Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education (JIPE) is pleased to announce the publication of “Extremism in European Football: Historical and Contemporary Review of Nine Countries” by Jon Deighton, AdvDip.

Abstract:  

Political and public extremism is present in many facets of everyday life. This is no different in professional sport, where fans embolden themselves as a collective unit of a particular commonality: the team, country, or political structure(s). Fan extremism represents the collectivization of political extremism, whereby fans use sport to justify public displays of far-right ideologies, racism, and bigotry under the guise of hooliganism. This targeted review explores the early roots of the relationship between 20th-century fascism, how authoritarians manipulated football across Europe, the growth of football extremism in counterculture across multiple European countries with or without a direct history of fascist leaders, and its manifestation and intersectionality in 21st-century society. Research demonstrates that fan extremism is prevalent in countries that were ruled by fascist dictators, countries ruled by oppressive Communist regimes whose people fought against socialism with fascist ideology, and countries that experienced neither form of authoritarianism, thus raising a question for further research: Is fascist ideology, authoritarianism, or the resistance against authoritarian regimes inherently required to create a culture (or counterculture) of far-right fan extremism in sport? 

Read “Extremism in European Football: Historical and Contemporary Review of Nine Countries” in JIPE.

About JIPE

Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education (JIPE) is an online, open-access journal that mobilizes knowledge and insights generated by the global polytechnic community. JIPE is published by Humber Polytechnic Press. JIPE accepts submissions on a rolling basis.