Young women bound for Islamic State, or "Free Speech" protests for Tommy Robinson--radicalization spans ideologies. Though an often-used term, the process of radicalization is not well understood, and the role of gender within it is often ignored. This book reveals the centrality of gender to radicalization, using primary research among two of Britain's key extremist movements: the banned Islamist group al-Muhajiroun, and those networked to it; and the anti-Islam radical right, including the English Defence League and Britain First. Through interviews with leaders including Anjem Choudary, Jayda Fransen and Tommy Robinson, as well as their followers, Elizabeth Pearson explores the making of extreme men and women, showing both parallels and distinctions between the two movements. She argues that perceived gendered differences and boundaries are central to radicalization pathways, but rooted in local cultures and place; and challenges notions of radicalization as transformative, highlighting instead continuities between activist and non-activist practices of masculinity. She examines how extreme groups construct, collectivize, mobilize and legitimize--but also resist--ideas of masculinity and gender. Understanding the men and women involved in extreme movements will better equip us to counter them. This fascinating study offers invaluable insight into some of their lives and motivations.

This book provides a comprehensive history of the ideas and ideologues associated with the racial fascist tradition in Britain. It charts the evolution of the British extreme right from its post-war genesis after 1918 to its present-day incarnations, and details the ideological and strategic evolution of British fascism through the prism of its principal leaders and the movements with which they were associated. Taking a collective biographical approach, the book focuses on the political careers of six principal ideologues and leaders, Arnold Leese (1878–1956); Sir Oswald Mosley (1896–1980); A.K. Chesterton (1899–1973); Colin Jordan (1923–2009); John Tyndall (1934–2005); and Nick Griffin (1959–), in order to study the evolution of the racial ideology of British fascism, from overtly biological conceptions of ‘white supremacy’ through ‘racial nationalism’ and latterly to ‘cultural’ arguments regarding ‘ethno-nationalism’. Drawing on extensive archival research and often obscure primary texts and propaganda as well as the official records of the British government and its security services, this is the definitive historical account of Britain’s extreme right and will be essential reading for all students and scholars of race relations, extremism and fascism.

Drawing on a mixed research methodology with a strong qualitative character, this book traces the political impact of the British National Party in the UK, the Front National in France and the Lega Nord in Italy by exploring their contagion effects on immigration politics and policy in particular over the patterns of inter-party competition, public behaviour and policy developments. This book suggests that extreme right party impact on immigration politics and policy is an outcome of the extreme right parties’ electoral threats to established parties alongside the agency of mainstream political elites. It also highlights the decline in the intensity of extreme right parties’ contagion effects on public attitudes to immigration throughout the late 2000s or the potential overstatement of this political process in the past. Featuring detailed case studies of the UK, France and Italy as three mature multi-party democracies where the extreme right was on the rise during the past decade, this work will be of great interest to students and scholars of populism, extremism, European politics and comparative and party politics.

Against the centre ground Since 1989, politics has been a contest to see who can best serve the needs of the market. In this urgent and wideranging case for the prosecution, Tariq Ali looks at the people and events that have informed this development across the world. It is an investigation that reaches its logical conclusion with the presidency of Donald Trump, the success of En Marche! in France, and the dominance of Merkel’s Germany throughout Europe. In this fully updated edition of The Extreme Centre, Ali considers recent events that suggest, despite everything, that there is room for hope. He finds promise in Latin America and at the edges of Europe. Emerging parties in Scotland, Greece, and Spain, formed out of the 2008 crisis, are offering new promise for democracy. Even in the UK, with the rise of Jeremy Corbyn, there are indications that the hegemony of the centre may be weaker than imagined.

Since the 1990s, there has been a growing concern about the resurgence of extremist and radical movements in the Western world. Although a variety of challenges to the liberal democratic order have emerged, the main focus of concern among academics, policy-makers and practitioners within Europe and beyond has been on the growth and activities of Islamists and to a lesser extent the extreme right. However, these forms of extremism are seldom placed alongside each other, and in a manner that is sensitive to both the causes and consequences of extremist mobilization. This book presents new empirical research on the causes of these two ‘new’ extremisms in 21st Century Britain and the appropriate responses to it by both the state and civil society. Both forms of extremism pose vital questions for those concerned with the development of a more cohesive and stable society. Unlike many studies, this volume adopts a holistic approach, bringing together experts from a variety of disciplines to examine the factors that cause support and the potential policy responses, including key questions such as: What is the current level of support for Islamism and right-wing extremism? Who votes for extreme right parties such as the BNP in modern Britain and, despite its recent gains, why has the extreme right achieved only limited success? What are the steps of recruitment into radical violent takfiri jihadism? How effective are current responses to Islamism and the extreme right, such as those offered by Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE), wider public policy and policing? What is the potential role of political actors, media and civil society in responding to the extremist challenge? Challenging broad assumptions and bringing together leading scholars in this rapidly developing field, this work is essential reading for all those with an interest in terrorism, fascism, political extremism, social cohesion and the future of race relations.

Miserable sinners -- Necessary evils -- Misers, sex, and the family -- The butt of all jokes -- Characters -- Saving graces -- Succeeding misers.

This book presents original research on gender and the power dynamics of diverse forms of violent extremism, and efforts to counter them. Based on focus group and interview research with some 250 participants in Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and UK in 2015 and 2016, it offers insights from communities affected by radicalisation and violent extremism. It introduces the concept of gendered radicalisation, exploring how the multiple factors of paths to violent extremist groups – social, local, individual and global – can differ for both men and women, and why. The book also offers a critical analysis of gender and terrorism; a summary of current policy in the five countries of study and some of the core gendered assumptions prevalent in interventions to prevent violent extremism; a comparison of Jihadi extremism and the far right; and a chapter of recommendations. This book is of use to academics, policy-makers, students and the general reader interested in better understanding a phenomenon defining our times.

"This book comes at a time that could hardly be more important. Miller-Idriss opens up a completely new approach to understanding the processes of violent radicalization through subcultural products...(and) will surely become a standard work in the study of right-wing extremism."--Daniel Koehler, founder and director of the German Institute on Radicalization and De-Radicalization Studies.dies.

During the long twentieth century, explorers went in unprecedented numbers to the hottest, coldest, and highest points on the globe. Taking us from the Himalaya to Antarctica and beyond, Higher and Colder presents the first history of extreme physiology, the study of the human body at its physical limits. Each chapter explores a seminal question in the history of science, while also showing how the apparently exotic locations and experiments contributed to broader political and social shifts in twentieth-century scientific thinking. Unlike most books on modern biomedicine, Higher and Colder focuses on fieldwork, expeditions, and exploration, and in doing so provides a welcome alternative to laboratory-dominated accounts of the history of modern life sciences. Though centered on male-dominated practices—science and exploration—it recovers the stories of women’s contributions that were sometimes accidentally, and sometimes deliberately, erased. Engaging and provocative, this book is a history of the scientists and physiologists who face challenges that are physically demanding, frequently dangerous, and sometimes fatal, in the interest of advancing modern science and pushing the boundaries of human ability.

Andy Torbet has been to some of the world’s most dangerous places in his previous career as a soldier and now as an explorer, adventurer and TV presenter on programmes such as The One Show and Coast. But, he insists, you don’t need to go to the farthest flung corners of the globe to find real challenge and push yourself to the very edge of your capabilities. There is genuine exploration on your doorstep. In Britain, between towering cliffs and stormy seas – and deep underground too – you can experience some of the most exciting physical and mental trials a human being can face. Whether it’s scuba diving to the bottom of a pitch-dark flooded slate mine in Wales, climbing the crumbling chalk face of the iconic white cliffs of the Needles or pot-holing through the claustrophobic dank of one of Scotland’s deepest caves, Andy Torbet takes on the most extreme adventures nature can provide – and comes out on top. Extreme Adventures is a book of high-octane extreme quests for adventurers everywhere.