Since the 1990s, there has been a growing concern about the resurgence of extremist and radical movements in the Western world. Although a variety of challenges to the liberal democratic order have emerged, the main focus of concern among academics, policy-makers and practitioners within Europe and beyond has been on the growth and activities of Islamists and to a lesser extent the extreme right. However, these forms of extremism are seldom placed alongside each other, and in a manner that is sensitive to both the causes and consequences of extremist mobilization. This book presents new empirical research on the causes of these two ‘new’ extremisms in 21st Century Britain and the appropriate responses to it by both the state and civil society. Both forms of extremism pose vital questions for those concerned with the development of a more cohesive and stable society. Unlike many studies, this volume adopts a holistic approach, bringing together experts from a variety of disciplines to examine the factors that cause support and the potential policy responses, including key questions such as: What is the current level of support for Islamism and right-wing extremism? Who votes for extreme right parties such as the BNP in modern Britain and, despite its recent gains, why has the extreme right achieved only limited success? What are the steps of recruitment into radical violent takfiri jihadism? How effective are current responses to Islamism and the extreme right, such as those offered by Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE), wider public policy and policing? What is the potential role of political actors, media and civil society in responding to the extremist challenge? Challenging broad assumptions and bringing together leading scholars in this rapidly developing field, this work is essential reading for all those with an interest in terrorism, fascism, political extremism, social cohesion and the future of race relations.

The rise of the Islamic State has dramatically forced a recalculation of political order and security in the Persian Gulf and broader Greater Middle East by the United States and its allies and adversaries, including, most notably, Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Since the Arab Spring of 2011, the Islamic State has altered the military balance in the Syrian intra-state conflict and captured significant territory in Iraq. Its military successes has attracted foreign fighters from more than 100 countries, drawn in some cases by a sophisticated recruitment strategy that effectively combines a jihadist message with a social media outreach program targeting vulnerable Muslim populations in the region and the West. The Islamic State has prompted renewed American and allied military intervention in Iraq and Syria, and complicated the US relationship with its Iranian adversaries. The New Islamic State examines the rise of the religious extremist organization from the ashes of al-Qaeda in Iraq to its current efforts in Syria and Iraq and is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the Islamic State, its effects on the Persian Gulf and Greater Middle East, and the response of both regional and great powers. The book is suitable for academics, policymakers and the general public.

This book examines the recent development of the far right in Britain, with a particular focus on the British National Party (BNP) the most electorally successful far right party in British history. It brings fresh perspectives to our understanding of the BNP in order to make a significant contribution to scholarly debate on the nature of far right extremism both nationally and internationally. The book is significantly different from other literature in the field primarily because of its focus on three important yet underdeveloped themes, which are reflected in the structure of the book itself. These are: the ideological and cultural politics of contemporary BNP responses to the BNP the BNP’s place within the contemporary domestic and international far-right milieu. Written by an outstanding line-up of renowned experts in this field, this is essential reading for all those with an interest in British politics, fascism, political parties, race relations and extremism.

Dialogos" encompasses Greek language and literature, Greek history and archaeology, Greek culture and thought, present and past: a territory of distinctive richness and unsurpassed influence. It seeks to foster critical awareness and informed debate about the ideas, events and achievements that make up this territory, by redefining their qualities, by exploring their interconnections and by reinterpreting their significance within Western culture and beyond.

Using empirical evidence, this book highlights the misguided and ineffective efforts of the UK government to 'prevent violent extremism'.

This book examines the domestic evolution and international connections of post-war fascists in the UK. It argues that post-war British fascism became transnational as the radicals increasingly exchanged ideas, money and culture with like-minded foreigners. Using interviews with key figures in several countries, this book traces the history of the National Front (NF) and British National Party (BNP), focusing on the political parties’ youth, music and international outreach. It explores how British fascism grew into an international movement, how fascist youth developed skinhead music as a conduit for their ideas, and how some of those key figures 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 and membership lists to track foreign funding and the parties’ domestic electoral growth. For the first time, this book gained access to both the leadership and rank-and-file of the BNP and NF to explore its culture and international connections. In doing so, it shows the successes, failures and changes that have made British fascism a force in the international extremist subculture.

Challenging the standard paradigm of terrorism research through the use of Norbert Elias’s figurational sociology, Michael Dunning explores the development of terrorism in Britain over the past two centuries, focusing on long-term processes and shifting power dynamics. In so doing, he demonstrates that terrorism as a concept and designation is entwined with its antithesis, civilization. A range of process sociological concepts are deployed to tease out the sociogenesis of terrorism as part of Britain’s relationships with France, Ireland, Germany, the Soviet Union, the industrial working classes, its colonies, and, most recently, jihadism. In keeping with the figurational tradition, Dunning examines the relationships between broad, macro-level processes and processes at the level of individual psyches, showing that terrorism is not merely a ‘thing’ done to a group, but part of a complex web of interdependent relations.