NCJ Number
235458
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 51 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2011 Pages: 621-634
Date Published
July 2011
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article examines the rapid growth of a street-based movement, the English Defence League.
Abstract
In this article, the authors use three case studies, undertaken with young, white, working-class men involved in the English Defence League, to examine how they construct a specific form of violent masculinity. The authors argue that these accounts demonstrate that violence is socio-structurally generated but also individually psychologically justified, because these young men turn experiences of acute inequality and disenchantment into inner psychological scripts that justify their own 'heroic' status when involved in violent confrontation. The study suggests that these feelings of disadvantage and marginalization prompt resentment and anger in young males who feel their voices are not being heard. This disenchantment manifests itself through externalized hostility, resentment and fury directed at the scapegoat for their ills: the Islamic 'other'. (Published Abstract)