The political ideas and language of the English Defence League

The political ideas and language of the English Defence League is an academic analysis of the aims, activities and rhetoric of the newly developed far right organization in Britain. Established in 2009, the EDL has set its footprints in the debate about far-right extremism and has been classified by critics for being a racist movement, mainly due to its encouragement of Islamophobia. Still, the EDL proclaims to be non-racist, non-fascist and non-Islamophobic and presents itself as a new political movement aiming to protect Britain against Islamic extremism. The study investigates whether the EDL is what it claims to be, and whether it can be categorized as a genuine new far-right movement compared to the British National Party and the National Front. By focusing on the EDL’s ideology, the use of language in public and criticism, this analysis investigates similarities and differences to other extreme groups from the past in the hope to establish a better understanding of the movement. The EDL is associated with Islamophobia, street protests, social media and international expansion, therefore the study examines the EDL in relation to these issues.