Saturday, November 05, 2011

Neo-nazis on the web



Review

By Andy Brooks

Far-Right.com: Nationalist extremism on the internet:  Searchlight Magazine & the Radicalism and New Media Research Group, 76pp, pbk, London 2011, £8.50.


This short book is the result of recent joint work between Searchlight, the veteran anti-fascist magazine, and the Radicalism and New Media Research Group at Northampton University, headed by Dr Matthew Feldman. It began with a seminar on exploitation of the internet by neo-Nazi and racist movements that took place at Northampton University last year.
A number of leading academics took part in the discussion on Fascist Radicalism and the New Media organised by Dr Feldman’s group. This was followed up with the Think Global, Hate Local: England’s Far Right conference in April this year and the launch of a new project to look in detail at contemporary far-right extremism.
This book reflects recent research and is the first of a planned series called Mapping the Far Right. Edited by Paul Jackson of the Radicalism and New Media Research Group and Searchlight publisher Gerry Gable, it provides a detailed examination of the way the world-wide web is being exploited by fascists and racists in Britain and throughout the world.
 Topics range from the British National Party and the English Defence League to the Aryan Strike Force, British People’s Party, Racial Volunteer Force and the Blood & Honour music scene.
Critical analysis by leading academic and Searchlight experts reveals how online cultures developed by such far-right movements have revolutionised extremist activity in recent years.
This volume is a collection of well-researched academic papers that provides analysis for campaigners searching for the latest thinking on far-right activity. It is not a campaigning pamphlet for sale on the street and that is reflected in the £8.50 price. But it is vital reading for all students and researchers of modern British fascism.
 It can be ordered from most booksellers or post-free from: Searchlight, PO Box 1576, Ilford, IG5 OHE.

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