The national in the network society: UKUncut, the English Defence League and the challenge for social democracy

This chapter argues that the European crisis in social democracy is partially to do with a failure to engage publics at the level of the national. It looks at how two groups in the UK, one broadly left and the other far-right, have used social media to engage with the discourse of nation in the construction of identity networks to further their political goals. The argument is that social democratic parties need to learn from these groups if they are to continue to be a force in European politics