The renaming of products has become an increasingly central issue in identity politics today and is often used by far-right groups to mobilize support. A sudden controversy has exploded in the Netherlands. In March, the Dutch department store HEMA began selling a traditional Dutch pastry under the name chocoladebal (chocolate ball) instead of moorkop (referring to the head of a dark-skinned… Continue reading “What’s in a Name? Rebranding Racist Legacies”
The terms ‘Islamophobia’ and ‘Anti-Muslim hate’ are used regularly in news coverage of certain events. These have most recently involved incidences of a car ram-raiding worshippers outside a mosque in London, and in the depiction of Muslims in the press more generally. However the definition of ‘Islamophobia’ is contested within academic literature. The term entered… Continue reading “Anti-Muslim Hate: The Definition Problem”
After protests in London following the imprisonment of far-right activist Tommy Robinson, William Allchorn examines the changing strategies of the UK’s fringe extreme-right groups in recent months, which include a concerning revival of street protest, mobilising around a narrative of victimisation. Last weekend (9 June), saw one of the most prominent far-right mobilisations of the… Continue reading “Tommy Robinson and the UK’s Post-EDL Far Right: How Extremists are Mobilising in Response to Online Restrictions and Developing a New ‘Victimisation’ Narrative”