629!616144792?docId=5000318108
|work = Afterimage
|publisher = Visual Studies Workshop
|date = February–March 1995
|access-date = April 11, 2007
}}</ref>


== Reception ==
In 1996, he acted as an advisor on the ] documentary mini-series ''With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America'', which was later published as a book by William Martin .
Berlet's second book, co-authored with Matthew N. Lyons, is ''Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort'', was published by The Guilford Press in 2000. It is a broad historical overview of right-wing populism in the United States. The book received generally favorable reviews. '']'' said it was a "detailed historical examination" that "strikes an excellent balance between narrative and theory." '']'' described it as an excellent account describing the outermost fringes of American conservatism.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Baker |first=Russell |title=Mr. Right |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2001/may/17/mr-right/ |url-access=subscription |journal=The New York Review of Books |volume=48 |number=8 |date=May 17, 2001 |access-date=July 26, 2008}} Reprinted as Chapter 9 in {{cite book |last=Baker |first=Russell |title=Looking Back |year=2002 |publisher=New York Review Books |isbn=1-59017-008-3 |pages= |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/lookingback00bake/page/139 }}</ref> A review by Jerome Himmelstein in the journal '']'' said that "it offers more than a scholarly treatise on the activities of the ]", that it provides a background to help the reader understand ], and that it "merits close attention from scholars of the political right in America and of social movements generally."<ref>Himmelstein, Jerome L., Review of book ''Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort'', Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Jan. 2002), pp. 76–77, American Sociological Association</ref>


Robert H. Churchill of the private ] criticized Berlet and other authors writing about the right-wing as lacking breadth and depth in their analysis.<ref>Churchill, Robert H. "Beyond the Narrative of 1995 - Recent Examinations of the American Far Right." ''Terrorism and Political Violence'', Vol. 13, No. 4 (Winter 2001), pp. 125–136.</ref> In ''Who Watches the Watchmen?'', ] criticized Berlet and other writers for what Wilcox says is their use of a technique he describes as "Links and Ties," which he says is a form of ].<ref>'''' edited by Jeffrey Kaplan, Heléne Lööw</ref><ref>Wilcox, Laird, "Who Watches the Watchman?" in ''The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of Globalization'' edited by Jeffrey Kaplan, Heléne Lööw, Rowman Altamira, January 1, 2002, p. 332</ref> ], an associate professor in the Journalism and Media Studies Department at Rutgers University, said that Berlet uses the methods of conspiracy theorists.<ref>Bratich, Jack Z, ''Conspiracy Panics: Political Rationality and Popular Culture'', SUNY Press 2008, p. 100</ref>
Berlet argues that the U.S. is currently undergoing a right-wing backlash that is the most sustained of its kind in ]. He argues that, although 95% of the USA's hate crimes are committed by people not affiliated with any group, they have nevertheless internalized a narrative developed and promoted by the right wing that demonizes certain groups, including blacks or ]s. He argues that the left must develop coalitions to find a way to counter-balance these narratives, instead of becoming isolated as another side of the "lunatic fringe" .


==Publications==
In ''ZOG Ate My Brains'', Berlet warns of a "troubling resurgence on the political Left" of ] ] as a result of Gulf intervention and the ].
* ]
* '']''


==See also==
===Criticism of Berlet===
* ]
Berlet has been criticized by '']'' for having accused the ], in a 1993 op-ed piece for the '']'', of down-playing the right-wing threat while focusing on left-wing groups .


== References ==
''Online Journal'' Associate Editor Larry Chin charged that "Berlet is a ] who has made a career out of slandering and attacking whistleblowers, researchers and critics of the US government, of every political
{{reflist|2}}
affiliation."


== External links ==
], an internet activist who maintains the ] and ] websites, writes of Berlet, "He isn't critical of conspiracy thinking on the basis of the evidence, but waits until the theorist can be shown to have incorrect political associations. Berlet doesn't fit anywhere on our spectrum; he's running his own show" .
{{Wikiquote|Chip Berlet}}

*
====Criticism from David Horowitz====
* at Center for Millennial Studies.
In 2003, Berlet was criticized over an article he wrote for the ] (SPLC) entitled "Into the Mainstream", which named conservative activist ]'s Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC) as one of an "array of right-wing foundations and think tanks support efforts to make bigoted and discredited ideas respectable", for passages pertaining to Horowitz's writings against slavery reparations and affirmative action . In an open letter to SPLC president ], Horowitz urged Dees to remove the article from the SPLC website, alleging that it was "so tendentious, so filled with transparent misrepresentations and smears that if you continue to post the report you will create for your Southern Poverty Law Center a well-earned reputation as a hate group itself" . Dees declined to remove the article. Since then, Horowitz's ''Front Page Magazine'' has carried a response from Berlet accusing Horowitz and the CSPC of using "inflammatory, mean-spirited, and divisive language that dismisses the idea that there are serious unresolved issues concerning racism and white supremacy in the United States", a further rejoinder from Horowitz addressed to Dees, and an article by Chris Arabia harshly critical of Berlet in which he claims that Berlet's work creates the "false illusion that conservatism and racism walk hand-in-hand" and "has squashed vigorous debate and discourse", including among the political left.
* at ].

* at ].
The "A Guide to the Political Left", a political watchdog group lead by David Horowitz, at the Discover the Network website criticizes Berlet as follows:
* at ].

* at ].
*Organizer of ]
* at ].
*Specializes in writing smear lists of conservative individuals and organizations
* at ].
*Senior analyst for ]
* , brief description of Chip Berlet's work
*Member of the ] (NLG)
* – video report by '']''
**"I have chaired committee meetings with debates featuring cadres from Leninist, Trotskyist, Stalinist, and Maoist groups, along with Marxists, anarchists, libertarians, and progressive independents."

According to Horowitz's ''],'' "Under Berlet's definition, any popular non-left politician is a fascist." Horowitz gives an example where he says Berlet uses this technique in an article that Berlet first published as an introduction to Russ Bellant's 1991 book "Old Nazis, The New Right, and the Republican Party." During the 1992 U.S. Presidential elections Berlet emailed an adapted version of this article along with comments on the presidential candidates to a committee of the National Lawyers Guild. The email suggested that all the major candidates, except for ], had connections or characteristics of ]. Berlet said then-incumbent President ] had an "agenda of a managed corporate economy, a repressive national security state, and an aggressive foreign policy based on military threat" that "borrows heavily from...corporatism, authoritarianism, and militarism adopted by Italian fascism." Berlet also wrote about Independent candidate ], saying "Perot's candidacy provided us with a contemporary model of the fascist concept of the organic leader."

===Allegations of fascism and racism===
Berlet also made allegations of fascism about the Republican Primary challenger to Bush ], whom he said "hearkens back to the proto-fascist ideas of the 1930's." Berlet described Buchanan's speech to the Republican Convention as, "eerily invok(ing) ] symbols of blood, soil and honor." The voter guide article also grouped candidates like Perot and Buchanan with White Supremacist ], saying, "Duke, Buchanan, and Perot all feed on the politics of resentment, alienation, frustration, anger and fear".

During the 1996 U.S. Presidential Election. Berlet published another adapted version of this article, again identifying Perot, Buchanan, and televangelist ] of having connections to fascism. He described them as "three straight White Christian men trying to ride the same horse". and likened their populism to ]'s Italy.

==Bibliography==
===Books===
* (1995) editor of ''Eyes Right! Challenging the Right Wing Backlash'', South End Press, Boston; paperback edition ISBN 0896085236
* (2000) with Matthew N. Lyons, ''Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort'', Guilford Press, New York; paperback edition ISBN 1572305622

===Selected papers and articles===
* (1980) "Lyndon LaRouche and the U.S. Labor Party: Cult Fanaticism and the Politics of Paranoia", Chicago Reader, March 7, 1980.
* (1981) "Ever Hear of Lyndon LaRouche? He May be Keeping Tabs on You", ''Des Moines Register'', September 23, 1981.
* (1982) "Private Spies: A New Threat To Constitutional Rights", ''The Public Eye'', Vol. III, Issues 3 & 4, 1982.
* (1982) with Russ Bellant and Dennis King, , ''The Public Eye'', Vol. III, Issues 3 & 4
* (1984) with Russ Bellant "LaRouche Loses Libel Suit", ''The Guardian'', NY, November 14, 1984
* (1987) Review of ''Inventing Reality: The Politics of Mass Media'' by Michael Parenti, in ''The Library Quarterly'', Vol. 57 No. 2, April
* (1990) Review of ''The False Prophet: Rabbi Meir Kahane FBI Informant to Knesset Member'', ''Z Magazine''
* (1995) "The Violence of Right-Wing Populism", Peace Review, Vol. 7, Nos. 3 & 4, pp. 283288. Oxford: Journals Oxford Ltd.
* (1995) , in Chip Berlet, ed., ''Eyes Right! Challenging the Right Wing Backlash'', Boston, South End Press.
* (1995) with Margaret Quigley, , in Chip Berlet, ed., ''Eyes Right! Challenging the Right Wing Backlash'', Boston, South End Press.
* (1996) "Three Models for Analyzing Conspiracist Mass Movements of the Right", in Eric Ward, ed., ''Conspiracies: Real Grievances, Paranoia, and Mass Movements'', Seattle: Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment .
* (1997) "Fascism's Franchises: Stating the Differences from Movement to Totalitarian Government", presented to the American Sociological Association, Toronto
* (1997) , in ''Uncovering the Right on Campus: A Guide to Resisting Conservative Attacks on Equality and Social Justice,'' Cambridge, MA: Center for Campus Organizing.
* (1998) "Following the Threads: A Work in Progress", in Amy Elizabeth Ansell, ed., ''Unraveling the Right: The New Conservatism in American Thought and Politics,'' New York: Westview
* (1998) "Mad as Hell: Right-wing Populism, Fascism, and Apocalyptic Millennialism", presented at the 14th World Congress of Sociology, International Sociological Association, Montreal
* (1998) "The Ideological Weaponry of the American Right: 'Dangerous Classes' and 'Welfare Queens'", presented at the international symposium, The "American Model:" an Hegemonic Perspective for the End of the Millennium?, Group Regards Critiques, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
* (1998) "Who's Mediating the Storm? Right-wing Alternative Information Networks", in Linda Kintz & Julia Lesage, eds., ''Culture, Media, and the Religious Right'', Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
* (1998) , presented at the annual symposium, Center for Millennial Studies, Boston University
* (1998) with Matthew N. Lyons, , " ''Police Misconduct and Civil Rights Law Report'', in two parts, Vol. 5, No. 13, Vol. 5, No. 14, West Group.
* (1999)
* (2000) with Matthew N. Lyons, , New York: Guiford Press.
* (2001) , in Betty A. Dobratz, Lisa K. Walder, and Timothy Buzzell, eds., ''Research in Political Sociology, Volume 9: The Politics of Social Inequality'', pp. 117-163.
* (2002) "Anti-Masonic Conspiracy Theories: A Narrative Form of Demonization and Scapegoating", ''Heredom'', Vol. 10, pp. 243-275.
* (2002) , in ''The Global Activists Manual: Local Ways to Change the World'', edited by Mike Prokosch, Laura Raymond, and Michael Prokosch, New York: Thunder Mouth Press/Nation Books
* (2004) , in Abby Ferber, ed, ''Home-Grown Hate: Gender and Organized Racism'', New York: Routledge.

==References==
===Sources===
* , Political Research Associates
* , Center for Millennial Studies
* , Discover the Truth Network
*
*
* , Political Research Associates
* by Chip Berlet, ''Columbia Journalism Review'', May-June 1993
* "With God On Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America", ,
* , brief description of Chip Berlet's work, Faith in Action dept., Unitarian Universality Association, 1999
* by Daniel Brandt, Namesbase Newsline, April-June 1993
* , LaRouche in 2004, no byline, undated, retrieved January 7, 2005
* , Disinfopedia, Center for Media & Democracy; describes the John Train allegations, undated, no byline, retrieved January 7, 2005
* by Robert Stacy McCain, ''The Washington Times'', May 9, 2000
* by William Norman Grigg, ''The New American'', November 9, 1999
* "The A.D.L. Under Fire: It's Shift to Right Has Led to Scandal", by Dennis King and Chip Berlet, ''The New York Times'', May 28, 1993, p. A29 (Op-Ed).

===Further reading===
* , by Chip Berlet, ''New Internationalist'', October 2004
* , by Chip Berlet, Political Research Associates website, February 22, 1994
* by Chip Berlet, Political Research Associates, website, undated, retrieved January 7, 2005
* by Chip Berlet, Political Research Associates website, undated, retrieved January 7, 2005
* , by Dan Friedman, ''National Alliance'', May 5, 1994
*
* , by Chris Arabia, ''FrontPageMagazine.com'', October 16, 2003
* , by Lenora Fulani, no publication name, September 20, 1994
* , by Adam Parfrey, ''Alternative Press Review'', Winter 1996
* , by Ace Hayes, ''Portland Free Press'', July/August 1997
*, "Oil Empire" page devoted to criticism of Berlet

==External links==
* - the Political Research Associates official website.
* - The Discover the Truth Network official website.

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Latest revision as of 16:27, 22 November 2024

American political analyst (born 1949)

Chip Berlet
Chip Berlet in Mexico in 2012
BornJohn Foster Berlet
(1949-11-22) November 22, 1949 (age 75)
Occupation(s)Policy analyst, investigative journalist, photojournalist
Known forStudy of right-wing movements and conspiracy theories

John Foster "Chip" Berlet (/bɜːrˈleɪ/; born November 22, 1949) is an American investigative journalist, research analyst, photojournalist, scholar, and activist specializing in the study of extreme right-wing movements in the United States. He also studies the spread of conspiracy theories. Since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Berlet has regularly appeared in the media to discuss extremist news stories. He was a senior analyst at Political Research Associates (PRA), a non-profit group that tracks right-wing networks.

Berlet, a paralegal, was a vice-president of the National Lawyers Guild. He has served on the advisory board of the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University, and for over 20 years was on the board of the Defending Dissent Foundation. In 1982, he was a Mencken Awards finalist in the best news story category for "War on Drugs: The Strange Story of Lyndon LaRouche", which was published in High Times. He served on the advisory board of the Campaign to Defend the Constitution.

Background

Berlet attended the University of Denver for three years, where he majored in sociology with a minor in journalism. A member of the 1960s student left, he dropped out of the university in 1971 to work as an alternative journalist without completing his degree. In the mid-1970s, he went on to co-edit a series of books on student activism for the National Student Association and National Student Educational Fund. He also became an active shop steward with the National Lawyers' Guild.

During the late 1970s, he became the Washington, D.C., bureau chief of High Times magazine, and in 1979, he helped to organize citizens' hearings on FBI surveillance practices. From then until 1982, he worked as a paralegal investigator at the Better Government Association in Chicago, conducting research for an American Civil Liberties Union case, involving police surveillance by the Chicago police (which became known as the "Chicago Red Squad" case). He also worked on cases filed against the FBI or police on behalf of the Spanish Action Committee of Chicago (S.A.C.C.), the National Lawyers Guild, the American Indian Movement, Socialist Workers Party, the Christic Institute, and the American Friends Service Committee (a Quaker group). He was a founder member of the Chicago Area Friends of Albania, leaving the organization when he relocated to Boston in 1987.

Along with journalist Russ Bellant, Berlet has written about Lyndon LaRouche's National Caucus of Labor Committees, calling it anti-Jewish and neo-Nazi, and urging an investigation of alleged illegal activities. In 1982, Berlet joined Political Research Associates, and in 1985 he founded the Public Eye BBS, the first computer bulletin board aimed at challenging the spread of white-supremacist and neo-Nazi material through electronic media, and the first to provide an online application kit for requesting information under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. He was one of the first researchers to have drawn attention to the efforts by white supremacist and antisemitic groups to recruit farmers in the Midwestern United States in the 1970s and 1980s. Berlet was originally on the board of advisers of Public Information Research, founded by Daniel Brandt. Between 1990 and 1992, three members of Brandt's PIR advisory board, including Berlet, resigned over issues concerning another board member, L. Fletcher Prouty and Prouty's book The Secret Team. Berlet discussed this in a study titled "Right-Woos Left".

In 1996, he acted as an adviser on the Public Broadcasting Service documentary mini-series With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America, which was later published as a book by William Martin. Berlet criticized Ralph Nader and his associates for a close working relationship with Republican textile magnate Roger Milliken, erstwhile major backer of the 1996 presidential campaign of Pat Buchanan, and anti-unionization stalwart. Berlet has provided research assistance to a campaign run by the mother of Jeremiah Duggan, a British student died in disputed circumstances near Wiesbaden, Germany, and to reopen the investigation into his death.

Photojournalism

As a photojournalist, Berlet's photographs, particularly of Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi rallies, have been carried on the Associated Press wire, have appeared on book and magazine covers, album covers and posters, and have been published in The Denver Post, The Washington Star, and The Chronicle of Higher Education,

Reception

Berlet's second book, co-authored with Matthew N. Lyons, is Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort, was published by The Guilford Press in 2000. It is a broad historical overview of right-wing populism in the United States. The book received generally favorable reviews. Library Journal said it was a "detailed historical examination" that "strikes an excellent balance between narrative and theory." The New York Review of Books described it as an excellent account describing the outermost fringes of American conservatism. A review by Jerome Himmelstein in the journal Contemporary Sociology said that "it offers more than a scholarly treatise on the activities of the Third Reich", that it provides a background to help the reader understand the Holocaust, and that it "merits close attention from scholars of the political right in America and of social movements generally."

Robert H. Churchill of the private University of Hartford criticized Berlet and other authors writing about the right-wing as lacking breadth and depth in their analysis. In Who Watches the Watchmen?, Laird Wilcox criticized Berlet and other writers for what Wilcox says is their use of a technique he describes as "Links and Ties," which he says is a form of guilt by association. Jack Z. Bratich, an associate professor in the Journalism and Media Studies Department at Rutgers University, said that Berlet uses the methods of conspiracy theorists.

Publications

See also

References

  1. "Chip Berlet, Tea Parties, White Rage & Right-Wing Populism Recorded on November 30th, 2010"
  2. Berlet, C. (March 2014). "Public Intellectuals, Scholars, Journalists, & Activism: Wearing Different Hats and Juggling Different Ethical Mandates". International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences. 3 (1): 61–90. doi:10.4471/rimcis.2014.29.
  3. Chermak, Steven M. (2002). Searching for a Demon: The Media Construction of the Militia Movement. UPNE. p. 92. ISBN 9781555535414.
  4. ^ Altschiller, Donald (2005). Hate Crimes: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. pp. 88–89. ISBN 9781851096244.
  5. ^ George, John; Wilcox, Laird M. (1996), American Extremists: Militias, Supremacists, Klansmen, Communists & Others, Prometheus Books, p. 295, ISBN 978-1-57392-058-2
  6. Berlet, Chip (July 11, 2009). "Holocaust Museum Shooting, Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories, and the Tools of Fear". Huffington Post. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  7. "About PRA". Publiceye.org.
  8. "Bibliography: Chicago Police Department's Red Squad's Involvement In Social Protest" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
  9. LaRouche Cult Continues to Grow By Russ Bellant, Chip Berlet, & Dennis King, Political Research Associates, December 16, 1981
  10. Berlet, Chip. "History of the Public Eye Electronic Forums".
  11. Jason Berry (August 22, 1993). "Bridging chasms of race and hate". St. Petersburg Times (Florida). Times Publishing Company. p. 6D.
  12. Brandt, Daniel (December 1992). "An Incorrect Political Memoir". NameBase. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  13. Chip Berlet, "Right Woos Left: Populist Party, LaRouchite, and Other Neo-fascist Overtures To Progressives, And Why They Must Be Rejected," Cambridge, Massachusetts: Political Research Associates, 1991.
  14. With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America at IMDb
  15. Martin, William (1996). With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America. Broadway. ISBN 0-553-06749-4.
  16. Right-Wing Populism in America by Chip Berlet, pp. 338–344
  17. Hawkins, Howie (2000). "A Green Perspective on Ralph Nader And Independent Political Action (from New Politics, vol. 8, no. 1 (new series), whole no. 29, Summer 2000)". Archived from the original on July 15, 2006.
  18. Berlet, Chip (March 27, 2007). "Berlet Joins Call for Probe into Death of Student who Attended LaRouche-Group Conference" (Press release). Political Research Associates. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007.
  19. Grant Kester (February–March 1995), "Net profits: Chip Berlet tracks computer networks of the religious right - interview with Political Research Associates analyst - Special Issue: Fundamentalist Media - Interview", Afterimage, Visual Studies Workshop, retrieved April 11, 2007
  20. Baker, Russell (May 17, 2001). "Mr. Right". The New York Review of Books. 48 (8). Retrieved July 26, 2008. Reprinted as Chapter 9 in Baker, Russell (2002). Looking Back. New York Review Books. pp. 139–157. ISBN 1-59017-008-3.
  21. Himmelstein, Jerome L., Review of book Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort, Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Jan. 2002), pp. 76–77, American Sociological Association
  22. Churchill, Robert H. "Beyond the Narrative of 1995 - Recent Examinations of the American Far Right." Terrorism and Political Violence, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Winter 2001), pp. 125–136.
  23. The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of Globalization edited by Jeffrey Kaplan, Heléne Lööw
  24. Wilcox, Laird, "Who Watches the Watchman?" in The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of Globalization edited by Jeffrey Kaplan, Heléne Lööw, Rowman Altamira, January 1, 2002, p. 332
  25. Bratich, Jack Z, Conspiracy Panics: Political Rationality and Popular Culture, SUNY Press 2008, p. 100

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