Neo-Tories The Revolt of British Conservatives against Democracy and Political Modernity (1929-1939) - by Bernhard Dietz (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The danger to British democracy in the interwar period came from a different source to that which has thus far been assumed. It came from a network of radical conservatives who challenged the political system and sought to replace it with an authoritarian corporate state.

In this book, Bernhard Dietz provides the first systematic analysis of this network and its members, which are called Neo-Tories. With strong links to the European right, yet a minority back home, this group of British conservatives are all the more fascinating today because it is on their ultimate failure that the success of British democracy rested.

Review Quotes

Bernhard Dietz brings great clarity to the ways in which sections of the British Right echoed the "conservative revolution" experienced in continental Europe in seeking to create a "pure" Toryism. This deeply-researched book is not only of historical interest but contains an important message for our own uncertain times.
Dan Stone, Professor of Modern History, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

This is an important and deeply researched contribution to the historiography of Europe's interwar radical right. Bernhard Dietz powerfully demonstrates how deeply rooted eugenic thinking, anti-urbanism, fears of the democratic "masses", and anti-Semitism were in British national life between the world wars.
Anna von der Goltz, Associate Professor of History, Georgetown University, Washington, DC., USA

About the Author

Bernhard Dietz is Assistant Professor at the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Germany. He is an expert on right-wing extremism and has published various articles on British radical conservatism, eugenics and anti-urbanism.