Front Groups

FRONT GROUPS. Radical organizations often seek to influence political events by creating groups that deal with only one aspect of their general program. Such groups are called fronts. In this context front does not indicate a façade but a broadly based coalition. Front may also indicate a general policy of working with other groups on commonly held positions even if there is no formal organization. Fronts take on issues such as opposition to nuclear war, defense of political prisoners, and promotion of civil rights in a manner that unites persons who would not join a political party or might disagree on other issues. The group(s) that originates the front tries to give it direction, but if the front succeeds in attracting wide participation, the sharing of decision-making becomes essential if the front is to survive. Activists in a front are usually aware of the forces that shaped the front, but the general public is likely to perceive the organization as spontaneously formed. Organizations and individuals within a front usually have a similarity of views on more than the issue at hand, but many fronts contain forces otherwise antagonistic to one another.