Historians ( Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Britain)

classic approach

• 1960s and Early 1970s

• emphasized the ‘alien’ character of the BUF and natural liberalism of Britons.

• resistance of British political culture to the ideas of fascism =failure of fascism

revisionist approach

• later 1970s and the 1980s

• favoured a multidimensional approach and recognized that several factors had played a role in Mosley’s downfall.

• focuses on the complexities of fascism's appeal in Britain. - highlights that elements of fascism found support among certain British populations, challenging the notion of a total rejection by political culture.

cultural approach

• emerged in the late 1980s and beyond

• explores the cultural and social dimensions of fascism in Britain, examining how cultural identities influenced political ideologies.

• highlights the role of art, literature, and public sentiment in shaping responses to fascism.

new consensus approach

• developed in the 1990s

• emphasis on its ‘cultural’ aspect and, most importantly, its ideology

• integrates aspects of previous approaches,

• acknowledging both resistance to and support for fascism.

Robert Benewick

• classic

• examine the violence related to British fascism and the corresponding reaction of the British government.

• attempted to analyse the ideology of the BUF his conclusions are often erroneous or oversimplified.

Richard Thurlow

Revisionist Approach

Looks at government documents

explores why fascism failed to gain mass support in Britain. He

attributes this to Britain’s political stability, strong liberal-democratic traditions, and the ineffectiveness and extremism of Mosley and the BUF.

Looks at how fascism was adapted to british context

was one of the first to recognize that the influence of the BUF on British society may have been much greater than its election failure and relative low member count seemed to suggest.

sceptical of rigid, universal definitions of fascism. He argues instead for a pluralistic, historical, and context-sensitive approach.

Alan Sykes

Classic

• focus is largely on interwar Britain, exploring the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in relation to mainstream political developments.

• emphasizes that Britain was fundamentally resistant to fascist ideology.
  
  BUF's failure in terms of both leadership problems (especially Oswald Mosley’s flaws) and structural weaknesses (lack of mass support, over-reliance on authoritarian rhetoric, etc.).

• views British fascism as a minor and ineffective force that never posed a serious threat to liberal democracy.

• He is sceptical of broad or loose definitions of fascism.

• Sykes tends to avoid overly theoretical constructs, preferring a more empirical and narrowly focused analysis.

• For example, he is careful about calling all authoritarian or nationalist movements "fascist" unless they exhibit clear organizational and ideological traits.
  

David Thackery

Type of approach: Revisionist /cultural

What does the historian say?: He is interested in how political ideas, including fascist ones, were mediated through popular culture, marketing, and international influences.

Rather than treating fascism as a rigid ideological program, Thackeray examines how imperial and national identities were shaped by and sometimes overlapped with far-right rhetoric.
explores how movements like the British Union of Fascists tapped into imperial nostalgia, anti-communism, and mass politics.

• This includes looking at how British authorities framed fascism and the political “other”, especially in the lead-up to and during WWII.

• Like many revisionist scholars, Thackeray does not define fascism as a fixed ideology.

• He studies how fascist and far-right movements adapted to British conditions and interacted with mainstream political ideas.

Dan Stone

Type of approach:Revisionist

What does the historian say?:

Stone closely links fascism—especially in its Nazi form—with racism, anti-Semitism, and genocidal violence. broad, morally engaged understanding of fascism as a phenomenon deeply tied to violence, myth, and identity.

Stone emphasizes the historical context of fascism, arguing that it is essential to view fascism through its social and political consequences, particularly in relation to marginalization and exclusion.

• Eugenics reflected anxieties about decline, degeneration, and the need to “breed” a stronger British race—hence the title Breeding Superman.

• idea that “Englishness” itself contained extreme ideological elements, especially through elite culture, imperial discourse, and the belief in racial hierarchies.

• Stone suggests that these ideas weren’t seen as “extremist” at the time because they were embedded in respectable science, public policy, and elite opinion.
  
  
  

Roger Griffin

Type of approach:new consensus

• Focuses on ideology

• Defines fascism as “Palingenetic ultranationalism”

• (i.e. rebirth-focused nationalism)

• Fascism seeks the mythic rebirth of the nation after a period of decline or crisis.

• This ideological core is what unites different fascist movements across time and place.

•  Fascism is reactionary

Jon Lawrence

Type of approach:Revisionist

What does the historian say?:

treats fascism primarily as a marginal political movement shaped by class, nationalism, and anti-communism within British political culture.

approach is grounded in political history and social identity

emphasizing the limited impact and appeal of fascism in Britain and its role within wider political dynamics.

Gary Love

Type of approach: Revisionist

What does the historian say?:

concentrates on the BUF and its leaders, especially Oswald Mosley.
examines how fascism was adapted to the British political and social environment rather than importing a continental fascist model wholesale.

argues that the BUF's ideology was not simply a carbon copy of continental fascism but rather a unique blend of elements drawn from various sources, including British political tradition, syndicalism, and Mosley's own personal experiences.

Paul Stocker

Type of approach:Revisionist 

What does the historian say?:

• He investigates the appeal of fascism among various social groups, especially focusing on working-class support and responses.

• Examines the role of violence, public order, and state responses to fascist activity.

• Stocker is interested in how fascism related to issues of national identity, race, and political culture in interwar Britain.