DOCSLIB.ORG

Access to Electronic Thesis

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Access to Electronic Thesis Access to Electronic Thesis Author: Joao Carvalho Thesis title: Bringing politics back in: the impact of extreme-right parties on immigration policy in the UK, France and Italy during the 2000s Qualification: PhD This electronic thesis is protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. No reproduction is permitted without consent of the author. It is also protected by the Creative Commons Licence allowing Attributions-Non-commercial-No derivatives. If this electronic thesis has been edited by the author it will be indicated as such on the title page and in the text. The University of Sheffield Bringing politics back in: the impact of extreme-right parties on immigration policy in the UK, France and Italy during the 2000s João Miguel Duarte de Carvalho A thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Department of Politics Faculty of Social Sciences Sheffield, February 2012 Abstract This comparative study examines the impact of extreme-right parties on immigration policy in the UK, France and Italy between 2001 and 2009. The thesis develops a synthesis of two different strands of work in political science: the extreme-right parties’ literature alongside immigration studies. Immigration studies often refer to extreme-right parties as a factor behind restrictive developments on immigration policy whilst ERP literature refers often to immigration but tell us very little about its complexity. Past comparative research throughout the 1990s suggested that members of the extreme-right party family exhibit similar significant levels of impact across different countries. This thesis compares whether the British National Party, the French Front National and the Italian Lega Nord had a significant impact on the three dimensions of immigration politics and policy: inter-party competition; public attitudes; and immigration policy development in the UK, France and Italy. The thesis shows substantial variations in the intensity and contents of extreme-right parties’ impact across the selected dimensions in each country and at cross-national level. 2 Acknowledgments In the process of writing the thesis I have become heavily indebted to all those who directly or indirectly provided support to I end this journey. I would like express my deep gratitude for all those who provided the slightest contribution for the thesis and who made my stay in Sheffield so much sweeter. I am deeply grateful to the expertise and support provided by Professor Andrew Geddes through the thesis, whose contribution was invaluable at all levels. I would also like to thanks the comments of Dr. Charles Lees. Sarah Cooke will always be remembered for the support provided since the first day of my PhD application. This thesis was developed with the support of a fours years scholarship provided by the Portuguese Fundação da Ciência e Tecnologia. Finally, I would like to mention Dr. Maria Ionnis Baganha as a huge source of inspiration and who is no longer among us. Special thanks for all my friends who helped me to survive to the PhD and have been into a similar struggle: Dr. Adrian Gallagher, Ali Onur Ozcelik, Dr. Alex Balch, Asa Cusack, Chris Kitchen, Darlington Ashamole, Dr. Daniel Wunderlich, Dr. David Moon, Defne Gunay, Gabriel Siles–Brügge, Florian Reiche, Hilal Gezmis, Jewellord Nem Singh, Joerg Wiegratz, Dr. Laura Mcleod, Katharine Dommett, Nuray Aridici, Romualdo dos Santos, Sam Wyatt, Shih–Yu Chou. I am also deeply appreciated to those friends who proofread the text: Dr. Dion Curry and Seamus Doherty. Many thanks to all those unnamed who lived and worked alongside me at the St. George’s Church, the Graduate Research Centre, and at the PhD suite at the Department of Politics. To Dora, with all my love, to my family, particularly my mother, grand–mother, and to all immigrants who lost their lives seeking a better life. 3 Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................... 3 Contents .................................................................................................................................... 4 List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ 8 List of Figures ......................................................................................................................... 10 List of abbreviations .............................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 1 – Introduction ...................................................................................................... 16 1.1 – Research on the political impact of ERPs ................................................................... 19 1.2 – Combining ERPs literature with immigration studies ................................................ 23 1.3 – Plan of the thesis ......................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 2 – Methodology ...................................................................................................... 30 2.1 – Ontology ..................................................................................................................... 30 2.2 – Epistemology .............................................................................................................. 32 2.3 – Research questions ...................................................................................................... 33 2.4 – Understanding ERP impact on selected dimensions ................................................... 37 2.5 – Explanatory factors ..................................................................................................... 39 2.6 – Comparative research design ...................................................................................... 43 2.7 – Mixed research methodology ...................................................................................... 44 4 Chapter 3 – The search for consensus: the extreme–right party family .......................... 55 3.1 – Debate about the best label for rightist parties............................................................ 55 3.2 – Party families and ERPs.............................................................................................. 57 3.3 – Typology of ERPs ....................................................................................................... 62 3.4 – Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 66 Chapter 4 – Selection and contextualisation of case studies .............................................. 68 4.1 – Justification of case selection and choice for a most similar systems research design .............................................................................................................................................. 68 4.2 – Electoral systems ........................................................................................................ 72 4.3 – ERPs development until 2001 ..................................................................................... 77 4.4 – Immigration in the UK, France and Italy .................................................................... 99 4.5. – Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 115 Chapter 5 – The BNP impact on British immigration policy from 2001 to 2005........... 118 5.1 – 2001 general election - Labour’s second landslide ................................................... 119 5.2 – BNP development between 2001 and 2005 .............................................................. 132 5.3 – BNP impact on immigration policy under Blair’s second term ................................ 137 5.4 – Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 151 Chapter 6 – The BNP impact on British immigration policy between 2005 and 2009 .. 155 6.1 – The 2005 general election - Blair’s third victory ...................................................... 155 6.2 – The BNP development between 2005 and 2009 ....................................................... 168 6.3 – The BNP impact on immigration policy under Labour’s third term ........................ 174 6.4 – Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 182 5 Chapter 7 – The FN impact on French immigration policy from 2002 to 2007 ............. 185 7.1 – The 2002 Presidential elections: a political earthquake ............................................ 186 7.2 – The FN: from the 2002 presidential elections to 2007 ............................................. 196 7.3 – FN impact on immigration policy under Chirac’s presidential term ........................ 202 7.4 – Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 216 Chapter 8 – The FN impact on French immigration policy between 2007 and 2009 .... 219 8.1 – The 2007 presidential elections ................................................................................ 219 8.2 – FN development from 2007 and 2009 .....................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Minority Ethnic Matters Overview Contents Immigration and Asylum
    30 March 2009 ISSUE 169 Minority Ethnic Matters Overview MEMO is produced by the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities in partnership with the Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Supported b y Scotland . It provides an overview of information of interest to minority ethnic communities in Scotland, including parliamentary Activity at Holyrood and Westminster, new publications, consultations, forthcoming conferences and news reports. Contents Immigration and Asylum Other News Race Relations Bills in Progress Equality Consultations Racism and Religious Hatred Job Opportunities Other Holyrood Events/Conferences/Training Other Westminster Useful Links New Publications Note that some weblinks, particularly of newspaper articles, are only valid for a short period of time, usually around a month. Please send information for inclusion in MEMO to [email protected] and requests to be added to circulation to [email protected] Immigration and Asylum Holyrood Parliamentary Question Christina McKelvie (S3O-6433): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on any progress on implementing the alternatives to detention pilot for asylum-seeking families announced by the Secretary of State for Scotland in 2008. Reply from Alex Neil: The pilot has not yet formally started but is expected to do so soon. The planning process, engagement with external stakeholders and the recruitment of staff to run the project are currently taking place. This pilot will help reduce the number of families detained in Scotland. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/pqa/wa-09/wa0326.htm
    [Show full text]
  • Everyday Intolerance- Racist and Xenophic Violence in Italy
    Italy H U M A N Everyday Intolerance R I G H T S Racist and Xenophobic Violence in Italy WATCH Everyday Intolerance Racist and Xenophobic Violence in Italy Copyright © 2011 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-746-9 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org March 2011 ISBN: 1-56432-746-9 Everyday Intolerance Racist and Xenophobic Violence in Italy I. Summary ...................................................................................................................... 1 Key Recommendations to the Italian Government ............................................................ 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 4 II. Background ................................................................................................................. 5 The Scale of the Problem ................................................................................................. 9 The Impact of the Media ...............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Minority Ethnic Matters Overview Contents Immigration
    13 July 2009 ISSUE 183 Minority Ethnic Matters Overview MEMO is produced by the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities in partnership with the Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Supported b y Scotland . It provides an overview of information of interest to minority ethnic communities in Scotland, including parliamentary Activity at Holyrood and Westminster, new publications, consultations, forthcoming conferences and news reports. Contents Immigration and Asylum Other News Race Relations Bills in Progress Equality Consultations Racism and Religious Hatred Job Opportunities Other Westminster Events/Conferences/Training New Publications Useful Links Note that some weblinks, particularly of newspaper articles, are only valid for a short period of time, usually around a month. Please send information for inclusion in MEMO to [email protected] and requests to be added to circulation to [email protected] The Scottish Parliament is in recess until 30 August 2009. Immigration and Asylum Westminster Ministerial Statement Migration Impacts Fund John Denham (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government): Today I am announcing the successful proposals for England to receive a share of the migration impacts fund. The fund provides £35 million across the UK for 2009-10 financed by a levy on migrants and, subject to a review in the autumn, a similar amount in 2010-11. This money will be used to tackle illegal working practices and reduce local pressure on public services. This funding works alongside the Government’s points based system which means only those migrants the country needs can come here. The money will be made available quickly and directly to local services across the country, including police, schools and hospitals.
    [Show full text]
  • Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe
    This page intentionally left blank Populist radical right parties in Europe As Europe enters a significant phase of re-integration of East and West, it faces an increasing problem with the rise of far-right political par- ties. Cas Mudde offers the first comprehensive and truly pan-European study of populist radical right parties in Europe. He focuses on the par- ties themselves, discussing them both as dependent and independent variables. Based upon a wealth of primary and secondary literature, this book offers critical and original insights into three major aspects of European populist radical right parties: concepts and classifications; themes and issues; and explanations for electoral failures and successes. It concludes with a discussion of the impact of radical right parties on European democracies, and vice versa, and offers suggestions for future research. cas mudde is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Antwerp. He is the author of The Ideology of the Extreme Right (2000) and the editor of Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe (2005). Populist radical right parties in Europe Cas Mudde University of Antwerp CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521850810 © Cas Mudde 2007 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
    [Show full text]
  • Internal Brakes the British Extreme Right (Pdf
    FEBRUARY 2019 The Internal Brakes on Violent Escalation The British extreme right in the 1990s ANNEX B Joel Busher, Coventry University Donald Holbrook, University College London Graham Macklin, Oslo University This report is the second empirical case study, produced out of The Internal Brakes on Violent Escalation: A Descriptive Typology programme, funded by CREST. You can read the other two case studies; The Trans-national and British Islamist Extremist Groups and The Animal Liberation Movement, plus the full report at: https://crestresearch.ac.uk/news/internal- brakes-violent-escalation-a-descriptive-typology/ To find out more information about this programme, and to see other outputs from the team, visit the CREST website at: www.crestresearch.ac.uk/projects/internal-brakes-violent-escalation/ About CREST The Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST) is a national hub for understanding, countering and mitigating security threats. It is an independent centre, commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and funded in part by the UK security and intelligence agencies (ESRC Award: ES/N009614/1). www.crestresearch.ac.uk ©2019 CREST Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC-SA licence. www.crestresearch.ac.uk/copyright TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................5 2. INTERNAL BRAKES ON VIOLENCE WITHIN THE BRITISH EXTREME RIGHT .................10 2.1 BRAKE 1: STRATEGIC LOGIC .......................................................................................................................................10
    [Show full text]
  • Berlusconi and His Crew Published on Iitaly.Org (
    Berlusconi and His Crew Published on iItaly.org (http://www.iitaly.org) Berlusconi and His Crew E. M. (May 09, 2008) Prime Minister Berlusconi inaugurates his fourth term and announces his ministerial posts. The choices for his circle of 21 ministers reveal some predictable tactical determinations, while a few of his newbies have yet to prove their political value. No one can accuse the PM of having assembled a boring cast The 60th Italian government since the end of the Second World War was sworn in on Thursday. In a ceremony led by President Giorgio Napolitano, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and 21 ministers of his center-right cabinet pronounced a solemn oath on the Italian Constitution. It marks the media tycoon’s fourth non-consecutive term as head of government. Berlusconi’s new cabinet rallies figures from various right-wing parties, and among them, many familiar faces. Gianni Letta, the PM’s close business and political aide, was named Cabinet Secretary, and according to Berlusconi is “a gift from God to all Italians”. Umberto Bossi [2], famously at the helm of the anti-immigration Northern League [3] party—a man stalwartly and controversially in Page 1 of 3 Berlusconi and His Crew Published on iItaly.org (http://www.iitaly.org) favor of a federalist system that gives greater autonomy to the North—will be minister of reforms. Roberto Calderoli [4], also of the Northern League and Berlusconi’s former minister of reforms, is now in charge of “simplification” (in other words, simplifying the Parliament and reducing its costs). Calderoli is best known in the media for having upset Muslims when he proposed pigs be brought in to discourage plans for the construction of a new mosque in Bologna and unbuttoning his shirt to reveal underneath, a t-shirt bearing an offensive cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, setting off violent demonstrations in Libya.
    [Show full text]
  • British National Party: the Roots of Its Appeal Contents Contents About the Authors 4 TABLES and FIGURES
    The BNP: the roots of its appeal Peter John, Helen Margetts, David Rowland and Stuart Weir Democratic Audit, Human Rights Centre, University of Essex Published by Democratic Audit, Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ, and based on research carried out at the School of Public Policy, University College London, The Rubin Building, 29-30 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9QU.The research was sponsored by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, The Garden House, Water End, York YO30 6WQ. Copies of the report may be obtained for £10 from the Trust office. Democratic Audit is a research organisation attached to the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex. The Audit specialises in auditing democracy and human rights in the UK and abroad and has developed a robust and flexible framework for democracy assessment in cooperation with the inter-governmental International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Stockholm. The Audit carries out periodic research projects as part of its longitudinal studies of British democracy. The latest audit of the UK, Democracy under Blair, is published by Politico’s. University College London’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy is focused on graduate teaching and research, and offers an environment for the study of all fields of politics, including international relations, political theory and public policy- making and administration 2 The British National Party: the roots of its appeal Contents Contents About the Authors 4 TABLES AND FIGURES
    [Show full text]
  • Recall of Mps
    House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee Recall of MPs First Report of Session 2012–13 Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 21 June 2012 HC 373 [incorporating HC 1758-i-iv, Session 2010-12] Published on 28 June 2012 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to consider political and constitutional reform. Current membership Mr Graham Allen MP (Labour, Nottingham North) (Chair) Mr Christopher Chope MP (Conservative, Christchurch) Paul Flynn MP (Labour, Newport West) Sheila Gilmore MP (Labour, Edinburgh East) Andrew Griffiths MP (Conservative, Burton) Fabian Hamilton MP (Labour, Leeds North East) Simon Hart MP (Conservative, Camarthen West and South Pembrokeshire) Tristram Hunt MP (Labour, Stoke on Trent Central) Mrs Eleanor Laing MP (Conservative, Epping Forest) Mr Andrew Turner MP (Conservative, Isle of Wight) Stephen Williams MP (Liberal Democrat, Bristol West) Powers The Committee’s powers are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in Temporary Standing Order (Political and Constitutional Reform Committee). These are available on the Internet via http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmstords.htm. Publication The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at www.parliament.uk/pcrc. A list of Reports of the Committee in the present Parliament is at the back of this volume.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Date 27/09/2021 00:07:53
    The far right in the UK: The BNP in comparative perspective. Examining the development of the British Nation Party within the context of UK and continental far right politics Item Type Thesis Authors Anderson, Richard P. Rights <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by- nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. Download date 27/09/2021 00:07:53 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10454/5449 University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars – The University of Bradford Open Access repository. Visit the repository for full metadata or to contact the repository team © University of Bradford. This work is licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. THE FAR RIGHT IN THE UK: THE BRITISH NATIONAL PARTY R.P.ANDERSON PhD UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD 2011 THE FAR RIGHT IN THE UK: THE BNP IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Examining the development of the British Nation Party within the context of UK and continental far right politics Richard Paul ANDERSON Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Development and Economic Studies University of Bradford 2011 2 Richard Paul ANDERSON THE FAR RIGHT IN THE UK: THE BNP IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE British National Party, BNP, UK Politics, European politics, comparative politics, far right, racism, Griffin This thesis examines through the means of a comparative perspective, factors which have allowed the British National Party to enjoy recent electoral success at the local level under the leadership of party chairman Nick Griffin.
    [Show full text]
  • Far-Right Music and the Use of Internet: Final Conflict and the British National Party Compared1
    35 FAR-RIGHT MUSIC AND THE USE OF INTERNET: FINAL CONFLICT AND THE BRITISH NATIONAL PARTY COMPARED1 ANTON SHEKHOVTSOV riting in 1997, David Lyon called it ‘extravagant’ to consider that ‘the Internet portends new kinds of networks and a transformation of society Was we know it’.2 Today, however, it would be banal to proclaim that the internet has already transformed the way we conduct research, studies, business, services, and entertainment. With the rise of cyber-politics, web-based pressure groups, and whistle-blower websites like WikiLeaks, the internet continues to exert increasing influence both on the rulers and the ruled. Although its extensive use has resulted, as one researcher put it, in ‘the reconfiguration of the reality of everyday life and the transformation of the ways in which individuals construct the lifeworld’,3 the internet is nevertheless a medium, and as such it depends heavily on the contents or products created by people. Turning to far-right music on the internet, here we find that it comprises of various websites as well as articles of merchandise. In general, one can find this type of music for free on YouTube videos uploaded by either bands/artists themselves or their fans; Myspace and other social network pages dedicated to individual far-right bands; radio-stations like Skrewdriver Radio4 or 28 Radio;5 or numerous blogs that give links to mp3-albums uploaded – primarily illegally – to various file-sharing web-pages. A number of internet sites, ranging from specialised right-wing mail- order companies like the UK-based Rampage Productions to various online auction/shopping websites like eBay, iTunes or Amazon UK, also sell far-right music, either in physical (CD/DVD) or digital (mp3) form.
    [Show full text]
  • Reuters Annual Report 1-11.Indd
    Annual Report 2010 | 2011 Reuters Institute for the Study of Annual Report ‘10/‘11 Journalism Preface 04/ Director’s Report 05/ Director of Journalism’s Report: The Year in News 07/ Interview with Robert Picard, Director of Research 09/ RISJ International Impact and Infl uence 11/ The Journalism Fellowship Programme 15/ Visiting Fellows 19/ Research 21/ Publications 27/ Events 30/ Staff 37/ Governance 39/ Benefactors 41/ Appendix: Journalist Fellows 2010–11 42 / 2 Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Reuters Institute Annual Report Preface ‘10/‘11 The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is now international news providers, sponsored by the BBC, the starting to achieve the scale and impact that was its ambition Carnegie Foundation and France 24, was conducting its when it was launched fi ve years ago. The Institute sets out to fi eldwork in pre- and post-revolution Egypt. Our Journalist bridge the gap between academia and media practice and Fellows, past and present, have reported from Egypt and policy in the study of international comparative journalism. Its Libya for news organisations worldwide. foundation has rested on the close relationship between its The Thomson Reuters Foundation has extended our current sponsoring Department at Oxford University, the Department grant which funds our core operations until the end of of Politics and International Relations, and the Thomson 2014. The Department of Politics has agreed to fund a Reuters Foundation, our core funder and sponsor. We are new post-doctoral researcher at the Institute who will deeply grateful to both for their substantial new commitments Tim Gardam develop academic research on media and democracy.
    [Show full text]
  • Why the BNP Is Still Fascist
    sistently to deny and downplay the Holocaust. the same rotten ideology. We must expose them They’re fools but (alas) not idiots – they know for who they are, and stand together to stop them. they’ll get nowhere if they admit their ideological Never forget, never again. link to the Nazi regime. But their Holocaust de- nial gives the game away. This article first appeared on the SUN website Behind the shiny suits lurks the same hatred, (www.socialistunitynetwork.co.uk) Why the BNP is Still Fascist Geoffrey Brown HE GAINS made by the BNP in local elections Enter Nick Griffin in recent years – it now has almost fifty coun- For all the carefully cultivated “reasonableness” cillors,T an achievement unprecedented in the hist- of his public persona today, Griffin has a similar ory of the far right in Britain – have been assisted far-right background to Tyndall. He was a nation- by a systematic revamping of the party’s image. al organiser for the NF in the 1970s, and in the The public expressions of Nazi sympathies and 1980s was heavily influenced by Roberto Fiore, a Holocaust denial for which the BNP had become leader of the Italian fascist organisation the Armed notorious have been junked and it now presents Revolutionary Nuclei (NAR), who fled to Britain itself as a respectable, mainstream political party. to avoid prosecution over the 1980 bombing of The question arises – does this amount to a funda- Bologna railway station in which 85 people died. mental change in the BNP’s political character, or Throughout the 1980s Griffin was a leading figure is it a cosmetic exercise designed to fool voters into in what remained of the NF, promoting a NAR- backing an organisation that has in reality failed inspired “Third Positionist” ideology that claimed to break with its fascist past? to offer an alternative to both capitalism and com- munism.
    [Show full text]