The Lure of Violence

We are very excited to share the news that a friend of the EU-GUNS & GlobArms projects and a former member of Matteo Millan’s previous ERC project, Alessandro Saluppo, has just published his monograph on armed associations and political violence in Edwardian Britain (1901-1914) in an open-access format with Manchester University Press, which touches on a number of issues addressed in our research team. The book examines how the British Right responded to the national crisis of confidence that defined the Edwardian era. It analyses the mobilisation of nationalist organisations, citizen policing groups and paramilitary formations that claimed the right to protect Britain from perceived internal and external threats. Drawing on extensive documentary sources, it explores the belief systems and practices of right-wing actors pursuing military preparedness, ‘racial regeneration’ and imperial unity. The first chapter deals with the British civilian rifle club movement in the years 1899-1914 and is a prime example of how gun history can shed light on issues of wider historical relevance.