Publication of the week: Dr Julian Richards

Richards, J., “The Rise of Far-Right Extremism in Contemporary Great Britain and Continental Europe”, Concordia Discors (Russia) 3/26 (2015), 166-175

A number of Far Right and “radical right” parties have recently been scoring electoral successes across many regions. When comparing the trend with political conditions in the United Kingdom, however, the picture is a complex and mixed one. British Far Right politics have been characterised by militant organisations who have mostly mobilised themselves through street demonstrations and violence, rather than organised political activity. Indeed, the normative theory is that the British Far Right has never been able to organise itself as effectively as many of its European counterparts. During the early part of the 21st century, the British National Party (BNP) appeared to be threatening to break this mould, especially at the local level. However, since 2009, the BNP has collapsed once more into obscurity. The picture is slightly complicated by the parallel rise of a radical right “flash party”, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which is causing a great deal of anxiety for the mainstream parties. However, the final analysis suggests that Britain is still fundamentally unsuited to successful Far Right and radical right parties in the longer term.

This article appears in the second part of a special journal, published in Russia, focusing on the rise of the Far Right across Europe.

Dr Julian Richards is Senior Lecturer in Intelligence Studies at Buckingham, and Deputy Director of the Buckingham Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies (BUCSIS).