Why young men are drawn to violent right-wing causes

This is my latest column, published in the Scotsman on 15th September 2026.

There is little doubt that we are now entering a new age of protest. The political banners and the bright clothing of the anti-Vietnam war and Poll Tax protests may have changed but the simmering discontent remains.

The uniform of protest is now back to black, more like Moseley Fascists of the 1930s, black hoodies and track suit bottoms accompanied by face masks and baseball caps, in recognition of modern surveillance technology.  Now that the anti-oil campaigners have given up throwing soup at paintings, the black clad flash mobs have thrown themselves into anti-immigration protests as well as the usual football related and sectarian thuggery that has plagued us for generations. 

It’s a challenge for policing as these protests build in scale but to deal with a problem like this you must first understand it. What motivates hundreds of young men to gather in sometimes remote locations, and how is it arranged? 

The how is simple. Closed social media chat sites now allow the rapid mustering of a mob, and if the police have no intelligence insight, or informants, it can all come as a horrible surprise, as it did in Dover recently. 

The Why is more complicated, and more alarming. What motivates hundreds of young men to don their black uniforms and travel sometimes long distances to take part in demonstrations and violence in support of causes they sometimes little understand? 

Social media undoubtedly gives malign actors a perfect platform for disinformation, but to succeed there must be a receptive host in the first place. And this should be a worry for our leaders, for increasing support for extreme views is surely an index of their failure. 

Many young men crave a sense of belonging, and if they have been failed by the education system, they are more likely to be beguiled by gangs or simplistic extreme political messages from right or left. 

Some years ago, I spent some time speaking to former or active football hooligans.  They spoke of the worth they felt being part of an organised gang, a group with a cause or a grudge which gave them a sense of purpose. And it was fun to be part of the action, so much the better if there was a frisson of danger.  Some I met were narcissistic and violent criminals, most were ordinary lads with no better flag to follow. 

In the absence of something positive we should not be surprised if disaffected young men flock to extreme causes which will serve their needs. 

For our leaders this is a challenge. Remote working, a life on benefits, and the incessant attacks on masculinity do nothing to serve the needs of many young men. 

And for the Police it’s another challenge they could do without. Police Scotland have recently reported on the pressures brought on by constant public order deployments. And it’s important to remember that most police forces do not have large dedicated public order units.  It’s the street cops who should be serving your community who are regularly drawn off to deal with disorder. 

As the days shorten and it gets colder, we should see a drop off in the kind of disorder we have seen over the summer.  But the longer warmer days will return.