1st Edition

Tomorrow Belongs to Us The British Far Right since 1967

Edited By Nigel Copsey, Matthew Worley Copyright 2018
    288 Pages
    by Routledge

    288 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book traces the varied development of the far right in Britain from the formation of the National Front in 1967 to the present day. Experts draw on a range of disciplinary and methodological perspectives to provide a rich and detailed account of the evolution of the various strands of the contemporary far right over the course of the last fifty years. The book examines a broad range of subjects, including Holocaust denial, neo-Nazi groupuscularity, transnational activities, ideology, cultural engagement, homosexuality, gender and activist mobilisation. It also includes a detailed literature review. This book is essential reading for students of fascism, racism and contemporary British cultural and political history.

    Introduction Nigel Copsey and Matthew Worley

    1.‘The Men who Rewrite History’: Holocaust Denial and the British Far Right from 1967 Mark Hobbs

    2.The National Socialist Group: A Case Study in the Groupuscular Right Daniel Jones and Paul Jackson

    3. The National Front, and the search for a ‘nationalist’ economic policy John Richardson

    4. Exporting fascism across the Commonwealth: the case of the National Front of Australia Evan Smith

    5. The dog that didn’t bark? Assessing the development of cumulative extremism between fascists and anti-fascists in the 1970s Alex Carter

    6. White Youth: The Far Right, Punk and British Youth Culture, 1977–87 Matthew Worley and Nigel Copsey

    7. Whatever it takes: Designing British neo-fascist rock, 1987-2007 Ana Raposo and Roger Sabin

    8. The obnoxious mobilised minority: homophobia and homohysteria in the British National Party, 1982-199 George J. Severs

    9. Reflections on women’s involvement in Britain’s contemporary far right Hannah Bows

    10. "There’s a vital lesson here. Let’s make sure we learn it": Transnational mobilization and the impact of Greece’s Golden Dawn upon extreme right-wing activism in Britain Graham Macklin

    11. Love Will Tear Us Apart: emotions, patriotism and the English Defence League C.M. Quinn

    12. The British Far Right Since 1967 – A Bibliographic Survey Craig Fowlie

    Biography

    Nigel Copsey is Professor in Modern History in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law at Teesside University, UK.

    Matthew Worley is Professor of Modern History in the Department of History at the University of Reading, UK.

    With so much attention being monopolized by Jihadism, 'Tomorrow Belongs to Us' is a timely and sobering reminder that in the last 50 years Britain’s extreme right subculture, far from withering away, has continued to adapt to domestic and international events, and still retains a disturbing capacity for fomenting local ethnic hatreds, poisoning democracy, and inspiring political murders, despite its impotence as party-political force. - Roger Griffin, author of Fascism: An Introduction to Comparative Fascist Studies (2018).

    This edited volume brings the historian’s concern with a richly temporal and contextual understanding of events and processes to the study of a range of key issues in contemporary studies of the far and populist radical right. Its cross-disciplinary approach does much more than fill in the gaps in our knowledge. It provides new insight into the shifting ideologies and mobilisational successes and failures of political movements on the far right of the political spectrum but also, and innovatively, into their subcultural, symbolic, gendered and emotional worlds. - Hilary Pilkington, Professor of Sociology, University of Manchester

    "A timely review of the far right menace, then and now." Marjorie Mayo, Morning Star

    "The book is thought provoking and I would recommend it to everyone who wants to make sure that tomorrow does not EVER belong to the far right." Unite the Union / Searchlight Magazine.

    "The book offers readers a dynamic insight into the development of the British far right since 1967, and reminds us that despite its various peaks and troughs, the movement continues to have the ability to incite hatred and undermine democracy, as recent events have also shown. Contributors to this excellent volume advocate a new way of looking at the far right in Britain...The book is a must-read for researchers and general readers alike."

    Katherine Williams, LSE Review of Books

    "Copsey and Worley's book is a detailed and lively account of the past 40 years of the far right in Britain. It gives a good sense of the cultural impact of the right and of the right's clashes with its opponents. While this book is not the definitive history of the right in this period, nor is there any other single volume which covers as much ground as this does."

    David Renton, Review 31

    "An excellent contribution to studies on the British far right, demonstrating cultural and transnational elements of extremism. The authors provide several new insights into far-right subculture and ideology...this is a highly recommended collection of chapters."

    Ryan Shaffer, History.

    "Overall, this is an important contribution to the well-ploughed field of the British far right, with some useful insights into neglected areas and an eclectic range of methodological approaches."

    Roger Eatwell, English Historical Review

    "There is an urgency in the work of Copsey and Macklin, and that weight is present as this anthology unpacks Britain’s racist underbelly. What a reader walks away with is a sense of how fascist movements have bubbled and receded in the English context, and how it could form into a mass populist movement that feeds on crisis."

    Shane Burley, Journal of Social Justice.

    "Copsey and Worley have brought together an original and high-quality study which extends our understanding of the dynamics of the far-right. Its excellent analysis is highly recommended to those with an interest in the far-right in Britain."

    Paul Rae, Immigrants and Minorities.