Privatizing Massachusetts: The Right-Wing’s Blue State Game Plan
A current analysis of the Pioneer Institute by Abby Scher. Read report here.
Journal of Theology in Southern Africa special issue on Sexuality in Africa
In July 2016, the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s highly reputable and peer-reviewed academic Journal of Theology in Southern Africa (JTSA) published its special issue on Sexuality in Africa edited by PRA senior researcher, Dr. Kapya Kaoma and Dr. Michael Adee of the Global Equality Project. Read more here.
Up in Arms: A Guide to Oregon’s Patriot Movement
This groundbreaking toolkit designed by Political Research Associates in partnership with Rural Organizing Project provides resources and tools to Oregon’s small towns and rural communities under siege from militias and other Patriot movements. Read report here.
When Exemption is the Rule: The Religious Freedom Strategy of the Christian Right
PRA senior fellow for religious freedom Frederick Clarkson examines every angle the Christian Right is using to attack and diminish civil rights using a false version of religious freedom. Read report here.
Constructing Campus Conflict
Antisemitism and Islamophobia on U.S. College Campuses, 2007-2011
Antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses are manifested in a complex set of interactions among a number of different players. This report seeks to explore issues and incidents in a way that will ameliorate aggression, intimidation, and assaults on campus. Read the report.
For additional materials, see here.
You can also read the following profiles in HTML:
Jeffrey Blankfort
Alan Dershowitz
Norman Finkelstein
David Horowitz
Amir Abdul Malik Ali
Daniel Pipes
Alison Weir
Defending Reproductive Justice
Activist Resource Kit
Defending Reproductive Justice is an Activist Resource Kit that helps progressive activists understand and resist the right-wing and other forces that undermine reproductive rights and a woman's right to choose. Read more
The Ex-Gay Movement in Latin America
Therapy and Ministry in the Exodus Network
PRA researchers' new report investigates the division brewing in the ex-gay movement in Latin America following Exodus International's public reversal of its stance on conversation therapy, and finds cause for caution and concern. Read more
Redefining Religious Liberty
The Covert Campaign Against Civil Rights
Dr. Jay Michaelson's new PRA report argues that the right's “religious liberty” arguments are calculated to subvert the traditional progressive framing of freedom versus discrimination, effectively accusing women and the LGBTQ population of infringing on the right of conservative Christians to discriminate against them. Download the PDF here, or you can read it in HTML here.
The Right's Marriage Message
Talking Tolerance, Marketing Inequality
Looking at more than a decade of right-wing messaging in marriage equality ballot initiatives, this briefing paper will help advocates prepare for the Right's regrouping after its 2012 defeats. Read more
Colonizing African Values
How the U.S. Christian Right is Transforming Sexual Politics in Africa
Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma's 2012 investigative report on how American religious conservatives are building organizational strength to promote homophobia and attacks on reproductive rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more
Resisting the Rainbow
Right-Wing Responses to LGBT Gains
Even with victories for equality, homophobia remains one of the right-wing’s most effective tools for mobilizing political support. From the Tea Party to the Mormon Church, this report provides LGBT advocates with vital knowledge on new players, key threats, and principal strategies. Read more
Reconsidering Hate
Politics and Policy at the Intersection
From the killing of Matthew Shepard to the shooting of Trayvon Martin, horrific incidents of violence against members of marginalized communities galvanized the social justice movement to pursue measures to prevent such acts — including pushing for “hate crimes” legislation. A new PRA discussion paper by Kay Whitlock illuminates the history of hate crimes statutes and questions the efficacy of framing the issue in terms of “hate.” Read more
Manufacturing the Muslim Menace
Private Firms, Public Servants, & the Threat to Rights and Security
PRA’s comprehensive report by Thomas Cincotta details a systemic failure to regulate content in nationwide counter-terrorism training, spreading Islamophobic messages through law enforcement. Read more.
Platform for Prejudice
How the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative Invites Racial Profiling, Erodes Civil Liberties, and Undermines Security
Thomas Cincotta's report is a comprehensive investigation of the post-9/11 "information sharing environment" among law enforcement, explaining how Suspicious Activity Reporting violates civil liberties without yielding any greater security. Read more
Globalizing the Culture Wars
U.S. Conservatives, African Churches, & Homophobia
A groundbreaking investigation by Rev. Kapya Kaoma of Political Research Associates exposes how the U.S. Right mobilizes African Protestant clergy to protest any movement towards LGBT equality in U.S. mainline churches while promoting an agenda that criminalizes homosexuality in Africa. Read the report in HTML here,or download here.
Toxic to Democracy
Conspiracy Theories, Demonization, & Scapegoating
Does government healthcare mandate euthanasia for Grandma? Was Obama really born in Kenya and therefore an illegal President? How do right-wing political pundits contribute to the recent rash of violence linked to White supremacist ideology? PRA Senior Researcher Chip Berlet addresses these questions and more, shedding light on the corrosive use of demonizing language that scapegoats certain groups. Read more
Marriage as a Cure for Poverty?
Social Science through a "Family Values" Lens
Dr. Jean V. Hardisty, founding director of Political Research Associates, exposes the questionable social science justifying George W. Bush’s campaign to promote marriage as a cure for poverty. The report is a companion to Dr. Hardisty’s earlier report Pushed to the Altar: The Right Wing Roots of Marriage Promotion. Read more
Pushed to the Altar
The Right Wing Roots of Marriage Promotion
This report tells the story of how a right-wing social movement took power in the Bush administration and installed unproven anti-poverty policies to promote an ideal two-parent, heterosexual family. PRA founder Jean Hardisty presents a comprehensive examination of the ideological roots of policies that incentivize marriage. Read more
UNdoing Reproductive Freedom
Christian Right NGOs Target the United Nations
In her investigation, Pam Chamberlain profiles how Christian Right groups have attained "consultative" status in UN deliberation, which they wield to oppose women's right to control their reproductive lives. Vital reading for anyone who wants to understand how U.S. social conservatives are going global in their assault on choice. Read more
Running Against Sodom and Osama
The Christian Right, Values Voters, and the Culture Wars in 2006
Chip Berlet and Pam Chamberlain explore how the Christian Right fused together an external threat of "Islamofascism" and an internal boogeyman of gay rights to try to help right-wing candidates in the 2006 elections. Available in full HTML HERE.Protocols to the Left, Protocols to the Right
Conspiracism in American Political Discourse at the Turn of the Second Millennium
Chip Berlet's PowerPoint presentation discusses conspiracist theories and the tools used by supremacist and fascist organizations to scapegoat and demonize Jewish people in regards to the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.
Defending Justice
Activist Resource Kit
Defending Justice is an Activist Resource Kit that helps progressive activists understand and resist the Right, the State, and other forces that contribute to the growing system of courts, surveillance, policing, and incarceration.
Deliberate Differences
Progressive and Conservative Campus Activism
This report uses social movement theory to examine both conservative and progressive campus activism, activists, and their organizations and also observes the impact of rightist and leftist social movements from the larger society on student groups.Read more
The Pioneer Institute: Privatizing the Common Wealth
The Pioneer Institute: Privatizing the Common Wealth, co-authored by veteran journalist Paul Dunphy and researcher Mark Umi Perkings, examines how the Institute’s work in promoting privatization in a host of areas including mental health care, education, charter schools, and school vouchers, tracing the movements of former Pioneer staff members through state government in the Weld, Cellucci and Swift administrations.
Read the report here.
Defending Immigrant Justice
Activist Resource Kit (ARK)
Defending Democracy
Activist Resource Kit
Defending Public Education
This Activist Resource Kit (ARK) provides an overview of the right-wing attack on public educations and a detailed examination of five key issues: vouchers, charter schools, school privatization, bilingual education, and parental rights. This primer and resource guide is designed for both in-depth study and quick reference.
Right Woos Left
Populist Party, LaRouchite, and Other Neo-fascist Overtures To Progressives, And Why They Must Be Rejected.
Click the image for the pdf, or read the report in HTML here.
Challenging the Ex-Gay Movement
An Information Packet
PRA presents a guide--with background information, talking points, public speaking tips, and more--to progressive activists seeking to combat the influence of the ex-gay movement. Read more.
Repression and Ideology: The Legacy of Discredited Centrist/Extremist Theory
How a discredited social science model fuels efforts to expand government surveillance, infiltration, and disruption. And H police justify labeling dissenters, demonstrators, and ordinary Americans as "Terrorists."
Click the image for the PDF, or read it in HTML here.
Calculated Compassion
How the Ex-Gay Movement Serves the Right’s Attack on Democracy
Surina Khan investigates how, under the cover of a supposedly compassionate approach, the Christian Right integrates its attempt to convert gays to heterosexuality with its theocratic agenda.Read more.
The Hunt for Red Menace
This in-depth report details the chilling history of counter subversion campaigns in the United States, examining how the movement evolved and withstood scandal throughout the 20th century. Read more
Close
Join the Movement!
Help PRA Challenge the Right and Advance Social Justice!