Roger Eatwell and Matthew J. Goodwin's anthology offers a range of analyses about recruitment to and actual and potential support for extremist organizations at the start of the current century. The book examines a spectrum of movements that want to overthrow or destabilize British democracy by looking at radical Islam and the British National Party's (BNP) right-wing extremism. Using empirical data gained through opinion polling, interviews, and government reports, the contributors study the levels of support and responses from the state as well as civil society in addressing the rise of radical movements. The editors argue that these forms of extremism are “more threatening to the liberal democratic order than attacks from lone wolf extreme right-wingers or even al-Qaeda-inspired spectacular bombings” (243). While extreme Islam and the BNP are not new concerns, the term “new” is used to highlight recent developments of these radical movements, including the violent threat from Islamic extremists and the “modernization” of the BNP. There is insufficient room to discuss each chapter here, but there are several important contributions that will be highlighted. These chapters offer important insight into the potential successes of and the limits of support for extremist movements, but they also provide analyses about responses from the government, media, law enforcement, and mainstream political parties.

The first half of the book explores potential support, recruitment, and responses to Islamic extremism. Maria Sobolewska focuses on popular myths that Islam has a potential role for supporting the political extremism of Muslims and that there is a link between radicalization of Muslim youth and the alienation or self-segregation of Muslim communities. Using data from diverse opinion polls, Sobolewska dispels this myth and concludes that “Muslims appear to be very well integrated on most indicators, such as support for democracy measures (i.e. trust and efficacy) and sense of belonging to Britain” (41–42). Furthermore, her study notes “religiosity does not exacerbate nor is it a ‘replacement’ identity for those alienated from British society and citizenship” (43). Taking a different approach to Islamism, Erik Bleich examines the British state's response and strategy to Islamist extremism with particular attention to the “integrative aspects of British policymaking” (67). He explores how official government policies have been contradictory in repressing extremism and “integrating” Muslims into British society. At points, local and nonlocal interests overlap, and Bleich concludes that “these competing tasks are undeniably in tension with one another” (81). Apart from local and national government policy, other chapters examine policing and preventing extremism. In particular, Basia Spalek and Robert Lambert look at police engagement with Muslim communities, arguing that the “human aspects” are “overlooked” in law enforcement's dialog with Islamic groups. The authors conclude that a successful counterterrorism approach needs “to draw upon significant personal and professional resources” by engaging communities and dealing with wider political, social, and cultural issues (119).

The second half of the book explores the BNP's electoral potential, “modernization,” and responses to the party's local “successes” from the media as well as mainstream political organizations. Robert Ford looks at the “demand side” of the BNP's politics by analyzing data on public agreement with the organization's platform and voting for the BNP to express electoral dissatisfaction. He examines polling data about questions relating to three main features of the radical right: authoritarianism, ethnic nationalism, and xenophobia. Ford concludes that the BNP has failed to reach its full electoral potential, and while the BNP has made electoral gains “these voting levels could be 10 or 20 times higher” (161). Conversely, Goodwin looks at the “supply side” and argues that the party's outreach depends on previous party mobilization. Using interviews with BNP Chair Nick Griffin, Goodwin examines Griffin's attempts to “modernize” the party, but he concludes that the reason for BNP's failure to reach a wider audience that agrees with its policies is that “the contemporary BNP remains highly stigmatized” from its recent past and ties with violent skinheads (187). In the last chapter, Eatwell studies direct and indirect responses to the extreme right from the media, political parties, and civil society, which shows the interrelated nature of these issues. One example Eatwell gives of appeasing elements of the BNP electorate occurred when Gordon Brown, fearing New Labour was losing working-class support, used ideas similar to the BNP's platform promising “British jobs for every British worker,” tightening migrant worker policies, and strengthening the immigration points system (218). He concludes that in this instance a political party and civil society response to the BNP demonstrates that “the demand side cannot be separated from the policies of government and parties” (212).

One problem with the anthology's analyses about the BNP's actual support and ideological sympathizers is the lack of a historical background to show how the actual and potential support for extremism and authoritarianism is new. In Martin Pugh's 2006 study of the British Union of Fascists, he explains that “the arguments deployed by fascists enjoyed a lengthy pedigree extending into the late-Victorian era” and that “they did not appear as novel or alien” when expressed by fascists in the 1920s and 1930s (Hurrah for the Blackshirts! Fascists and Fascism in Britain between the Wars [London], 6). There is a long tradition of extremist groups in Britain, including fascist movements, having the potential for making an impact outside of their marginal electoral results. Nonetheless, the anthology does point to some areas worthy of study about the “new” aspects of the BNP, including its international ties and participation in the European Parliament, but these specific segments are underdeveloped in the book. The political ideas that went from the National Front in Britain during the 1970s to Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National in France and then influenced the BNP throughout the late 1990s could provide the materials for a historical examination and comparative analysis of postwar political extremism, but such international aspects were not explored.

By looking at Muslim and right-wing radicalization together, this anthology offers a fresh approach to understanding extremism, which other works in recent years have missed. For instance, in some cases the BNP's ability to exploit local concerns over immigration and security feeds into Islamic alienation that has the potential for developing, along with other issues, into radical Islamism. However, several authors take for granted the issue of identity without explaining why these two groups compare to, as Eatwell and Goodwin mention, other ethnic or religious groups like the Jewish community that are “integrated and socio-economically successful” while others are not (233). The anthology is a timely contribution after the BNP sending its first elected members to European Parliament in 2009. Eatwell and Goodwin's study puts those gains into contemporary context and shows that the potential support for the BNP is much higher due to genuine concerns about security and discontent with mainstream politics, but the “spoiled” BNP label prevents the party from seizing on these sentiments. The book is an excellent contribution to the study of extremism and radical British politics, but it also points to further research that makes international comparisons, investigates identity, and provides more examination of extremism at the local level.