Alice Sibley -Behind the British New Far-Right’s veil: Do individuals adopt strategic liberalism to appear more moderate or are they semi-liberal?

Abstract

The New Far-Right is often equated with fascism within mainstream political discourse. Although there are fascistic elements of the far-right generally, the New Far-Right is typified by its adoption of liberal values and support of democracy. Some argue that this adoption of liberal values is a strategy to distance themselves from fascism, while others argue that their pro-liberal position is semi-liberal. This article aims to understand whether individuals within the British New Far-Right are strategically liberal or semi-liberal. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with three British New Far-Right groups. Using reflexive thematic analysis, three grievance-based themes were developed: Islam, COVID-19, and liberal values. While some narratives were nationalistic using liberal values to oppose Islam, others discussed liberal rights topics that were not related to nationalism. Supporting previous research, previously left-wing individuals were more likely to hold semi-liberal arguments, whereas previously right-wing individuals were more likely to be strategically liberal.