The killing of nearly 100 people in Norway by Anders Behring Breivik will prove to be a watershed moment in how we approach, and seek to understand, far-right groups and their ideology, according to a leading expert in far-right politics.

Dr Matthew Goodwin argues that the challenge from right-wing extremism and anti-Muslim sentiment has been dismissed as irrelevant for too long.

The conventional wisdom about far-right politics and lone wolves has been challenged. While many groups are disorganised, fragmented and ideologically incoherent, it only takes one committed activist to slip through the net. Timothy McVeigh set the blueprint, killing 168 people in what was the worst atrocity on post-war American soil until 9/11. David Copeland killed three people in London and injured over 120 in an attack on Bengali and homosexual communities.

In his blog, Dr Goodwin writes: “Britain has seen a significant number of ‘lone wolf’ cases in recent years. You might have heard of David Copeland, but what about Paul Sargent, Robert Cottage, Martin Cross, Tony Lecomber, Terence Gavan, Mark Bulman, Martyn Gilleard, David Tovey and Ian and Nicky Davison? These names were highlighted in a recent report on actual and potential lone-wolf activity in Britain.

“As a basic first step, we should collect data on far-right violence across European countries to assess the scale of the challenge. At the moment we simply have no real idea about how many would-be Breiviks are out there.

“While activists like Breivik act in isolation, they represent a set of ideas that are shared by many. If the internet posts left by Breivik are indeed his, then they reveal an obsession with issues that are of concern to many within what we might term the broader right-wing subculture: a preoccupation with the effects of multiculturalism; the perceived cultural (not only economic) threat posed by immigration and Muslim communities; criticism of a lack of effective responses to these threats from established main parties; and strong emphasis on the need to take radical and urgent action.”

“It is important not to examine lone wolves in isolation. Most voters in Europe go out of their way to distance themselves from violence, but large numbers also express concern over the same issues that are raised by lone wolves. They are certainly not all lone wolves, or would-be wolves. But there is clearly a wider pool of potential recruits should the main parties not respond to their grievances.

“To some extent, it is perhaps helpful to think of lone wolves as being located at the tip of a triangle. Further down, below the likes of Breivik and McVeigh, are active members of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim parties, then citizens who vote for these parties, then a broader mass of citizens who are sceptical of immigration and rising ethno-cultural diversity. Many of these voters and citizens reject violence, but they are concerned over these issues and elites need to address their concerns more effectively than they have been doing. We also need far more research on what ‘trips’ some citizens from expressing their concern via the ballot box into open violence.”

Dr Goodwin’s blog is at: www.matthewjgoodwin.com