ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of the information collectors need and the choices they must make to build a collection program. It describes the nature of groups and examines the historical and current political and social milieu in which these groups have developed in each country. Both Britain and France have produced small groups and movements which have pursued political or social goals both inside and outside of the electoral arena. The typologies of groups treated herein include small or fringe political parties, political and social protest groups, interest or pressure groups, and the “new” social movements. During much of the postwar generation, Britain was considered a model of political stability. The 1970s and 1980s witnessed the rise of ideological contentiousness, however, partially as a result of economic problems. British environmental groups have begun to accept the Ecology Party, the sole British ecological party, as a working partner for campaigns on particular issues.
