Music, Youth and International Links in Post-War British Fascism

The Transformation of Extremism

Ryan Shaffer

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9783319596686
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Social History
• Index: History

This book examines the domestic evolution and international connections of post-warfascists in the UK. It argues that post-war British fascism became transnational as the radicalsincreasingly exchanged ideas, money and culture with like-minded foreigners. Using interviewswith key figures in several countries, this book traces the history of the National Front (NF) andBritish National Party (BNP), focusing on the political parties' youth, music and internationaloutreach. It explores how British fascism grew into an international movement, how fascistyouth developed skinhead music as a conduit for their ideas, and how some of those keyfigures made international connections with people in Iraq, Libya, Syria and the United States.Moreover, it also draws from rare internal party documents, law enforcement records andmembership lists to track foreign funding and the parties' domestic electoral growth. For thefirst time, this book gained access to both the leadership and rank-and-file of the BNP and NFto explore its culture and international connections. In doing so, it shows the successes, failuresand changes that have made British fascism a force in the international extremist subculture.

Table of contents

• Music, Youth and International Links in Post-War British Fascism
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 The Fascist Tradition, 1967–1977
• Chapter 3 Youth Against Tradition, 1977–1983
• Chapter 4 An International Youth Movement, 1983–1990
• Chapter 5 Building a Street Force, 1990–1999
• Chapter 6 Fascist Modernization, 1999–2005
• Chapter 7 The Fascist Peak and the Fascist Decline, 2005–2016
• Chapter 8 Conclusion
• Erratum to: Youth Against Tradition, 1977–1983
• Select Bibliography
• Index