Anti-Fascism in Britain / Edition 2

by Nigel Copsey

Overview

Anti-fascism has long been one of the most active and dynamic areas of radical protest and direct action. Yet it is an area of struggle and popular resistance that remains largely unexplored by historians, sociologists and political scientists.

Fully revised and updated from its earlier edition, this book continues to provide the definitive account of anti-fascism in Britain from its roots in the 1930s opposition to Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists, to the street demonstrations and online campaigns of the twenty-first century. The author draws on an impressive range of sources including official government, police and security services records, the writings and recollections of activists themselves, and the publications and propaganda of anti-fascist groups and their opponents.

The book traces the ideological, tactical and organisational evolution of anti-fascist groups and explores their often complicated relationships with the mainstream and radical left, as well as assessing their effectiveness in combating the extreme right.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138926509
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/13/2016
Series:	Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Nigel Copsey is Professor of Modern History at Teesside University, UK and co-director of the Centre for Fascist, Anti-Fascist and Post-Fascist Studies. His major publications are Anti-Fascism in Britain (2000) and Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and the Quest for Legitimacy (2004; 2008).

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Origins and Development of Anti-Fascism 1923-35

2. Opposition to British Fascism 1936-45

3. ‘Never Again!’: Anti-Fascism 1946-66

4. ‘The National Front is a Nazi Front!’: Opposition to the National

Front 1967-79

5. Fighting Fascism in the Eighties and Nineties

6. Opposing Fascism in the Twenty-First Century

Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

Nigel Copsey has led the way in opening up the field of British anti-fascism studies, defining the empirical and conceptual parameters for the elucidation of protest and resistance to extremism over the course of the twentieth century. This lucidly written and meticulously researched second edition of his ground breaking study is very welcome and timely. - Dr Julie V. Gottlieb, University of Sheffield, UK

Anti-Fascism in Britain is an important book, widening our understanding of a subject that remains pertinent today. - Matthew Worley, Professor of Modern History, University of Reading, UK

From the Publisher

...offer a fresh dimension to the historiography of British extremism and should be read with enthusiasm by anyone interested in the topic.

American Historical Review

Copsey (history, the University of Teesside, UK) explores the history of British anti-fascism from its beginnings in the 1920s to the present day, presenting a little-studied area of British political history which will be of interest to specialists as well as general readers. He considers major issues such as the range of anti-fascist opposition, its organization, and its tactics and strategies. He also examines the contribution that anti-fascism has made to the political weakness of British fascism. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

[A] valuable and scholarly study of opposition to fascism...there is a great deal to interest and stimulate students of fascism and the Left in this book.
—Times Literary Supplement

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