Many UK based activists have been electrified by the amazing images of Greek militants taking on the police, during recent anti-austerity protests in Athens and other Greek cities. These images are incredible, and truly inspiring, not least because they seem to suggest that militant radicalism is a viable and effective strategy in advanced capitalist economies and modern (relatively speaking) "liberal" democracies, and that similar uprisings might therefore be possible in the UK. No political campaign exists in a state of ideological purity however, and all political campaigns succeed or fail relative to the possibilities and limitations determined by the cultures in which they exist; and there are critically important cultural differences between Greece, the UK, and other countries, which strongly influence which strategies are most likely to work in some countries and which strategies are likely to fail. Many of these cultural differences relate to different countries' experiences of Fascism and Anti-Fascism.

Greek culture is profoundly influenced by obvious facts of recent history. Until 1974 Greek people suffered the existence of a brutal CIA-backed Fascist Junta, which denied Greek people basic rights and which imprisoned, tortured and in some cases murdered thousands of radicals and moderates who had the courage to oppose it (including, Anarchists take note, imprisoning the Greek Prime Minister and left-leaning commanders in the Greek Army). The Gladio network, responsible for ostensibly "left" wing terror attacks in Italy, was also heavily involved in supporting the Greek Fascist regime. The Junta was eventually overthrown, partly as a result of a popular, originally student-led uprising, which involved many radicals and militants, and which successfully ended the regime of the Greek Colonels. As a result (as I can confirm from personal experience) many ordinary Greeks have a level of respect for radicals which is reflected in their willingness to directly confront authority today. Similar factors also influence sections of the Spanish speaking world, particularly in relation to experiences of Spanish and Chilean Fascism and Anti-Fascist responses (it is one of modern Europe's darkest secrets that far more people "disappeared" in Franco's Spain than were murdered by Fascists in Chile and Argentina, although few people in Europe today see fit to discuss this, as the spectre of postwar Fascism is something many Europeans feel more comfortable projecting onto South America, rather than admitting that even worse Fascist regimes existed so close to home with degrees of British and American support).

British culture is equally profoundly influenced by our experience of Fascism, but there are huge differences in these experiences which strongly influence how contemporary UK culture has been shaped by this. First, the major Fascist threat to the UK came from abroad, from Germany, unlike in Greece and Spain etc where the Fascist regimes were led by natives of those countries, and most victims of Fascism in the UK were killed either fighting the Axis or by German bombers during the Blitz (hence the famous football song). Second, where Greek Fascism was defeated (and Spanish Fascism was at least opposed) by militant radicals, in the UK the Fascist threat is perceived by most people to have been defeated by people from all social classes working together, in alliance with and under the leadership of the traditional establishment - as personified by the extremely strong cult of personality that still persists around the leadership of Winston Churchill.

That's not to say that British people were ever naive about the nature of the right-wing establishment, as Churchill's Tories were unceremoniously booted-out of power after the Second World War, and the Welfare State was created by the Labour movement against the wishes of the traditional establishment. Nonetheless, WW2 seared itself into the UK's popular consciousness, and while wartime events instilled a powerful legacy of residual deference towards the establishment, (obvious, but relatively minor exceptions like Cable Street notwithstanding) the predominant public view of British radicalism (particularly among working class communities) is still poisoned by the perception that many British radicals supported appeasing Germany or refused Army service as conscientious objectors (and unfortunately this view was inadvertently bolstered by radical involvement in the UK peace movement between the 1950s and 1980s).

To conclude, while this post is definitely NOT arguing that British radicals should be passive or fatalistic about trying to pro-actively change popular culture, this post IS arguing that ultra-militant tactics which seem to work in other countries won't necessarily work in the UK. The message of this post is that radicals should factor-in an informed understanding of these cultural differences before assessing strategic options (and radicals posting on Indymedia UK from Greece, Spain and Chile etc should also be aware of these cultural differences as well). That which works in Greece won't necessarily work in the UK.

Protest against the Tory Conference - 2nd Oct, 12 noon, Liverpool Rd, Manchester M3 4JR

Fight Privatisation & Defend Education - 9th Nov, 11am to 2pm, Central London (start point tbc)