This clear, balanced survey provides an accessible guide to the essential features of British fascism in the inter-war period with a special attention to fascism and culture. The book explores the various definitions of fascism and analyzes the origins of British fascism, fascist parties, groups and membership, and British fascist anti-Semitism.
A major new and balanced study of British Facism which surveys the development of British fascism between 1918 and 1939. Provides an accessible guide to the essential features of British fascism in the interwar period. Considers a previously under-researched area of British fascism, namely fascism and culture. Explores the various definitions of fascism, before moving on to analyse the origins of British fascism, the fascist parties and groups, fascism and culture, the membership, and British fascist antisemitism.
This book, first published in 1986, examines the activities and beliefs of right-wing Conservatives and overt Fascists in inter-war Britain. It analyses the role that ideology played in the various struggles between leaders and dissidents within the Conservative Party, traces the development of central themes in right-wing thought and seeks to show how the complexity of these beliefs established ideological barriers to the growth of Fascism in Britain which, it is argued, was heavily reliant upon the support of disillusioned Conservatives for its limited success. In this way the book contributes to our understanding of both the Conservative Party and the British Fascist movement between the wars, and in doing so helps to establish an overview of right-wing politics in Britain since the turn of the century. It also contains an appendix of information on lesser-known individuals and organisations on the Right.
This volume examines the varieties of anti-fascism in inter-war Britain. Ordinarily anti-fascism is defined in terms of anti-fascist activism. By extending the scope of the concept, this book breaks new ground. Chapters examine political parties, the state, the media, women, the churches, and intellectuals.
The first major assessment of the British fascist and neo-fascist engagement with the Ulster question, from Rotha Lintorn-Orman's British Fascists in the 1920s and early 1930s, Oswald Mosley's BUF in the 1930s and neo-fascist Union Movement in the post-war period, through to the National Front and BNP during the Troubles.
This book provides a comprehensive history of the ideas and ideologues associated with the racial fascist tradition in Britain. It charts the evolution of the British extreme right from its post-war genesis after 1918 to its present-day incarnations, and details the ideological and strategic evolution of British fascism through the prism of its principal leaders and the movements with which they were associated. Taking a collective biographical approach, the book focuses on the political careers of six principal ideologues and leaders, Arnold Leese (1878–1956); Sir Oswald Mosley (1896–1980); A.K. Chesterton (1899–1973); Colin Jordan (1923–2009); John Tyndall (1934–2005); and Nick Griffin (1959–), in order to study the evolution of the racial ideology of British fascism, from overtly biological conceptions of ‘white supremacy’ through ‘racial nationalism’ and latterly to ‘cultural’ arguments regarding ‘ethno-nationalism’. Drawing on extensive archival research and often obscure primary texts and propaganda as well as the official records of the British government and its security services, this is the definitive historical account of Britain’s extreme right and will be essential reading for all students and scholars of race relations, extremism and fascism.
It is one of the great ironies of the history of fascism that, despite their fascination with ultra-nationalism, its adherents understood themselves as members of a transnational political movement. While a true “Fascist International” has never been established, European fascists shared common goals and sentiments as well as similar worldviews. They also drew on each other for support and motivation, even though relations among them were not free from misunderstandings and conflicts. Through a series of fascinating case studies, this expansive collection examines fascism’s transnational dimension, from the movements inspired by the early example of Fascist Italy to the international antifascist organizations that emerged in subsequent years.
This edition investigates fascist activities in the period of turmoil leading to World War II and raises disturbing questions: how far was the British establishment involved? What were the links with Nazi Germany? What were the plans for the future of British Jews? How much did the British secret service know? Despite the revelation of the horrors of Nazi Germany, British Fascism survived 1945. The author discusses the organization, aims and techniques behind British Fascism, including the formation of the National Front. This revised text analyzes the period 1984 to the present day, including the effect of the end of the Cold War and the collapse of Communism in Russia and Europe, the disturbing growth of illiberal nationalism and the growth of neo-fascism, anti-Semitism and racialism.
A bold new history showing that the fear of Communism was a major factor in the outbreak of World War II The Spectre of War looks at a subject we thought we knew—the roots of the Second World War—and upends our assumptions with a masterful new interpretation. Looking beyond traditional explanations based on diplomatic failures or military might, Jonathan Haslam explores the neglected thread connecting them all: the fear of Communism prevalent across continents during the interwar period. Marshalling an array of archival sources, including records from the Communist International, Haslam transforms our understanding of the deep-seated origins of World War II, its conflicts, and its legacy. Haslam offers a panoramic view of Europe and northeast Asia during the 1920s and 1930s, connecting fascism’s emergence with the impact of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. World War I had economically destabilized many nations, and the threat of Communist revolt loomed large in the ensuing social unrest. As Moscow supported Communist efforts in France, Spain, China, and beyond, opponents such as the British feared for the stability of their global empire, and viewed fascism as the only force standing between them and the Communist overthrow of the existing order. The appeasement and political misreading of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy that followed held back the spectre of rebellion—only to usher in the later advent of war. Illuminating ideological differences in the decades before World War II, and the continuous role of pre- and postwar Communism, The Spectre of War provides unprecedented context for one of the most momentous calamities of the twentieth century.
