Conclusion

Abstract

Shaffer concludes that the post-war British fascists had an outsized role in international fascism, despite their inability to become a national force in Britain. He explains the irony that the same figures that initially promoted and were active with the skinhead subculture in the NF later worked to reject and distance the British National Party from that image. Indeed, offensive language and objectives were toned down and words such as “democracy” were added to the British National Party literature, but the changes proved superficial as the overall fascist goals remained fundamentally unchanged. Shaffer finds that British fascism mirrors broader technological and geopolitical changes by embracing transnational aspects. While British radicals continued to speak about the nation and nationalism, they turned to like-minded individuals in other countries for support, both morale and financial, as they were largely unable to convince their fellow countrymen to vote for their candidates at the ballot box.