Racism as a ‘sword’ and ‘shield’: the burgeoning tactic of right-wing populism in the UK

Rather than simply defending themselves against accusations of prejudice, these politicians often use a highly sophisticated, to mobilise voters and to defend and/or protect their political standing.

They use identity politics offensively as a sword to mobilise voters and dominate the news cycle, and then instantly pivot to using it defensively as a shield to protect their political standing.

To understand how this works, we can look at the real-world tactics of modern British populism through the lens of academic frameworks which I have previously developed, looking at structural racism and anti-racism in the UK.

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