207-593: The English Defence League ( EDL ) was a far-right , Islamophobic organisation active in England from 2009 until the mid-late 2010s. A social movement and pressure group that employed street demonstrations as its main tactic, the EDL presented itself as a single-issue movement opposed to Islamism and Islamic extremism , although its rhetoric and actions targeted Islam and Muslims more widely. Established in London,
414-514: A political party , its members often stressed their opinion that it was not a political organisation. Like other counter-jihad groups in Western countries, the EDL described itself as a human rights organisation, a characterisation not widely accepted among the British public. The EDL's informal structure lacked strict hierarchy, or clear leadership. In its early years, the EDL was controlled by
621-541: A racist organisation victimising British Muslims . The EDL also established a strong social media presence on Facebook and YouTube . Moving towards electoral politics, it established formal links with the far-right British Freedom Party , a breakaway from the BNP. The EDL's reputation was damaged in 2011 after supporters were convicted of plotting to bomb mosques and links were revealed with Norwegian far-right terrorist Anders Behring Breivik . In 2013 Robinson—supported by
828-571: A "race struggle" and an hygienist vision of the world. The purity of the bio-mystical and primordial nation theorized by the Völkischen then began to be seen as corrupted by foreign elements, Jewish in particular. Translated in Maurice Barrès ' concept of "the earth and the dead", these ideas influenced the pre-fascist "revolutionary right" across Europe. The latter had its origin in the fin de siècle intellectual crisis and it was, in
1035-434: A "we" excluding a "they". The far right tends to absolutize differences between nations, races, individuals or cultures since they disrupt their efforts towards the utopian dream of the "closed" and naturally organized society, perceived as the condition to ensure the rebirth of a community finally reconnected to its quasi-eternal nature and re-established on firm metaphysical foundations. As they view their community in
1242-487: A 'phobia' about Islam, we just realise the very serious threat it poses". EDL members regularly referred to Islam as an "ideology" or a "cult" rather than a "religion". They perceived it as a threat to Western culture; evoking Samuel P. Huntington 's notion of the Clash of Civilizations , the group's discourse constructed a binary division between Western and Islamic culture, the former presented as tolerant and progressive and
1449-602: A Muslim population of around 18%—had a history of radical Islamist recruitment. On 10 March 2009, the small, extreme British Salafi Islamist group Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah demonstrated in the town to protest against the Royal Anglian Regiment 's homecoming parade following the latter's posting in Afghanistan . The demonstration—which was disowned by representatives of Luton's main Islamic communities—was
1656-532: A Section 34 dispersal notice covering Bolton . There were again demonstrations by far-right protesters and anti-racist counter-protesters, who were kept separate by the police. In Middlesbrough rioters targeted houses and cars in a residential area, smashing windows. Multiple cars were set alight and burning wheelie bins were pushed at a line of police officers, who were also targeted by missiles. Teesside University 's Olympia Building had its windows broken, as did some houses and cars. Cleveland Police said that
1863-499: A bus primarily carrying black youths. The EDL began to lose momentum in 2011. Contributing factors included regional rivalries between divisions, a resurgence of sectarian enmities between rival football firms, and personal squabbles. By early 2011, several divisions in northern England were referring to themselves as "the Infidels", expressing an increasingly separate identity from the EDL. Several northern groups expressed support for
2070-483: A centralised leadership team, in its heyday the EDL sub-divided into over 90 local and thematic divisions, each with considerable autonomy. Its support base consisted primarily of young, working-class white British men, some from established far-right and football hooligan subcultures. Polls indicated that most UK citizens opposed the EDL, and the organisation was repeatedly challenged by anti-fascist groups. Many local councils and police forces discouraged EDL marches, citing
2277-413: A committee leadership headed by a rotating chair. The EDL lacked a central regulatory structure through which to impose a uniform approach to strategy or maintain ideological purity. Meadowcroft and Morrow argued that it was this weak self-governance that contributed to the group's fragmentation and demise. It operated through a loose network of local divisions, each largely autonomous; this loose structure
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#17327651590612484-434: A deliberately provocative stunt, one which soon attracted media attention and anger that the authorities were permitting it to go ahead. A former regiment member, James Yeomans, organised a counter protest for 28 March. After local anti-Islamist blogger Paul "Lionheart" Ray publicised Yeomans' event online, various self-described "anti-jihadist" far-right groups that had emerged from the football hooligan firm scene—including
2691-433: A desire for major structural change to the British state. Several fascist groups distanced themselves from the EDL; the BNP leader Nick Griffin for instance said the EDL was a false flag operation manipulated by " Zionists ". Conversely, the political scientists Dominic Alessio and Meredith Kristen argued that the EDL "embodied" many of the "key characteristics of fascism": a staunch nationalism and calls for national rebirth,
2898-463: A fake story demonising Muslims and people of colour and leading to riots on the streets". Former security minister Stephen McPartland accused Russia and Vladimir Putin's regime of involvement in the campaign of misinformation, describing it as "part of the Russian playbook". Days later, The Independent reported that misinformation and conspiracy regarding the suspect remained and appeared to be
3105-641: A former police officer founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement), a South African neo-Nazi paramilitary organisation, often described as a white supremacist group. Since its founding in 1973 by Eugène Terre'Blanche and six other far-right Afrikaners, it has been dedicated to secessionist Afrikaner nationalism and the creation of an independent Boer -Afrikaner republic in part of South Africa. During negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa in
3312-629: A former EDL regional organiser, John "Snowy" Shaw, who had accused Robinson and Carroll of financial impropriety. At a February 2011 EDL rally in Blackburn , Shaw's supporters violently clashed with Robinson's; Robinson fought with a fellow member at the rally, resulting in a September 2011 conviction for assault. Robinson's criminal record prevented him from entering the US, but in September 2011 he sought to do so illegally by using someone else's passport. He
3519-502: A greater audience when repeated by the website Channel3Now , a website known for spreading fake news . Russia was accused of being behind a deliberate disinformation campaign, and as of 5 August 2024, the National Crime Agency and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are investigating such claims. A newly-created Southport-themed Telegram group became inundated with misinformation, including from
3726-539: A gun and I'll shoot the Muzzie scum". The racial slur " paki " was also common at private EDL meetings, and at demonstrations; chants used include "I hate Pakis more than you" and "If we all hate Pakis, clap your hands". The EDL was nationalist, or ultra-nationalist , and its members regarded themselves as patriots. Some academics argued the group was ethnic nationalist , although Pilkington stressed that despite their nativist sentiment, most members' sense of English pride
3933-478: A hundred protesters shouting anti-immigrant slogans gathered in Liverpool on the same evening. On 3 August, numerous far-right rallies and counter-protests occurred in England. In Leeds , approximately 150 protesters chanted slogans such as "You're not English anymore", with around 250 counter-protesters chanting "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here". In Manchester, 150 protesters took part in
4140-420: A leadership group referred to as the "team"; this included Robinson, although other members often remained anonymous or used pseudonyms. In 2010, the EDL went through a formal restructuring to deal with Robinson's absence, although until October 2013 the EDL was led by Robinson and Carroll as co-leaders, supported by the regional organisers of the 19 regional divisions. After that duo left, it was reorganised around
4347-561: A lesser extent neo-Fascism are now used exclusively for parties and groups that explicitly state a desire to restore the Third Reich or quote historical National Socialism as their ideological influence." One issue is whether parties should be labelled radical or extreme, a distinction that is made by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany when determining whether or not a party should be banned. Within
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#17327651590614554-622: A local mosque, with missiles thrown at riot police. Three officers were injured and 10 people were arrested. In Manchester, 'scuffles' with police led to two arrests. Two people were arrested in Leicester city centre and a protest on The Headrow in Leeds led to one arrest. Twenty arrests were made in Blackpool after violent disorder broke out amongst nearly 1,000 protesters, with bottles and other projectiles thrown at police. Attendees of
4761-450: A major shift in political thought by challenging the established ideas supporting hierarchy with new ones about universal equality and freedom . The modern left–right political spectrum also emerged during this period. Democrats and proponents of universal suffrage were located on the left side of the elected French Assembly, while monarchists seated farthest to the right. The strongest opponents of liberalism and democracy during
4968-466: A means of countering accusations of racism, adopting the view that "lack of racism towards one group is assumed to be evidence of lack of racism against all". Members often viewed the multi-racial nature of England positively, although almost uniformly rejected the ideology of multiculturalism . In their view, mainstream politicians had encouraged multiculturalism both to be seen as being cosmopolitan and progressive but also because of their fascination for
5175-493: A military comradeship that rejected Marxist class analysis , or what Oswald Spengler had called a "socialism of the blood", which is sometimes described by scholars as a form of " socialist revisionism ". They included Charles Maurras , Benito Mussolini , Arthur Moeller van den Bruck and Ernst Niekisch . Those thinkers eventually split along nationalist lines from the original communist movement , Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels contradicting nationalist theories with
5382-601: A minority throwing objects and subjecting people to racial abuse. The organiser of a march in Middlesbrough was arrested by Cleveland Police on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. On the evening of 2 August, protesters gathered in Sunderland 's Keel Square for a march around the city centre. Mounted officers from Northumbria Police attended the demonstration along with officers in riot gear. Police and protesters clashed outside
5589-535: A mosque in St Mark's Road after some of the marchers attempted to approach the building. The protesters chanted "save our kids" and "we want our country back", as well as slogans in support of Tommy Robinson, and Islamophobic slurs. An Uber taxi was burnt and shops looted. Sunderland Central police station was set alight, and trains to Sunderland station were cancelled or diverted to St Peter's . Four officers were hospitalised and 12 people were arrested. Around
5796-525: A nine-years. As of 1 September 1,280 arrests and nearly 800 charges had been made in relation to the unrest. The riots began in Southport, just a few streets away from where the attack took place. A demonstration outside the Southport Mosque quickly turned violent and protesters attacked police officers, injuring over fifty, burned a police van, and attacked the mosque. Over the following days
6003-523: A number of properties on Parliament Road and the Crown Court building were significantly damaged, and a total of 43 people were arrested in connection to the disorder. There was further rioting outside a second Holiday Inn Express hotel in Tamworth , which had been housing asylum seekers. Objects were thrown at the building and at the police, one of whom was injured, windows were smashed and part of
6210-524: A perceived decline in English culture on high immigration rates and an uncaring political elite. It distinguished itself from Britain's traditional far-right by rejecting biological racism , antisemitism , and homophobia . Commentators differed on whether the EDL itself was ideologically fascist , although several of its leaders were previously involved in fascist organisations and some neo-Nazis and other fascists attended EDL events. Largely headed by
6417-411: A professor of political communication at Loughborough University , described a viral tweet as being "deliberately fabricated to generate hostility toward ethnic minorities and immigrants, and it's a potentially Islamophobic piece of propaganda". Matthew Feldman , an expert on right-wing extremism, commented "It is difficult to think of a much better example of online harms breaching the real world than
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6624-548: A propensity for violence, and what they described as "pronounced anti-democratic and anti-liberal tendencies" among its leaders. They highlighted that much of the group's leadership came directly from the fascist BNP, and that EDL events have been supported by present and former members of fascist groups like the National Front, the Racial Volunteer Force , Blood & Honour , and Combat 18 . The EDL
6831-590: A protest in Weymouth . Anti-racism protesters gathered in Cardiff following a far-right protest which had been planned, where they encountered some far-right demonstrators outside the Senedd , though no conflict materialised. In Birmingham , a group of locals gathered around a mosque in anticipation of a far-right protest which was rumoured to be scheduled in the area. Individuals were observed keeping watch around
7038-596: A public statement stating that the attacker was a white man and had been arrested. In Doncaster , a planned far-right protest was cancelled after only one person showed up. In Wath upon Dearne in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham , there were demonstrations by anti-immigration and anti-racism protesters, with the former outnumbering the latter. There was then rioting outside a Holiday Inn Express hotel which had housed asylum seekers , where mask-wearing anti-immigration demonstrators threw objects at
7245-655: A range of ideologies that are typically marked by radical conservatism , authoritarianism , ultra-nationalism , and nativism . This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the right, distinguished from more mainstream right-wing ideologies by its opposition to liberal democratic norms and emphasis on exclusivist views. Far-right ideologies have historically included fascism , Nazism , and Falangism , while contemporary manifestations also incorporate neo-fascism , neo-Nazism , white supremacism , and various other movements characterized by chauvinism , xenophobia , and theocratic or reactionary beliefs. Key to
7452-449: A reason for stepping down from his leadership position. The EDL responded to their presence by banning some neo-Nazis from its events, a move with widespread support from EDL members more broadly, who were keen to distance themselves from neo-Nazism. A social movement —and more specifically a new social movement and social movement organisation —the EDL was a direct action or street-based protest movement. A pressure group rather than
7659-422: A series of nine areas: North West, North East, East Midlands, West Midlands, East Anglia, South West, South East, South East Central, and Greater London. In 2010, new regional organisers were introduced for each; the EDL was heavily reliant on these grassroots networks and the initiative of local and regional leaders. Far-right politics Far-right politics , often termed right-wing extremism , encompasses
7866-407: A sort of anti-thesis against their own beliefs." While the existence of such a political position is widely accepted among scholars, figures associated with the far-right rarely accept this denomination, preferring terms like "national movement" or "national right". There is also debate about how appropriate the labels neo-fascist or neo-Nazi are. In the words of Mudde, "the labels Neo-Nazi and to
8073-468: A state of decay facilitated by the ruling elites, far-right members portray themselves as a natural, sane and alternative elite, with the redemptive mission of saving society from its promised doom. They reject both their national political system and the global geopolitical order (including their institutions and values, e.g. political liberalism and egalitarian humanism ) which are presented as needing to be abandoned or purged of their impurities, so that
8280-550: A statement the police revealed that six arrests had been made relating to the disorder and 'several' officers were injured, as well as some members of the public, two of whom were hospitalised. Outside England, there was further violence in the Sandy Row area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. A business was targeted for a second time, and armoured police Land Rovers were attacked with petrol bombs and bricks. Police fired two plastic bullets at rioters in response. A man in his 50s
8487-544: A street movement rather than a political party. The EDL subsequently established links with another BNP breakaway group; in February 2013, it provided a security force for an event by the far-right British Democratic Party (BDP), which was founded by Andrew Brons , who had previously represented the BNP at the European Parliament. By early 2013, commentators believed that the EDL was in decline, reflected in
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8694-528: A unified party family, despite the heterogeneity of the far right parties." Kopeček concludes that a comparison of Central European far-right parties with those of Western Europe shows that "these four elements are present in Central Europe as well, though in a somewhat modified form, despite differing political, economic, and social influences." In the American and more general Anglo-Saxon environment,
8901-718: A unique evolution of far-right movements that emphasize nativism and radical opposition to central government. Far-right politics have led to oppression , political violence , forced assimilation , ethnic cleansing , and genocide against groups of people based on their supposed inferiority or their perceived threat to the native ethnic group , nation , state , national religion , dominant culture , or conservative social institutions. Across these contexts, far-right politics has continued to influence discourse, occasionally achieving electoral success and prompting significant debate over its place in democratic societies . According to scholars Jean-Yves Camus and Nicolas Lebourg ,
9108-457: A warm reception at EDL rallies, where the LGBT rainbow flag was regularly flown, but at the same time also heard homophobic comments at EDL events. Several commentators argued that the EDL was not fascist. Nigel Copsey, a historian of the far-right, stated that the EDL was not driven by the same "ideological end-goal" as neo-fascist and other fascist groups; unlike fascists, the EDL did not express
9315-743: Is against "the Cathedral". Schmitt's friend–enemy distinction has inspired the French Nouvelle Droite idea of ethnopluralism . In a 1961 book deemed influential in the European far-right at large, French neo-fascist writer Maurice Bardèche introduced the idea that fascism could survive the 20th century under a new metapolitical guise adapted to the changes of the times. Rather than trying to revive doomed regimes with their single party , secret police or public display of Caesarism , Bardèche argued that its theorists should promote
9522-533: Is enough", "save our kids", and " stop the boats " (the latter in reference to migrant crossings of the English Channel ), with Robinson being a central figure in calls to hold riots. Writing for The Observer , Shabana Mahmood , the Secretary of State for Justice , suggested the impact of the disorder would be "felt for months and years to come" as the volume of cases linked to the riots going through
9729-467: Is known as the reverse post-material thesis blames both left-wing and progressive parties for embracing a post-material agenda (including feminism and environmentalism ) that alienates traditional working class voters. Another study argues that individuals who join far-right parties determine whether those parties develop into major political players or whether they remain marginalized. Early academic studies adopted psychoanalytical explanations for
9936-479: Is no general agreement as to where the mainstream ends and the extreme starts, and if there ever had been agreement on this, the recent shift in the mainstream would challenge it." Proponents of the horseshoe theory interpretation of the left–right political spectrum identify the far left and the far right as having more in common with each other as extremists than each of them has with centrists or moderates . This theory has received criticism, including
10143-464: The 1973 Rwandan coup d'état , the far right National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND) was founded under president Juvénal Habyarimana . Between 1975 and 1991, the MRND was the only legal political party in the country. It was dominated by Hutus , particularly from Habyarimana's home region of Northern Rwanda. An elite group of MRND party members who were known to have influence on
10350-593: The Auschwitz II (Birkenau) concentration camp, who fled first to Argentina, then Paraguay, before finally settling in Brazil in 1960. Mengele eventually drowned in 1979 in Bertioga , on the coast of São Paulo state, without ever having been recognized in his 19 years in Brazil. The far right has continued to operate throughout Brazil and a number of far-right parties existed in the modern era including Patriota ,
10557-552: The Belfast Islamic Centre , but were blocked by police. Instead, they attacked several immigrant-owned businesses on Botanic Avenue. Violence continued in the Sandy Row area that night, where a supermarket and a café owned by immigrants were burnt out. Cars were burned and missiles were thrown at police, injuring three officers. Four people were arrested for the violence. Elsewhere in Northern Ireland,
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#173276515906110764-1117: The Bolsonaro family in Brazil , José Antonio Kast in Chile and Keiko Fujimori in Peru . Nationalists from Europe and the United States met at a Holiday Inn in St. Petersburg on March 22, 2015, for first convention of the International Russian Conservative Forum organized by pro-Putin Rodina -party. The event was attended by fringe right-wing extremists like Nordic Resistance Movement from Scandinavia but also by more mainstream MEPs from Golden Dawn and National Democratic Party of Germany . In addition to Rodina, Russian neo-Nazis from Russian Imperial Movement and Rusich Group were also in attendance. The event
10971-936: The Brazilian Labour Renewal Party , the Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order , the National Renewal Alliance and the Social Liberal Party as well as death squads such as the Command for Hunting Communists . Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro was a member of the Alliance for Brazil , a far-right nationalist political group that aimed to become a political party, until 2022, when
11178-614: The British Freedom Party (BFP), a BNP breakaway founded in October 2010. The BFP was led by Eddy Butler, who had previously made an unsuccessful attempt to oust the BNP leader Nick Griffin . The BFP wanted to move closer to mainstream politics by disassociating itself from the BNP's emphasis on biological racism and imitating continental European right-wing groups such as the Dutch Party for Freedom . In May 2012, it
11385-581: The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda continue to wage an insurgency against Rwanda from neighboring countries, where they are also involved in local conflicts and terrorism. The Interahamwe were the main perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide, during which an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Tutsi, Twa and moderate Hutus were killed from April to July 1994 and the term Interahamwe
11592-731: The Jobbik party in Hungary. During the rise of Nazi Germany, far-right international organizations began to emerge in the 1930s with the International Conference of Fascist Parties in 1932 and the Fascist International Congress in 1934. During the 1934 Fascist International Conference, the Comitati d'Azione per l'Universalità di Roma [ it ] (CAUR; English: Action Committees for
11799-506: The Ligue des Patriotes , with the common goal of a uniting the masses beyond social divisions. The Völkisch movement emerged in the late 19th century, drawing inspiration from German Romanticism and its fascination for a medieval Reich supposedly organized into a harmonious hierarchical order. Erected on the idea of " blood and soil ", it was a racialist , populist , agrarian , romantic nationalist and an antisemitic movement from
12006-701: The London Assembly in 2008 and two seats at the European Parliament in 2010. By 2011, this support had declined, with the party losing many of its local council seats. However, as noted by the political scientist Chris Allen, the BNP had "extended the frontier of the far right in British politics", creating an environment on which the English Defence League would capitalise. The town of Luton in Bedfordshire —which had
12213-644: The M5 motorway was closed due to protest activity in Newtownabbey , and there were protests in Bangor and Carrickfergus . In Cardiff , reports of a planned far-right protest, which never materialised, led to an anti-racism demonstration. A woman was stabbed on King Street in Stirling and there was online speculation from anti-Islam campaigner Tommy Robinson that the attacker was Muslim. Police Scotland issued
12420-553: The National Front and the British National Party , however the EDL itself differed from these older groups by reaching out to Jews, people of colour, and LGBT people, against whom the British far right historically discriminated. Thus, the historian of the far right Paul Jackson referred to it as part of a "new far right" which presented itself as being more moderate than its predecessors. The EDL disavowed
12627-481: The Quilliam think tank—left the group. He said it had become too extreme, and established the short-lived rival Pegida UK . EDL membership declined significantly following Robinson's departure, various branches declared independence, and it became defunct several years later. Ideologically on the extreme-right or far-right of British politics, the EDL was part of the international counter-jihad movement. Rejecting
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#173276515906112834-713: The Republican Party and establishing strong ties with American contacts. In March 2019, Abascal tweeted an image of himself wearing a morion similar to a conquistador , with ABC writing in an article detailing the document that this event provided a narrative that "symbolizes in part the expansionist mood of Vox and its ideology far from Spain". The charter subsequently grew to include signers that had little to no relation to Latin America and Spanish-speaking areas. Vox has advised Javier Milei in Argentina ,
13041-498: The Union for the Republic . Throughout the reign of the Gnassingbé family, Togo has been extremely oppressive. According to a United States Department of State report based on conditions in 2010, human rights abuses are common and include "security force use of excessive force, including torture , which resulted in deaths and injuries; official impunity; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrests and detention; lengthy pretrial detention; executive influence over
13248-452: The exoticism of other cultures. The EDL condemned homophobia and established an LGBT division in March 2010. This pro-LGBT rights stance allowed the EDL to criticise what it presented as the left's refusal to confront Islamic homophobia. Pilkington argued that this pro-LGBT rights stance was not solely a cynical ploy by the EDL's leadership, but reflected widespread views within the movement. She observed gay and transgender speakers receiving
13455-500: The génocidaires . Kabuga was arrested in France on 16 May 2020, and charged with crimes against humanity . The Interahamwe was formed around 1990 as the youth wing of the MRND and enjoyed the backing of the Hutu Power government. The Interahamwe were driven out of Rwanda after Tutsi -led Rwandan Patriotic Front victory in the Rwandan Civil War in July 1994 and are considered a terrorist organisation by many African and Western governments. The Interahamwe and splinter groups such as
13662-797: The legal minimum wage . At the same time, EDL members often expressed sympathy for migrants as individuals seeking a better life, and typically distinguished between "good" migrants who worked hard and paid taxes and "bad" migrants who live off the welfare state. The EDL stated that it was not racist, employing the slogan "Black and White unite: all races and religions are welcome in the EDL". It formed specific divisions for Hindu , Sikh , Jewish , Greek and Cypriot , and Pakistani Christian supporters, and small numbers of Asian, African, and biracial supporters attended its events. These were often viewed as "trophy" members, with many white members asking to have their photographs taken with them. Members often stressed that they had ethnic minority friends and family as
13869-424: The political spectrum : "the left considers the key inequalities between people to be artificial and negative, which should be overcome by an active state, whereas the right believes that inequalities between people are natural and positive, and should be either defended or left alone by the state." Aspects of far-right ideology can be identified in the agenda of some contemporary right-wing parties: in particular,
14076-418: The "Enough is Enough" protest, while 350 locals turned out for the "Stop the Far Right" counter-protest. In Nottingham , clashes were reported between opposing groups of protesters. In Liverpool, two groups who had been taking part in separate protests joined up at the Pier Head before moving on to The Strand and Church Street. Many shops were damaged and looted as Spellow Library, a community hub in Walton
14283-494: The "far-right" label, describing itself as "non-political, taking no position on right-wing vs. left-wing. We welcome members from all over the political spectrum, and with varying views on foreign policy, united against Islamic extremism and its influence on British life." When examining the EDL's public statements, Jackson cautioned against automatically taking them at face value; as he noted, far-right groups typically present "front stage" messages for public consumption which conceal
14490-415: The "redemptive community" can eventually leave the current phase of liminal crisis to usher in the new era. The community itself is idealized through great archetypal figures (the Golden Age , the savior, decadence and global conspiracy theories ) as they glorify non-rationalistic and non- materialistic values such as the youth or the cult of the dead. Political scientist Cas Mudde argues that
14697-451: The 1900s onward as a consequence of a growing exclusive and racial connotation. They idealized the myth of an "original nation", that still could be found at their times in the rural regions of Germany, a form of "primitive democracy freely subjected to their natural elites." Thinkers led by Arthur de Gobineau , Houston Stewart Chamberlain , Alexis Carrel and Georges Vacher de Lapouge distorted Darwin 's theory of evolution to advocate
14904-423: The 1920s and 1930s, a local brand of religious fascism appeared known as Brazilian Integralism , coalescing around the party known as Brazilian Integralist Action . It adopted many characteristics of European fascist movements, including a green-shirted paramilitary organization with uniformed ranks, highly regimented street demonstrations and rhetoric against Marxism and liberalism . Prior to World War II,
15111-541: The 1980s, far-right groups began to solidify themselves through official political avenues. With the founding of the European Union in 1993, far-right groups began to espouse Euroscepticism , nationalist and anti-migrant beliefs. By 2010, the Eurosceptic group European Alliance for Freedom emerged and saw some prominence during the 2014 European Parliament election . The majority of far-right groups in
15318-642: The 1990s, the "winning formula" was often to attract anti-immigrant blue collar workers and white collar workers who wanted less state intervention in the economy, but in the 2000s, this switched to welfare chauvinism . In comparing the Western European and post-Communist Central European far-right, Kopeček writes that "[t]he Central European far right was also typified by a strong anti-Communism, much more markedly than in Western Europe", allowing for "a basic ideological classification within
15525-482: The 19th century, such as Joseph de Maistre and Friedrich Nietzsche , were highly critical of the French Revolution. Those who advocated a return to the absolute monarchy during the 19th century called themselves "ultra-monarchists" and embraced a " mystic " and " providentialist " vision of the world where royal dynasties were seen as the "repositories of divine will". The opposition to liberal modernity
15732-424: The 2010s began to establish international contacts with right-wing coalitions to develop a solidified platform. In 2017, Steve Bannon would create The Movement , an organization to create an international far-right group based on Aleksandr Dugin 's The Fourth Political Theory , for the 2019 European Parliament election . The European Alliance for Freedom would also reorganize into Identity and Democracy for
15939-611: The 2019 European Parliament election. The far-right Spanish party Vox initially introduced the Madrid Charter project, a planned group to denounce left-wing groups in Ibero-America , to the government of United States president Donald Trump while visiting the United States in February 2019, with Santiago Abascal and Rafael Bardají using their good relations with the administration to build support within
16146-497: The 24 hours after the incident, and organised several flash demonstrations. At one such event, Robinson told members that "What you saw today [i.e. Rigby's killing] is Islam. Everyone's had enough." In late May, the EDL held a demonstration in central London that attracted a thousand participants; another, held in central Birmingham in July, attracted several hundred. On 8 October 2013, Robinson and Carroll announced that they were leaving
16353-557: The BFP after its leader, Paul Weston, resigned. The BFP did poorly at a series of local elections, failing to gain sufficient votes to have its deposits returned; its failure to register correctly led the Electoral Commission to remove its registration. Among the EDL grassroots, there had been much opposition to association with the BFP; many feared that it would damage the EDL's reputation or stressed their desire to be part of
16560-752: The British National Party (BNP). Finally[...], extreme right‐wing movements, such as the Aryan Strike Force, have found the EDL a useful host organisation. — Historian of the far right Paul Jackson Political scientists locate the EDL on the far-right of the left–right political spectrum , sometimes referring to its ideology as "extreme right", or "right-wing extremism". In various respects, it resembled other far-right groups, particularly those that emerged across early 21st century Europe. From its early days, its demonstrations were attended by members of older far-right parties such as
16767-492: The EDL as an "anti-Islamist movement", but considered there to be crossover with broader anti-Islam or anti-Muslim positions. The EDL stated that it only opposed the "Islamic extremist" but not the "ordinary Muslim", a distinction also drawn by many of its activists. However, the EDL's rhetoric regularly failed to make this distinction, and the group and its members alleged that British Muslims implicitly supported Islamic extremism by failing to speak out against it. Research examining
16974-510: The EDL coalesced around several football hooligan firms protesting the public presence of the small Salafi group Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah in Luton , Bedfordshire . Tommy Robinson , a former member of the British National Party (BNP), soon became its de facto leader. The organisation grew swiftly, holding demonstrations across England and often clashing with anti-fascist protesters from Unite Against Fascism and other groups, who deemed it
17181-569: The EDL following meetings with the think tank Quilliam . Robinson said that street protests were "no longer effective" and "acknowledged the dangers of far-right extremism". He stated his intention to continue to combat extremism by forming a new party. Both Robinson and Carroll had been taking lessons in Islam from a Quilliam member, Usama Hasan , and stated their intent to train in lobbying institutions. Quilliam had given Robinson £8000 to facilitate his departure; it hoped that doing so would "decapitate"
17388-681: The EDL initially termed "extremist Muslim preachers and organisations". It claimed that Englishness had been marginalised throughout England, citing the fact that some local authorities had ceased flying the flag of St George and that some state schools only supplied halal meat and had stopped celebrating Nativity plays at Christmas time. The EDL focused on organising demonstrations: between 2009 and 2015, it held an average of between ten and fifteen demonstrations per year, attracting crowds of between 100 and 3000. It faced opposition from media commentators and anti-fascist groups, who described it as racist, far right, and extreme right, terms rejected by
17595-485: The EDL is proud to recognize and proclaim its diversity. — Political scientist Chris Allen Alessio and Meredith thought the EDL was anti-immigrant , and anti-migrant sentiment was common among EDL members. Its members saw immigration as being detrimental to the white British, believing that it fundamentally changed the nature of England, contributed to social division, and resulted in economic competition, with migrants outcompeting white Britons by working for less than
17802-482: The EDL substantially different to anything typically seen in the traditionally 'all white' make-up of what is deemed to be the far right. And, indeed, this is a unique feature of the EDL. Reflecting its origins in football firms, not only does the EDL march behind banners that state 'Black and white unite against Islamic extremism'—it also marches carrying Israeli flags—but a number of those marching are of black, Asian or mixed heritages. Unlike other far-right organizations,
18009-586: The EDL's decline, with many EDL supporters finding it easier to vote for UKIP than physically attend EDL events. In April 2013, the EDL leadership requested that members use tactical voting to benefit UKIP; the latter responded by distancing itself from the EDL. The EDL experienced a brief resurgence in its fortunes after Islamist militants killed the British Army soldier Lee Rigby in southeast London in May 2013. The group tripled its number of Facebook followers in
18216-781: The EDL. He was affiliated with the EDL's Norwegian sister organisation, the Norwegian Defence League , and stated that he had "more than 600 EDL members as Facebook friends and have spoken with tens [sic] of EDL members and leaders". Breivik described EDL co-founder Ray as his "mentor", having been in communication with him since 2002. Four months before his attack, Breivik posted on the EDL website, describing them as an "inspiration" and "a blessing to all in Europe". Online, he described having attended an EDL rally in Bradford . Robinson denied any EDL links with Breivik and deplored
18423-651: The EDL. Most notable among the anti-fascist groups organising counter-protests was Unite Against Fascism , while Islamic groups sometimes also held counter-protests. In turn, the EDL targeted left-wing groups. In December 2010, Robinson threatened action against student anti-fee protesters , while in 2011 the EDL harassed Occupy anti-capitalist protesters in London. During the 2011 England riots , EDL members mobilised in largely white areas of Outer London , such as Enfield and Eltham , stating that they were there to "defend" them from rioters. These also resulted in clashes with police, and in one incident EDL members attacked
18630-513: The EDL. Robinson's departure generated much anger among the grassroots, many of whom thought him a traitor. A meeting of the group's regional organisers led to the EDL's adoption of a new system of collective leadership, through which the 19 regional organisers formed a governing committee with a rotating chair. The first to take on this role was Tim Ablitt; in February 2014 he was succeeded by Steve Eddowes; and in December 2015 by Ian Crossland, with
18837-461: The English Defence League was officially formed on 27 June 2009. Ray claimed to have been its founder, describing how the EDL united the UPL with other "anti-jihadist" groups from around England. Its creation reflected what the political scientist Roger Eatwell termed "cumulative extremism", whereby the "activities of one extremist group trigger the formation of another". The EDL took its name from that of
19044-517: The European Union cut off aid in reaction to the regime's human-rights offenses. After's Eyadema's death in 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbe took over, then stood down and was re-elected in elections that were widely described as fraudulent and occasioned violence that resulted in as many as 600 deaths and the flight from Togo of 40,000 refugees. In 2012, Faure Gnassingbe dissolved the RTP and created
19251-473: The Mercure Hotel after receiving information that far-right protesters might target the location, as it housed asylum seekers. The anti-racist protesters arrived at the hotel shortly before the far-right group and the police. The protesters faced violent attempts by the far-right to force their way through the protective line and into the hotel. Avon and Somerset Police arrested 14 people in relation to
19458-569: The Nazi Party had been making and distributing propaganda among ethnic Germans in Brazil. The Nazi regime built close ties with Brazil through the estimated 100 thousand native Germans and 1 million German descendants living in Brazil at the time. In 1928, the Brazilian section of the Nazi Party was founded in Timbó, Santa Catarina. This section reached 2,822 members and was the largest section of
19665-546: The Nazi Party outside Germany. About 100 thousand born Germans and about one million descendants lived in Brazil at that time. After Germany's defeat in World War II, many Nazi war criminals fled to Brazil and hid among the German-Brazilian communities. The most notable example of this was Josef Mengele , a Nazi SS officer and physician known as the "Angel of Death" for his deadly experiments on prisoners at
19872-587: The North West Infidels and South East Alliance, adopted more extreme perspectives, cooperating with the fascist National Front and making reference to the white supremacist Fourteen Words slogan on their social media. Other activists moved away from the EDL to focus on campaigning for Brexit , the UK's exit from the European Union . It is possible that the electoral growth of the right-wing UK Independence Party (UKIP) in this period also contributed to
20079-584: The President and his wife Agathe Habyarimana are known as the akazu , an informal organization of Hutu extremists whose members planned and lead the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Prominent Hutu businessman and member of the akazu, Félicien Kabuga was one of the genocides main financiers, providing thousands of machetes which were used to commit the genocide. Kabuga also founded Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines , used to broadcast propaganda and direct
20286-560: The Rwandan genocide. The far right in South Africa emerged as the Herstigte Nasionale Party (HNP) in 1969, formed by Albert Hertzog as breakaway from the predominant right-wing South African National Party , an Afrikaner ethno-nationalist party that implemented the racist, segregationist program of apartheid , the legal system of political, economic and social separation of the races intended to maintain and extend political and economic control of South Africa by
20493-498: The St. George Division; this broke from the EDL soon after, when Ray emigrated. This left the way for Tommy Robinson to become the EDL's de facto leader. A former BNP member with criminal convictions for assault, Robinson's real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon; the pseudonym was borrowed from the head of a Luton football hooligan firm . Robinson was clearly spoken, articulate and able to present his views in an assured and eloquent way during television interviews and other encounters with
20700-465: The Terrorists": this again resulted in disorder, with police making several arrests. A related group was Casuals United , founded by established football hooligan Jeff Marsh: their website used the tagline "One Nation, One Enemy, One Firm", reflecting the group's desire to unite rival football firms in opposition to what it called the "Islamification" of Britain. It was from this environment that
20907-407: The UK. Individuals who identified as EDL supporters were among the rioters, and in response Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner suggested the EDL could be proscribed as a terrorist organisation . Joe Mulhall, head of Hope Not Hate, dismissed the idea that the EDL was responsible for the riots or that banning it would be effective, "because the organisation no longer exists". [D]espite its claims to
21114-557: The United Kingdom : Northern Ireland Executive Supported by: Counter-protesters : Supported by: From 30 July to 5 August 2024, far-right , anti-immigration protests and riots occurred in England and Northern Ireland, within the United Kingdom. This followed a mass stabbing in Southport on 29 July in which three children were killed. The riots were fuelled by false claims circulated by far-right groups that
21321-682: The Universality of Rome), created by Benito Mussolini 's Fascist Regime to create a network for a "Fascist International", representatives from far-right groups gathered in Montreux , Switzerland , including Romania 's Iron Guard , Norway 's Nasjonal Samling , the Greek National Socialist Party , Spain 's Falange movement, Ireland's Blueshirts , France 's Mouvement Franciste and Portugal 's União Nacional , among others. However, no international group
21528-538: The Village Islamic Centre, while nearby shops closed, a hospital sent staff home, and several doctors' surgeries also closed early preparing for potential violence. Several vehicles close to Stechford police station were attacked amid the protest. A Sky News crew was followed by a man in a balaclava wielding a knife who slashed their van's tyre. Before this, the Sky News broadcast from the scene
21735-529: The Welsh Defence League (WDL) and the March for England (MfE)—announced their intention to attend. Fearing the far right would hijack his event, Yeomans cancelled it. In its place, Ray organised an "anti-jihadist" march for St. George's Day under the banner of the new United People of Luton (UPL), although this was broken up by police. The UPL organised a second demonstration for 24 May, titled "Ban
21942-711: The Welsh Defence League; its founders also considered the name "British Defence League", but rejected this as being too similar to that of the British National Party. The EDL's foundation was accompanied by an impromptu protest outside the East London Mosque in Whitechapel , which police quickly dispersed. The following week the group picketed an event in Wood Green , North London organised by Salafi Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary and his Islam4UK group. Its first major public appearance to attract attention
22149-537: The White minority. The HNP was formed after the South African National Party re-established diplomatic relations with Malawi and legislated to allow Māori players and spectators to enter the country during the 1970 New Zealand rugby union team tour in South Africa. The HNP advocated for a Calvinist , racially segregated and Afrikaans -speaking nation. In 1973, Eugène Terre'Blanche ,
22356-504: The aid of far-right Telegram group chats affiliated with Active Club England , the terrorgram network, and football hooliganism firms . Groups involved in the riots included supporters of the defunct Islamophobic group English Defence League (EDL), including its former leader Tommy Robinson , members of the neo-Nazi hate group Patriotic Alternative , and the fascist political party Britain First . The riots were also supported by
22563-523: The area near the mosque by 21:14 and protesters began dispersing shortly after that as night fell. By 23:14, the riot had ended. A local corner shop was damaged. The Merseyside Police Federation said that over fifty officers were injured at the Southport incident, with North West Ambulance Service reporting that twenty-seven were hospitalised and twelve were discharged at the scene. Merseyside Police stated that eight officers were seriously injured and three police dogs were wounded. One man from Standish
22770-422: The argument that it has been centrists who have supported far-right and fascist regimes over socialist ones. Jens Rydgren describes a number of theories as to why individuals support far-right political parties and the academic literature on this topic distinguishes between demand-side theories that have changed the "interests, emotions, attitudes and preferences of voters" and supply-side theories which focus on
22977-498: The attack. Sky News' Midlands correspondent Becky Cotterill posted to X the next day that the manager of the pub had told her the man had goaded his attackers by using offensive language as they walked past. He was barred from the pub for "inciting violence." In Plymouth , many businesses closed early, bus routes were diverted and a performance at the Theatre Royal was cancelled as two protests were planned to take place in
23184-414: The broader family of the far right, the extreme right is revolutionary, opposing popular sovereignty and majority rule, and sometimes supporting violence, whereas the radical right is reformist, accepting free elections, but opposing fundamental elements of liberal democracy such as minority rights, rule of law, or separation of powers. After a survey of the academic literature, Mudde concluded in 2002 that
23391-577: The building was set on fire. Three police dogs were injured, one of whom was hit in the head by a brick. In Solihull , there was a large anti-immigrant protest in the town centre, which forced the closure of the Touchwood shopping centre. Later, in the evening, West Midlands Police were called to Hermitage Road, where they dispersed two groups of people who were outside The Hub mosque. Police stated they were investigating whether one of these groups may have been connected to an anti-racism protest that
23598-488: The building, smashing a number of windows and attempting to set the building on fire with a bin full of flammable material. They were also heard to chant "Get them out". South Yorkshire Police reported that 51 officers, as well as police dogs and horses, were injured during the violence in Rotherham, where concrete blocks, chairs, fire extinguishers and tree branches were thrown at them. Greater Manchester Police issued
23805-411: The city. Plymouth City Council warned residents to stay away from the city centre as Devon and Cornwall Police said they would be increasing their presence there. Police lined Royal Parade as the two groups of protesters – one anti-fascist and the other far-right – faced off, throwing items including glass and stones at each other as one woman on the anti-fascist side was injured by a flying item. As
24012-503: The concept of "the masses" was introduced into the political debate through industrialization and the universal suffrage , a new right-wing founded on national and social ideas began to emerge, what Zeev Sternhell has called the "revolutionary right" and a foreshadowing of fascism . The rift between the left and nationalists was furthermore accentuated by the emergence of anti-militarist and anti-patriotic movements like anarchism or syndicalism , which shared even fewer similarities with
24219-622: The contrary, there is much prima face [ sic ] evidence to place the EDL on the more radical fringes of the political right. This ranges from its populist, nationalist agenda; to its condemnation of leftwing figures on its various blogs and websites; to its strong associations with the US Tea Party movement; to its support for international far right figures, such as Geert Wilders. Moreover[...], key EDL figures, such as Steven Yaxley‐Lennon and Kevin Carroll, have historic links with
24426-414: The core of the far right's worldview is organicism , the idea that society functions as a complete, organized and homogeneous living being. Adapted to the community they wish to constitute or reconstitute (whether based on ethnicity, nationality, religion or race), the concept leads them to reject every form of universalism in favor of autophilia and alterophobia , or in other words the idealization of
24633-614: The core philosophical idea of fascism regardless of its framework, i.e. the concept that only a minority, "the physically saner, the morally purer, the most conscious of national interest", can represent best the community and serve the less gifted in what Bardèche calls a new " feudal contract". Another influence on contemporary far-right thought has been the Traditionalist School , which included Julius Evola , and has influenced Steve Bannon and Aleksandr Dugin , advisors to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as well as
24840-451: The country, failing to appear at a High Court hearing to which he had been summonsed for alleged contempt of court . By 20:37, protesters began throwing objects at the mosque and police, leaving one officer injured. A police van was set alight as police deployed smoke canisters. Merseyside Police requested officers from Greater Manchester Police , Cheshire Constabulary , Lancashire Police , and North Wales Police . Riot police cleared
25047-448: The country. The British National Party (BNP) was most successful at exploiting growing hostility against Muslims. It launched an anti-Muslim campaign in 2000, which gained momentum after Salafi jihadi Muslims perpetrated the 2001 September 11 attacks in the United States and the 7 July 2005 bombings in London . This resulted in growing electoral success for the BNP: it secured a seat on
25254-455: The courts would affect government plans to address a backlog of cases. At approximately 20:05 BST , hundreds of protesters gathered outside Southport Mosque chanting, "No surrender!" and "English till I die!" Within several minutes, protesters clashed with police. Protesters barricaded themselves and shouted " Tommy Robinson ", a far-right activist who founded the EDL. Robinson had been arrested and then released two days prior, before he fled
25461-400: The decreasing numbers attending its events, Robinson's imprisonment, and its failure to enter electoral politics. Groups which had closely allied to the EDL, such as Casuals United and March for England, were reasserting their individual identities. Splinter groups appeared, among them the North West Infidels, North East Infidels, South East Alliance and Combined Ex-Forces. Some of these, such as
25668-479: The demonstration that started in Southport, prior to involvement in the riot. HuffPost described far-right activists as having "hijacked" the vigil for the victims, and the Manchester Evening News reported "far right thugs, fuelled by lies, sought to exploit the tragedy". Merseyside Police said on the night of the riot that they believed supporters of the EDL were involved in and organised
25875-411: The disappearance of historic frames of reference (e.g. law and order , the family, the ethnic, linguistic and religious community and nation as well as the natural environment ) and a socioeconomic program associating corporatism , state control of certain sectors, agrarianism , and a varying degree of belief in the free play of socially Darwinistic market forces. Mudde then proposes a subdivision of
26082-483: The disturbances. Hope Not Hate described them as supporters of Tommy Robinson. Robinson denied the EDL were involved, while arguing that the anger in Southport was justified. A prominent member of the neo-Nazi group Patriotic Alternative took part in the riot and another member helped to promote the event. The protests and riots were fuelled by wider Islamophobia, concerns over crime, anti-migration sentiment, xenophobia, nationalism and against perceived biases by
26289-589: The early 1990s, the organization terrorized and killed black South Africans. Togo has been ruled by members of the Gnassingbé family and the far-right military dictatorship formerly known as the Rally of the Togolese People since 1969. Despite the legalisation of political parties in 1991 and the ratification of a democratic constitution in 1992, the regime continues to be regarded as oppressive. In 1993,
26496-454: The early 21st century, Muslims were Britain's second largest and fastest-growing religious group; according to the 2011 census , 2.7 million people in England and Wales described themselves as Muslim, representing 4.8% of the total population. At the same time, Muslims became the main scapegoat for far-right groups across Western society. In Britain, this was partly because prejudices against Jews and African-Caribbean people —both communities
26703-587: The evening of 31 July, a group of approximately 40 demonstrators gathered outside a Holiday Inn in Manchester , which was purportedly housing asylum seekers . Chants were heard of the group exclaiming "we want our country back", a phrase associated with far-right groups in the UK. Two people were arrested. Demonstrations also broke out in the County Durham town of Hartlepool on the same evening. Objects including eggs and glass bottles were thrown at
26910-464: The event were also critically injured. When the prime minister of the United Kingdom , Keir Starmer , laid flowers in Southport the following day, he was met with "hostile shouts" from some of the public, with one asking, "How many more, Starmer? When are you going to do something?" Following the stabbing, there was incorrect speculation online about the name of the suspected attacker. Misinformation and disinformation , including false claims about
27117-421: The far right can be viewed as a combination of four broadly defined concepts, namely exclusivism (e.g. racism , xenophobia , ethnocentrism , ethnopluralism , chauvinism , including welfare chauvinism ), anti-democratic and non-individualist traits (e.g. cult of personality , hierarchism , monism , populism , anti-particracy , an organicist view of the state), a traditionalist value system lamenting
27324-485: The far right's support. The 1933 publication The Mass Psychology of Fascism by Wilhelm Reich argued the theory that fascists came to power in Germany as a result of sexual repression . For some far-right parties in Western Europe, the issue of immigration has become the dominant issue among them, so much so that some scholars refer to these parties as "anti-immigrant" parties. The French Revolution in 1789 created
27531-409: The far right, as they have historically favored a social Darwinistic or elitist hierarchy based on the belief in the legitimacy of the rule of a supposed superior minority over the inferior masses. Regarding the socio-cultural dimension of nationality, culture and migration, one far-right position is the view that certain ethnic, racial or religious groups should stay separate, based on the belief that
27738-483: The far right. The latter began to develop a "nationalist mysticism" entirely different from that on the left, and antisemitism turned into a credo of the far right, marking a break from the traditional economic "anti-Judaism" defended by parts of the far left, in favour of a racial and pseudo-scientific notion of alterity . Various nationalist leagues began to form across Europe like the Pan-German League or
27945-454: The far-right National Front , prior to dissemination on social media platforms. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue stated that the now-deleted "Southport Wake Up" group with 14,000 members on Telegram became integral in organising and promoting the subsequent riots, and inciting hatred and violence. Disinformation was also spread on social media by the neo-Nazi group British Movement , and accelerationist Telegram channels with links to
28152-487: The far-right appeals to those who believe in maintaining strict cultural and ethnic divisions and a return to traditional social hierarchies and values. In practice, far-right movements differ widely by region and historical context. In Western Europe, they have often focused on anti-immigration and anti-globalism , while in Eastern Europe, strong anti-communist rhetoric is more common. The United States has seen
28359-526: The far-right nebula into moderate and radical leanings, according to their degree of exclusionism and essentialism . The Encyclopedia of Politics: The Left and the Right states that far-right politics include "persons or groups who hold extreme nationalist, xenophobic, homophobic, racist, religious fundamentalist, or other reactionary views." While the term far right is typically applied to fascists and neo-Nazis , it has also been used to refer to those to
28566-466: The far-right previously used as social scapegoats—were increasingly socially unacceptable. In the latter half of the 20th century, most British Muslims were of South Asian heritage. When they faced racist abuse, such as "Paki-bashing" , it was usually because of their racial background, rather than their religious belief. By the 21st century, British Muslims were increasingly targeted because they were Muslim, including by members of other ethnic minorities in
28773-495: The far-right still identified themselves as supporters of the EDL, and that its ideology still remained prominent in the now more decentralised British far right. Following far-right violence at London's Cenotaph on Armistice Day 2023, an event at which Robinson was present, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned those involved as "EDL thugs". Following the murder of three children in Southport in July 2024, far-right rioting broke out locally before spreading to other parts of
28980-558: The far-right worldview is the notion of societal purity, often invoking ideas of a homogeneous "national" or "ethnic" community. This view generally promotes organicism , which perceives society as a unified, natural entity under threat from diversity or modern pluralism . Far-right movements frequently target perceived threats to their idealized community, whether ethnic, religious, or cultural, leading to anti-immigrant sentiments , welfare chauvinism , and, in extreme cases, political violence or oppression. According to political theorists,
29187-756: The grassroots having been given a voice in his selection through an online vote. Although the EDL had declined, the sentiments feeding it—especially anger at immigration and Islam—remained widespread across Britain's white working-class communities. Other far-right groups emerged to claim the space in British society that it left vacant, often utilising the EDL's tactics. Britain First sought to court disenchanted EDL members, adopting similar street protests: it organised "Christian patrols" through areas with Islamic communities, as well as "mosque invasions" in which members entered mosques to disrupt proceedings. In December 2015, Robinson and Anne Marie Waters launched another anti-Islam street movement, Pegida UK , hoping to imitate
29394-454: The group's rhetoric and membership found that many failed to understand the distinction between different variants of Islam. Various scholars describe the EDL as Islamophobic, a characterisation the EDL rejected. It did so by defining "Islamophobia" as a phobia or affected prejudice, a definition different from the majority of academics and activists employing the term, stating that "the English Defence League do not 'fear' Islam, we do not have
29601-407: The high cost of policing them, the disruptive influence on community harmony, and the damage caused to counter-terrorism operations. Following the decline of the EDL, the British far right became more decentralised, organising via the internet without formal organizations or leaders. Some self-identified EDL supporters subsequently became involved in events like the 2024 United Kingdom riots . In
29808-518: The highest among any religious group in the country, according to government data. According to Hope not Hate, although the stabbing in Southport was the catalyst, "most of these protests and riots are more broadly focused, expressive of a wider hostility to multiculturalism, anti-Muslim and anti-migrant prejudice, as well as a visceral streak of populist anti-Government sentiment". During the protests, widespread disinformation blaming immigrants and Muslims for crime were shared online. Andrew Chadwick ,
30015-603: The idea of metapolitics . The apocalyptic strain of thought begins in Oswald Spengler 's The Decline of the West and is shared by Julius Evola and Alain de Benoist . It continues in The Death of the West by Pat Buchanan as well as in fears over Islamization of Europe . Ernst Jünger was concerned about rootless cosmopolitan elites while de Benoist and Buchanan oppose the managerial state and Curtis Yarvin
30222-476: The idea that "the working men [had] no country." The main reason for that ideological confusion can be found in the consequences of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, which according to Swiss historian Philippe Burrin had completely redesigned the political landscape in Europe by diffusing the idea of an anti-individualistic concept of "national unity" rising above the right and left division. As
30429-493: The idea that Muslims can truly be English, the EDL presented Islam as an intolerant, primitive threat seeking to take over Europe . Some political scientists and other commentators characterised this Islamophobic stance as culturally racist . Both online and at its events, EDL members incited violence against Muslims, with supporters carrying out violent acts both at demonstrations and independently. The EDL's broader ideology featured nationalism , nativism , and populism , blaming
30636-692: The idea that superior persons should dominate society while undesirable elements should be purged, which in extreme cases has resulted in genocides . Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in London, distinguishes between fascism and right-wing nationalist parties which are often described as far right such as the National Front in France. Mudde notes that the most successful European far-right parties in 2019 were "former mainstream right-wing parties that have turned into populist radical right ones." According to historian Mark Sedgwick , "[t]here
30843-532: The interests of one's own group should be prioritized. In western Europe, far right parties have been associated with anti-immigrant policies, as well as opposition to globalism and European integration . They often make nationalist and xenophobic appeals which make allusions to ethnic nationalism rather than civic nationalism (or liberal nationalism). Some have at their core illiberal policies such as removing checks on executive authority , and protections for minorities from majority ( multipluralism ). In
31050-595: The judiciary; infringement of citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on freedoms of press , assembly , and movement; official corruption; discrimination and violence against women; child abuse, including female genital mutilation (FGM), and sexual exploitation of children; regional and ethnic discrimination; trafficking in persons, especially women and children; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities; official and societal discrimination against homosexual persons; societal discrimination against persons with HIV ; and forced labor, including by children." During
31257-485: The killings; however, after Breivik was convicted, some EDL members praised his actions. In July 2011, Interpol requested Maltese police investigate Ray due to his links with Breivik; he too condemned the killings, calling them "pure evil". In December 2011, two EDL supporters—one a serving soldier in the British military—were convicted of plotting to bomb a mosque in Stoke-on-Trent . The EDL developed links with
31464-516: The latter as intolerant and backward. EDL rhetoric explicitly distinguished Muslims from the English national group: for the EDL, a Muslim could not be truly English, and the idea of an English Muslim or a British Muslim identity was not considered acceptable. The EDL feared that Muslims want to dominate Britain by imposing sharia law , and interpreted the building of mosques as evidence of this desire for domination. It claimed that this Islamic takeover
31671-505: The media. According to the political scientist Joel Busher, Robinson was "a high-energy, fast-talking, all action character whose combination of swagger, self-deprecation and derring-do helped make him a popular figurehead within the movement." Ray was critical of his successor, and—from his new base in Malta—posted videos to YouTube in which he threatened to retake control of the EDL. These threats came to nothing. Robinson's right-hand man
31878-430: The misinformation, contributing to tensions. A man was arrested by the police, who described him as white and local to the area. The release of these details was unusual and done to curb misinformation. Nick Lowles, the head of anti-racism charity Hope not Hate also apologised after falsely claiming a separate far-right acid attack on a Muslim woman. For the Southport riot, far-right activists had been promoting
32085-466: The modern ambiguities in the definition of far-right politics lie in the fact that the concept is generally used by political adversaries to "disqualify and stigmatize all forms of partisan nationalism by reducing them to the historical experiments of Italian Fascism [and] German National Socialism ." Mudde agrees and notes that "the term is not only used for scientific purposes but also for political purposes. Several authors define right-wing extremism as
32292-433: The more aggressive views expressed in private. Rather than labelling the EDL "far-right", the ethnographer Hilary Pilkington suggested that the group was better classified under Cas Mudde 's concept of the "populist radical right". Other scholarly commentators also considered the group to be populist because of its claim to represent "ordinary people" against the liberal elites who it alleged controlled Britain. The EDL
32499-612: The most common term is " radical right ", which has a broader meaning than the European radical right . Mudde defines the American radical right as an "old school of nativism, populism, and hostility to central government [which] was said to have developed into the post-World War II combination of ultranationalism and anti-communism, Christian fundamentalism, militaristic orientation, and anti-alien sentiment." Jodi Dean argues that "the rise of far-right anti-communism in many parts of
32706-605: The motivating force behind the protests. Extremism experts attributed the large far-right rally in London, led by Robinson a week prior to the protests as having boosted supporters, with Robinson playing a significant role in inciting outrage. The Financial Times described the evolution of the movement from "more formally organised white-supremacist groups into personality-driven splinter groups", while capitalising on social media for outreach and organising. Police officials have described organisers as being in distinct far-right groups, organising online under banners such as "enough
32913-620: The nearby annual punk festival Rebellion formed an anti-fascist counter-protest leading to a stand-off in which chairs, bottles and planks of wood were thrown. Police reported there had also been "minor disruption" in Blackburn and Preston . Police in Bristol made multiple arrests and closed roads after protesters gathered in Castle Park , where they clashed with counter-protesters who outnumbered them. Anti-racist protesters left Castle Park and linked arms with others in front of
33120-487: The neo-Nazi organisation British Movement and the far-right political party National Front . Rioters clashed with local Muslims and counter-protesters , who were mobilised by Stand Up to Racism and other anti-fascist and anti-racist groups. On 29 July 2024 a knife attack took place at a Taylor Swift -themed children's yoga and dance workshop. Three children were killed and eight other children were injured, with five of them in critical condition. Two adults at
33327-701: The party described it as the "party of organized violence". The new government promptly reversed the democratic reforms initiated during the Guatemalan Revolution and the agrarian reform program ( Decree 900 ) that was the main project of president Jacobo Arbenz Guzman and which directly impacted the interests of both the United Fruit Company and the Guatemalan landowners. 2024 United Kingdom riots Far-right anti-immigration protesters: Supported by: Government of
33534-621: The party was disbanded. Since 2022, he is a member of the Liberal Party . Bolsonaro has been widely described by numerous media organizations as far right. In Guatemala, the far-right government of Carlos Castillo Armas utilized death squads after coming to power in the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état . Along with other far-right extremists, Castillo Armas started the National Liberation Movement ( Movimiento de Liberación Nacional , or MLN). The founders of
33741-456: The perpetrator of the attack was a Muslim and an asylum seeker , in addition to broader Islamophobic , racist, and anti-immigrant sentiments that had grown leading up to the protests. The disorder included racist attacks , arson , and looting and was the largest incident of social unrest in England since 2011 . By 8 August at least 200 people had been sentenced with 177 imprisoned, to an average sentence of around two years and up to
33948-637: The perpetrator's ethnicity or religion as irrelevant. EDL members also expressed anger at perceived Muslim involvement in drug dealing and other crimes affecting their communities, and at the perceived wealth of British Muslims, which they contrasted with their own strained economic situation. The sociologists Simon Winlow, Steve Hall and James Treadwell noted that all the EDL members they encountered expressed hatred of Muslims. Many placed this hatred in relation to local issues and personal experiences; for instance, EDL members regarded being poorly treated by an Asian shopkeeper as evidence that Muslims intrinsically hate
34155-532: The police and media. The Independent described the riots as being "sparked by Islamophobic and racist sentiments", with examples of mosques being targeted and several violent racist attacks on ethnic minorities by the far-right in Liverpool, Hull and Bristol. Politico described the cause of the violence as "Islamophobic resentment that had long brewed across the United Kingdom" as having surfaced, citing hate crimes associated with British Muslims as being
34362-475: The police in response to the latter's riot shields. Several police officers were injured and a police car was set alight. Eight people were arrested. There was also a protest outside a hotel being used by the government to house asylum seekers in Aldershot . Hampshire's police and crime commissioner Donna Jones described "mob-type" behaviour, and Hampshire Constabulary reported a crowd of 200 people, with
34569-652: The possibility of further demonstrations by far-right groups in several cities across the country. Concerns of further violence were echoed by Merseyside Police. In London, the Metropolitan Police established public order conditions for a protest dubbed "Enough is Enough", the slogan of Patriotic Alternative, where far-right demonstrators clashed with police near Downing Street on 31 July. The Metropolitan Police said that 111 people were arrested for offences including assaults on officers, possession of knives and offensive weapons and violent disorder. On
34776-414: The profile of particular social groups within the EDL and help to draw recruits from sectors of society that normally avoided membership in a far-right group, such as ethnic minorities and LGBT people. Some local divisions covered whole cities or counties while in other cases there could be more than one division representing a single postcode, in part due to personal disputes. Local groups were organised into
34983-436: The programmes of parties, their organization and the opportunity structures within individual political systems. The most common demand-side theories are the social breakdown thesis , the relative deprivation thesis , the modernization losers thesis and the ethnic competition thesis . The rise of far-right parties has also been viewed as a rejection of post-materialist values on the part of some voters. This theory which
35190-540: The proscribed terror groups Atomwaffen Division and National Action were used to co-ordinate and organise the riots. Merseyside Police attempted to quell speculation by confirming that the name being circulated was not connected to the case and was not the suspect. The police initially released the information that the suspect was a male, aged seventeen, from Banks in Lancashire , though born in Cardiff . It
35397-414: The protests continued into the night, bottles, bricks and fireworks were thrown and arrests were made. Three police officers were carried away from the scene after being injured, with a police van being damaged. Shortly before 10 p.m., Devon and Cornwall Police reported that 150 officers were deployed in the city centre. A TK Maxx 's shopfront was smashed and brick paving was torn up in the city centre. In
35604-491: The protests. Twenty-five people were arrested in Hull , where rioters attacked police with bricks and fireworks, set vehicles alight and looted several shops, including a Shoe Zone which was set on fire, in unrest which left 11 police officers injured. A video circulated online of a mob of rioters surrounding and attacking an Asian man in his car saying the word "kill" while shouting racial slurs. A hotel housing asylum seekers
35811-569: The right of mainstream right-wing politics . According to political scientist Lubomír Kopeček, "[t]he best working definition of the contemporary far right may be the four-element combination of nationalism, xenophobia, law and order, and welfare chauvinism proposed for the Western European environment by Cas Mudde." Relying on those concepts, far-right politics includes yet is not limited to aspects of authoritarianism , anti-communism and nativism . Claims that superior people should have greater rights than inferior people are often associated with
36018-597: The sake of their expediency." In Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right , Cynthia Miller-Idriss examines the far-right as a global movement and representing a cluster of overlapping " antidemocratic , antiegalitarian, white supremacist " beliefs that are "embedded in solutions like authoritarianism , ethnic cleansing or ethnic migration, and the establishment of separate ethno-states or enclaves along racial and ethnic lines". According to Jean-Yves Camus and Nicolas Lebourg ,
36225-440: The streets and on-line ... Our movement is purely set up to pressure whatever government we have in power to deal with this menace and undo all the damage caused by apathy and appeasement. — Statement on the EDL website Following the BNP's decline as a serious electoral force, the EDL's profile rose dramatically. The group portrayed itself as a necessary response to public frustration at government inaction in dealing with what
36432-466: The successes of the German Pegida movement. Pegida UK had more self-governance mechanisms than the EDL and pursued silent, non-confrontational protests, although failed to attract sizeable numbers and held its last public event in 2016. By 2023 and 2024, news publications and anti-extremist group Hope not Hate considered the EDL defunct as an organisation, though they said that some members of
36639-455: The suspect's identity, nationality, religion and immigration status, were circulated on social media by high-profile far-right accounts, including by Tommy Robinson , a far-right activist who founded the now-disbanded anti-Islam English Defence League (EDL) in 2009. The false claim that the perpetrator was named "Ali Al-Shakati" is believed to have originated from the X (formerly Twitter) account of an anti- lockdown campaigner and gained
36846-426: The taking of minutes. As well as these divisional meetings, EDL divisions also held "meet and greet" events to attract new membership. Some divisions were based on locality and others on special interests. The latter included a women's division, Jewish division, Sikh division, Hindu division, LGBT division, disabled division, green division, a soldiers' division, and a youth division. These groups were designed to raise
37053-459: The terms "right-wing extremism", " right-wing populism ", "national populism", or "neo-populism" were often used as synonyms by scholars (or, nonetheless, terms with "striking similarities"), except notably among a few authors studying the extremist-theoretical tradition. Italian philosopher and political scientist Norberto Bobbio argues that attitudes towards equality are primarily what distinguish left-wing politics from right-wing politics on
37260-483: The unrest spread to other towns and cities in England and to Belfast in Northern Ireland. On 31 July, over 100 protesters were arrested in London and demonstrations occurred in Manchester , Hartlepool , and Aldershot . On 2 August, rioting took place in Sunderland , where a Citizens Advice bureau was set on fire and police officers were injured and several people were arrested. The most severe rioting took place over
37467-536: The weekend of 3–4 August, when anti-immigration protesters clashed with police and counter-protesters, attacked homes and businesses owned by immigrants, and attacked hotels housing asylum seekers. From 6 August the unrest began to abate; counter-protests consistently and considerably outnumbered far-right protesters, and were followed by large anti-racist rallies across the country on 7 August. The riots had limited formal organisation; instead, rioters assembled around individual far-right social media personalities with
37674-465: The white supremacist website Stormfront , Holocaust denial was expressed on the EDL's social media platforms, and at EDL events various individuals gave the Nazi straight-arm salute. This neo-Nazi presence drove some other EDL members away. In 2011, the head of the EDL's Jewish Division, Roberta Moore, left the organisation because of it; Robinson also cited the difficulty in dealing with these neo-Nazis as
37881-417: The white working class. Others expressed anger at events they had seen in the media, such as Muslims burning remembrance poppies in protest at British military activities abroad. On the EDL's social media, many supporters incited violence against Muslims: examples included "we need to kill", "time to get violent", and "Kill any muslim u see [sic]". Chants during rallies included "Die, Muslim, die", and "Give me
38088-726: The words of Fritz Stern , the deep "cultural despair" of thinkers feeling uprooted within the rationalism and scientism of the modern world. It was characterized by a rejection of the established social order, with revolutionary tendencies and anti-capitalist stances, a populist and plebiscitary dimension, the advocacy of violence as a means of action and a call for individual and collective palingenesis ("regeneration, rebirth"). The key thinkers of contemporary far-right politics are claimed by Mark Sedgwick to share four key elements, namely apocalyptism , fear of global elites , belief in Carl Schmitt 's friend–enemy distinction and
38295-531: The world" should be interpreted "as a politics of fear, which utilizes the disaffection and anger generated by capitalism. [...] Partisans of far right-wing organizations, in turn, use anti-communism to challenge every political current which is not embedded in a clearly exposed nationalist and racist agenda. For them, both the USSR and the European Union, leftist liberals, ecologists, and supranational corporations – all of these may be called 'communist' for
38502-453: Was also attacked, with rioters throwing bricks and smashing windows. Outside England, there were also protests and violence in Belfast , Northern Ireland. Anti-immigration and anti-racism demonstrators faced off outside Belfast City Hall and were kept apart by riot police. A firework was thrown toward the anti-racism demonstration. The anti-immigration protesters then attempted to march to
38709-510: Was announced that Robinson and Carroll would join the BFP's executive council as joint vice chairs, cementing links between the BFP and the EDL. Robinson soon resigned from this position, citing a desire to focus on the EDL, although critics suggested that this may have been to shield the BFP from criminal proceedings he then faced. In 2012, Carroll stood for election in the Police and Crime Commissioner elections . In January 2013, he took charge of
38916-418: Was arrested on suspicion of possessing a bladed article. Police put in place a 24-hour Section 60 Order giving officers further stop-and-search authority, and a Section 34 Order, allowing police to direct people who are engaging in certain activities away from the area. Merseyside Police deployed additional officers after the riot, and ambulance resources remained. The following day Hope Not Hate warned of
39123-481: Was attended by several notable American white supremacists including Jared Taylor and Brandon Russell . Morocco saw a spread of ultranationalism , antifeminism , and opposition to immigration themes in digital spaces. A number of far-right extremist and paramilitary groups carried out the Rwandan genocide under the racial supremacist ideology of Hutu Power , developed by journalist and Hutu supremacist Hassan Ngeze . On 5 July 1975, exactly two years after
39330-504: Was based on the belief that hierarchy and rootedness are more important than equality and liberty, with the latter two being dehumanizing. In the French public debate following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, far right was used to describe the strongest opponents of the far left , those who supported the events occurring in Russia. A number of thinkers on the far right nonetheless claimed an influence from an anti-Marxist and anti-egalitarian interpretation of socialism , based on
39537-470: Was being facilitated by higher birth rates among Muslims than non-Muslims, and presented Muslim participation in political life as entryism , an attempt to expand Islamic influence in Britain. EDL discourse expressed a belief in "Islamic supremacism", the notion that Muslims feel themselves superior to non-Muslims, and accordingly thought that Muslims regarded non-Muslims as legitimate targets for abuse and exploitation. A topic of particular anger among members
39744-515: Was caught and returned to Britain; in January 2013 he was convicted of breaching the Identity Documents Act 2010 and imprisoned for ten months. Robinson's imprisonment coincided with Carroll's bail conditions, which barred him from contacting fellow EDL members; this left the organisation without its co-leaders for part of 2012. The revelation of links to Norwegian far-right activist Anders Behring Breivik , perpetrator of bombing and shooting attacks that killed 77 people in July 2011 , further damaged
39951-453: Was distinct from the " white pride " of fascists, and Meadowcoft and Morrow observed that it was not biologically racist. Its members' understandings of "Englishness" were nevertheless ambiguous and ill-defined; the only thing they agreed upon about the English way of life was that Muslims fundamentally reject it. The EDL presented English identity as something under threat, views reflected in chants like "we want our country back". Its nationalism
40158-414: Was foregrounded in its nomenclature and symbolism, which regularly included the cross of St George. Such imagery evoked the symbolism of the medieval Crusades ; the group's Latin motto, " in hoc signo vinces ", was that of the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine . Robinson described the EDL as a 'multicultural organization made up of every community in this country'. If true, this would clearly make
40365-403: Was fully established before the outbreak of World War II . Following World War II, other far-right organizations attempted to establish themselves, such as the European organizations of Nouvel Ordre Européen , European Social Movement and Circulo Español de Amigos de Europa or the further-reaching World Union of National Socialists and the League for Pan-Nordic Friendship . Beginning in
40572-475: Was held in Birmingham city centre earlier that day. Protests also occurred in Hull and Weymouth , with a counter-protest at the latter. In Lancaster , two businesses had their windows smashed during a face off between far-right and anti-fascist protesters. A protest in Sheffield led to one arrest for a public order offence, as well as a far-right protester being injured after he was attacked. Three people were arrested and two police officers injured during
40779-413: Was his cousin, Kevin Carroll, also a former BNP member with a criminal conviction; Carroll was the first of the pair to attract national attention, appearing on the BBC documentary Young, British and Angry . Another senior member was the multimillionaire IT consultant and fundamentalist Christian Alan Ayling, who used the pseudonym Alan Lake ; allegations have been made, but not substantiated, that Lake
40986-408: Was in August, when the EDL and Casuals United held a joint protest in Birmingham , prompted by Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah's conversion of an eleven-year-old white boy in that city. Ray distanced himself from that event, arguing that the chosen date—8 August—was a deliberate reference to 88, a code for HH ( Heil Hitler ), in neo-Nazi circles. Not long after the group's formation, Ray formed a sub-group,
41193-409: Was interrupted by a small group of these protesters, with one shouting "free Palestine" and "fuck the EDL". A lone man outside at a pub in Yardley was also attacked by a group. The Birmingham Mail reported that video footage of the incident shows it starting with words being exchanged before one member of the group starts assaulting the man. Others then join in the beating while some try to break up
41400-512: Was later reported that the suspect was a British citizen born to Rwandan parents, that he had moved to the Southport area in 2013, and that he had no known links to Islam. The spread of misinformation has widely been given as the cause of the Southport riots. In a separate event, a woman was stabbed in Stirling on 3 August 2024. Tommy Robinson falsely claimed on social media that an "alleged Muslim" had been involved in an incident in which three women had been stabbed. Other accounts spread
41607-479: Was not a neo-Nazi organisation. It distanced itself from neo-Nazism, burning a Nazi flag , flying the Israeli flag during demonstrations, and creating a Jewish division. In 2010, Robinson stated: "We're not Nazis, we're not fascists – we will smash Nazis the same way we will smash militant Islam." Despite this, neo-Nazis attended EDL events, sometimes creating "inner circles" within the movement to recruit members to their cause. Early EDL demonstrations were advertised on
41814-648: Was part of the international counter-jihad movement. The political scientist Hilary Aked defined counter-jihadism as "a section of the far-right distinguished by its hostility to migrants, Muslims and Islam." Another political scientist, Matthew Goodwin , noted that the counter-jihad movement was "united by their belief that Islam and Muslims are posing a fundamental threat to the resources, identities and even survival of Western states", and that counter-jihad groups were "more confrontational, chaotic and unpredictable than traditional anti-immigrant and ethnic nationalist movements in Western democracies". Pilkington characterised
42021-415: Was popular among the membership. There was no system of official membership recognised through membership cards, and no membership fees. The EDL formerly divided into at least 90 different divisions. Branches typically held their meetings in pubs with sympathetic owners, referred to as "HQs". These meetings—which were infrequent and often poorly attended—were typically unstructured, lacking any formal agenda or
42228-574: Was the group's primary financier, providing it with millions of pounds. Lake never become a visible figure in the movement and few members knew his name; it was at Lake's flat in London's Barbican area, however, where Ray, Robinson, and Ann Marchini had discussed the EDL's formation in May 2009. If it were not for the inaction of the government in dealing properly with this form of Islamic fascism, there would be no need for groups such as The English Defence League, Welsh Defence League, Scottish Defence League and Ulster Defence League to counter this threat on
42435-453: Was the role of Muslim men in grooming gangs largely targeting underage white girls. For instance, in drawing attention to the fact that men from Islamic backgrounds were disproportionately represented in the Rochdale and West Midlands child sex grooming scandals, the EDL said these men found justification for their actions in Qur'anic references to non-Muslims being inferior. Conversely, when white sex offenders were exposed, EDL members regarded
42642-444: Was torched and wheelie bins set alight. A police officer was assaulted after being pushed off his motorbike and another hit in the head by a chair as protesters threw bottles, bricks and a flare at officers. 23 people were arrested in relation to the disorder as two police officers were hospitalised with a broken jaw and broken nose respectively. In Stoke-on-Trent , a far-right march clashed with local counter-protest groups outside of
42849-409: Was widened to mean any civilian bands killing Tutsi. Other far-right groups and paramilitaries involved included the anti-democratic segregationist Coalition for the Defence of the Republic (CDR), which called for complete segregation of Hutus from Tutsis. The CDR had a paramilitary wing known as the Impuzamugambi . Together with the Interahamwe militia, the Impuzamugambi played a central role in
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