Book Reviews by William Allchorn
Time and Politics: Parliament and the Culture of Modernity in Britain and the British World by Ry... more Time and Politics: Parliament and the Culture of Modernity in Britain and the British World by Ryan A Vieira. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. 199pp., £60.00 (h/b), ISBN 9780198737544
Papers by William Allchorn
The referendum to either stay or leave the European Union has been widely seen as a victory for t... more The referendum to either stay or leave the European Union has been widely seen as a victory for the UK far right. Historically campaigning on a hard Eurosceptic, anti-liberal stance, many people suggest that the outcome of the Brexit referendum was a high point for this fringe political movement. This paper contests this assertion for two reasons: the first is that the UK far right is (organisationally) at its lowest ebb for two decades. It is therefore unable to emerge victorious from Brexit due to its inability to appeal to ordinary voters. The second is that, post-referendum, we have seen an increasing crackdown on far right groups in the UK. With the proscription of National Action and injunctions taken out against Britain First, we therefore can suggest that this form of extremist politics will slide into deeper irrelevance. Using primary and secondary source evidence, the author will illustrate how the UK far right arrived at this nadir and what it means next for this particular form of extremist politics.
The UK Far Right is currently at an interesting crossroads. Eschewing electoralism, it is more 'p... more The UK Far Right is currently at an interesting crossroads. Eschewing electoralism, it is more 'politically marginalised, fractured, leaderless and increasingly violent' than it has been at any point in the past twenty years (Hopkins 8th February 2016). To discount the UK Far Right, however, is to miss out on some key trends bubbling under the surface of this particular form of extremist politics. This paper will pick out three notable transitions in the UK Far Right over the past five years, using the English Defence League and Britain First as case studies. Notably, this paper will look at the transition of the contemporary UK far right towards the more criminological space of anti-Islamic attacks (both online and offline); toward a more competitive 'marketplace' of competing movements and ideas; and toward the ever-increasing use of direct action politics as a source of political mobilisation. To conclude, this paper will argue that insights drawn from criminology and sociology will increasingly need to be used in order to analyse this ever-changing and ever-moving subcultural phenomena; this opens up great opportunities for inter-disciplinarity and synergies between researchers not just in politics but in the social sciences more generally.
The English Defence League (EDL) has emerged as one of the UK’s most disruptive street-protest mo... more The English Defence League (EDL) has emerged as one of the UK’s most disruptive street-protest movements over the past five years. Protesting against ‘radical Islam’, EDL demonstrations are high-profile events which shut down city centres, command a large police presence, and often attract sizeable counter-demonstrations. Despite this, little sustained attention has been given to the form and features of EDL protest. This poster will address this lacuna. Drawing on newspaper reports and protest event analysis, it provides the first quantitative analysis of key trends in EDL demonstrations and counter-demonstrations. In doing so, it allows us to systematically challenge popular assumptions about EDL protest – namely that they are large-scale, violent marches. It finds EDL demonstrations to be declining in size, largely non-violent, as well as static, protest events. To conclude, it will be argued that the decline in turnout suggests this form of protest is nearing an end. This is an opportunity rather than a threat. As the present pattern of protests end, more sophisticated protest event analysis and in-depth qualitative analysis can be done on this period - allowing social scientists to further test popular assumptions over time.
Unsurprisingly, most academic scholarship on the English Defence League (EDL) focuses on the anti... more Unsurprisingly, most academic scholarship on the English Defence League (EDL) focuses on the anti-Muslim nature of the group’s politics and ideology. This has found that, while there exists a more moderate, public-facing rhetoric that opposes ‘Islamic extremism’, the group’s backstage discourse is a far less nuanced brand of Islamophobia and cultural racism (Allen 2011: Kassimeris and Jackson 2014). A more fundamental area of EDL ideology remains, however: what notion of ‘England’ is the EDL trying to ‘defend’? Using a content analysis of EDL online discourse, this paper examines how the EDL articulates, represents, and uses Englishness and English national identity within EDL discourse and politics. It finds that, while EDL online discourse conforms to a politics of exclusion we come to expect, the notion of England the EDL is defending is far more representative of mainstream conceptions. This suggests that the EDL is not just set on a trite anti-Muslim, anti-establishment set of values or issues. As this paper concludes, however, any attempt to mainstream the EDL’s appeal is limited and tainted by its association with violence and extremism.
After nearly a decade of British National Party electoral ascendance, scant academic
attention h... more After nearly a decade of British National Party electoral ascendance, scant academic
attention has been paid to UK policymakers‟ anti-BNP responses. While some systematic
study has found UK national party leaderships broadly adopting a „cleanhands‟ exclusionary
approach with some moments of policy adoption, little is known about policymaker
counterstrategies where the BNP has emerged: the local, constituency level. This study aims
to redress this imbalance. Using oral history interviews with five UK Members of Parliament
and structured within-case studies of their constituencies, a comparative factor analysis of
the particular counterstrategies used by MPs in these former „strongholds‟, as well as when
and why the BNP emerged in the first place, is established. What will be found is striking.
While short- term opportunism most accurately characterises counter strategy motivation in
the national case, this study finds a more earnest longer-term passion for re-engaging with
disaffected white, working-class constituents at the local level. This study argues, however,
that more needs to be done before the UK can restore its reputation of extreme right
resistance. Only by supplementing existing local engagement with meaningful
intercommunity interaction as well as strengthening civil society and educational controls
nationally, can the UK approach Ami Pedahzur‟s ideal of an „immunised‟ democracy.
Drafts by William Allchorn
Uploads
Book Reviews by William Allchorn
Papers by William Allchorn
attention has been paid to UK policymakers‟ anti-BNP responses. While some systematic
study has found UK national party leaderships broadly adopting a „cleanhands‟ exclusionary
approach with some moments of policy adoption, little is known about policymaker
counterstrategies where the BNP has emerged: the local, constituency level. This study aims
to redress this imbalance. Using oral history interviews with five UK Members of Parliament
and structured within-case studies of their constituencies, a comparative factor analysis of
the particular counterstrategies used by MPs in these former „strongholds‟, as well as when
and why the BNP emerged in the first place, is established. What will be found is striking.
While short- term opportunism most accurately characterises counter strategy motivation in
the national case, this study finds a more earnest longer-term passion for re-engaging with
disaffected white, working-class constituents at the local level. This study argues, however,
that more needs to be done before the UK can restore its reputation of extreme right
resistance. Only by supplementing existing local engagement with meaningful
intercommunity interaction as well as strengthening civil society and educational controls
nationally, can the UK approach Ami Pedahzur‟s ideal of an „immunised‟ democracy.
Drafts by William Allchorn
attention has been paid to UK policymakers‟ anti-BNP responses. While some systematic
study has found UK national party leaderships broadly adopting a „cleanhands‟ exclusionary
approach with some moments of policy adoption, little is known about policymaker
counterstrategies where the BNP has emerged: the local, constituency level. This study aims
to redress this imbalance. Using oral history interviews with five UK Members of Parliament
and structured within-case studies of their constituencies, a comparative factor analysis of
the particular counterstrategies used by MPs in these former „strongholds‟, as well as when
and why the BNP emerged in the first place, is established. What will be found is striking.
While short- term opportunism most accurately characterises counter strategy motivation in
the national case, this study finds a more earnest longer-term passion for re-engaging with
disaffected white, working-class constituents at the local level. This study argues, however,
that more needs to be done before the UK can restore its reputation of extreme right
resistance. Only by supplementing existing local engagement with meaningful
intercommunity interaction as well as strengthening civil society and educational controls
nationally, can the UK approach Ami Pedahzur‟s ideal of an „immunised‟ democracy.