British Fascism: A Discourse-Historical Analysis

by John E. Richardson, Anton Shekhovtsov (Editor)

Overview

Fascism is inherently duplicitous, claiming one thing whilst being committed to something else. In examining this dishonesty, it is essential to distinguish between the surface arguments in fascist discourse and the underlying ideological commitments. Analyzing contemporary fascism is particularly difficult, since no fascist party admits to being fascist. Drawing on the critical insights of historical and linguistic research, this book offers an original and discerning approach to the critical analysis of fascism. It demonstrates that any understanding of the continuing popularity of fascist political ideology requires interdisciplinary analysis which exposes the multiple layers of meanings within fascist texts and the ways they relate to social and historic context. It is only through contextualization we can demonstrate that when fascists echo concepts and arguments from mainstream political discourse (e.g. ‘British jobs for British workers’) they are not being used in the same way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783838264912
Publisher:	ibidem
Publication date:	06/01/2017
Series:	Explorations of the Far Right , #5
Sold by:	Libreka GmbH
Format:	eBook
Pages:	308
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

John E. Richardson, PhD, is a Reader in Critical Discourse Studies in the Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University, and Editor of the international journal Critical Discourse Studies. His research interests include structured social inequalities, British fascism, critical discourse studies, and argumentation. His recent books include Cultures of Post-War British Fascism (co-edited with Nigel Copsey, Routledge 2015) and Analysing Fascist Discourse (co-edited with Ruth Wodak, Routledge 2013).

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures 9

Acknowledgements 11

Preface 13

Chapter 1 Introduction: Fascism & Fascism Studies 21

Academic discussion of fascism 26

Griffin's mythic core: fascism as palingenetic ultra-nationalism 29

Analysing Fascism: an approach from Critical Discourse Analysis 41

Chapter 2 Discourse-Historical Analysis 61

Introduction 61

Discourse-Historic Analysis-text in historic context 61

Text-discursive strategies 76

Conclusion 95

Chapter 3 British Fascism: A Synoptic History of People and Parties 97

Introduction 97

The emergence of British fascism 98

British Union of Fascists 102

Post war 112

Consolidation and fragmentation: the National Front, 1967 129

Contemporary British fascism 133

Chapter 4 'Britain' and 'British': the protection of race and nation 141

Who is/isn't British: the surface and depths of British fascist nationalism 142

A Green and Pleasant Land 163

Women and the eugenic National project 173

Conclusion 189

Chapter 5 A 'real alternative'? Fascism and 'Third Way' economics 191

Fascist political economies 192

Fascists on 'communism' 197

Fascists on 'capitalism' 209

The solution: national capitalism 222

Conclusion 235

Chapter 6 Fascism and its Threat to Civil Society 237

Illiberalism and inequality 240

Mass media, fascism and democracy 251

Fascism and violence 261

Conclusion 274

Conclusion 275

Analysis 275

Understanding 277

Oppose 280

References 285

Primary sources 285

Secondary sources 289

Index: Fascist authors and activists 303

Index 305

Editorial Reviews

In this bold and provocative book, John Richardson shows that fascist discourse often means more than it explicitly says. More important, he reminds us that the study of fascism is not solely of historical importance; his unmasking of the continuities in fascist ideology contains important lessons for making sense of today's volatile political scene.

Dan Stone

Studying the most complex phenomenon of fascism, as a grand narrative, an ideology, and a set of material and discursive practices is a most timely endeavor and a big challenge. John Richardson has truly excelled in this difficult task. He deconstructs the history of British fascism, its manifold manifestations and its continuation to this day in extraordinary detail. This is a must-read for anybody who would like to understand the rise of the new radical right in the 21st century.

Ruth Wodak

John Richardson is an innovator. He has taken British fascism, applied discourse-historical analysis to it and the results are compelling. When it comes to British fascism, this important book will be of lasting significance. It is on my list of must-read books from now on.

Nigel Copsey