Stephen Vertigans

Beyond the Fringe? Radicalisation within the American Far‐Right

Abstract The concentration within America upon terrorism and Muslims overlooks recent acts of political violence undertaken by the indigenous extreme far‐right. In this article the rise of the militia and Christian Identity movement in America is explored and the social processes and agents behind the radicalisation of individuals and groups and emergence of political violence examined. It is argued that, while the 1995 Oklahoma bombing led to the movement’s growing popularity being curtailed, many of the factors behind its rise remain. By exploring the broad range of issues behind the emergence of the contemporary movement, the popular perception that support for related groups has been mobilised by materialism is challenged. In some aspects underlying reasons for mobilisation have been exasperated both by the perceived failure of George W. Bush to deliver electoral promises that were supported within the far‐right movement and conversely the Democrat Party’s success in the 2006 mid‐term elections. Consequently, the home‐grown ‘enemy within’ remains a threat.

Globalisation Theory and Islamic Praxis

This paper stems from dissatisfaction with the Eurocentric perspective of many globalisation theories, and in particular their treatment of `̀ fundamentalism’’ and Islamic `̀ fundamentalist’’ movements. We review current globalisation theories, most of which present Westernised forms of globalisation as inevitable and irreversible facts of life. Seen through this lens, Islamic fundamentalism is a reaction to the dislocations and uncertainties produced by globalisation, which generate fear and intensi® ed needs for belonging. Bringing an historical perspective to bear on this issue helps to point out the limitations of this `̀ reactionary’’ interpretation. Islamic `̀praxisitioners’’ in Turkey are not simply reacting to globalisation but show an awareness of Islamic history in the light of globalisation theories; in short, they exhibit `̀ re ̄ exivity’’ in their understanding of the nature of contemporary Islam. In contrast to many other examples of re ̄ exivity, which tend towards the production of anxieties and uncertainty, however, their religious commitment together with alternative interpretations of Islamic history produce an active desire to direct globalising tendencies by drawing on assured ways of achieving a theocratic society.

Corporate Social Responsibility in the United Kingdom

Stemming from the time of early British industrial philanthropists what we now refer to as corporate social responsibility (CSR) has had a long and influential history in the United Kingdom and across large swathes of the world through colonial and post-colonial periods. In this chapter, the roots of contemporary policies and actions being implemented in the name of CSR are explored. This then enables a review of the fluctuating profile and practices over the last 200 years before going on to concentrate on the post 1980 period when CSR became a more widely recognised concept to differing degrees within British based Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). National and international reasons for greater public interest and corporate engagement are outlined. The chapter concludes with analysis of CSR in today’s post financial meltdown period and some tentative thoughts on future directions.

Social Barriers to Peace: Socialisation Processes in the Radicalisation of the Palestinian Struggle

Contemporary analysis of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians tends to focus upon Islamic terrorism and Israeli state aggression. Representations and analysis are dominated by media images of terrorist/freedom fighters atrocities and military incursions. Explanations have concentrated upon ‘tit-for-tat’ killings and, in the case of Islamic terrorists/freedom fighters, their actions are seen as acts of desperation against a backdrop of materialist exclusion. These accounts often inform about current events but do not develop broad levels of understanding and explanation that are required if the reasons for the contemporary nature of radicalism within the conflict are to be established. This paper aims to address why violence is increasing today when many of the issues facing Palestinians have been experienced for generations. It is argued that while material problems are central to understanding the long-term conflict, social experiences and interactions are also crucial to understanding the contemporary situation. Consequently attention within this paper is placed upon changes in socialisation processes and discursive consciousness that have become instrumental in the radicalisation of many Palestinians and as such are barriers to peace.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Times of Crisis: A Summary

Throughout this book Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been discussed in an international framework. The European aspects of CSR are presented in the following countries: Switzerland, Italy, The Netherlands, Cyprus and Romania. In the United States of America (US), the CSR was approached by the policies, environmentally-sustainable behaviours and particular corporate citizenship procedures and expectations. In Africa, in countries as Zimbabwe and Ghana, CSR is still a concept that is underdeveloped and it is even so that many businesses seek to propound their involvement in poverty alleviation and protection of the environment.

Unintentional Social Consequences of Disorganised Marketing of Corporate Social Responsibility: Figurational Insights into the Oil and Gas Sector in Africa

Since the 1980s, corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes have gained in prominence around the world. The international implementation of neoliberalism has ironically contributed to greater expectations that transnational corporations (TNCs) have responsibilities which go beyond economic and legal spheres to include social and environmental impacts. TNCs have often adapted to these changing expectations by reporting on their related CSR approaches as a form of marketing. Considerable resources have been made available with approaches packaged within public relations campaigns. However, the TNCs have often been ill-equipped to address many of the issues they face and are contributing to community resentment. Applying insights from figurational sociology to examples from oil and gas companies, in this chapter it is argued that the poor organisation of CSR approaches generally, and marketing in particular, is contributing to unintended consequences. In particular, TNCs are raising expectations about what they will provide and achieve without possessing the necessary knowledge, commitment, expertise and strategic direction. The consequence has been that corporate attempts to do good are actually contributing to bad PR and rising levels of local anger.

Book review: Mark S. Hamm, The Spectacular Few: Prisoner Radicalization and the Evolving Terrorist Threat

The sad irony here is that sexualised aggression between men, heavily inflected by homophobia, is a routine aspect of homosocial peer groups and institutions, and plays a crucial role in reproduction and performance of violent masculinities. Such masculinities regularly involve the victimisation of men and boys as well as girls and women through sexual and other forms of violence. As the atrocities at Abu Ghraib made clear, women can be recruited into the sexualised dehumanisation of men in specific circumstances. Foucault could provide the lens through which such aggression (and its construction in discourse and via social movements such as feminism) could be examined in the context of larger biopolitical or governmental projects. However, this would require a broader sociological understanding that Cohen explicitly rejects with her extraordinary Thatcheresque proclamation that society is nothing more than a ‘collection of individuals’ (p. 103). This is just one of the numerous arresting statements punctuating this book that will bring the reader up short. In the margin notes I made while reading this book, the words ‘bizarre’ and ‘ridiculous’ recur frequently. It is a painful read. Cohen buries her conviction that adherence to the principle of gender equality commits feminism to gender neutrality beneath pseudo-Foucauldian prose, propped up by desktop ‘research’. From this unstable vantage point, she launches unfounded and confused attacks on feminist scholars, activists and services, and derogates actual male victims of rape in her search for imaginary ones. Scholars of sex offending would do well to avoid this book.