‘Fascism Beyond Nations’: The (British?) Extreme Right and Transnational Imagined Communities, Dr Paul Jackson Past and Present Senior Lecturer in History University of Northampton

Email: [email protected] Twitter: @pnjackson101 Historians of fascism working on transnationalism - Roger Griffin, ‘International fascism’ in the interwar period

- Andrea Mammone, Italy and France

- Matteo Albanese and Pablo del Hierro, Spain and Italy

- Anton Shekhovtsov, Russia and Europe

- Martin Durham and Margaret Power: the extreme right have sought to construct their ‘imagined communities’ by evoking a sense of transnationalism, in ways that cut across national boundaries. Oswald Mosley

“The extension of Patriotism; that is the necessity and that is the hope. The New Patriotism will extend to embrace all of like kind, but will not destroy the values of its kind by seeking the unnatural mingling of the old Internationalism which is proved to fail. The Universalism of like kind, within a new union of the spiritual and the material, will protect its members and its values.” Oswald Mosley Colin Jordan Colin Jordan Nick Griffin Nick Griffin Conclusions - British fascist leaders have not restricted their imagined communities to Britain alone: - For Mosley a new European patriotism was needed - For Jordan Northern European racial identity was central - For Griffin authentic connections with fellow ethno- nationalists from Europe would help develop the cause

- Ultimately, networking aboard does not help resolve the issue of marginalisation at home

- The most recent forms of extreme right activity have also found operating at the transnational level important so historians of fascism have a lot to say to those seeking to challenge the extreme right today.