In 2019, both the Christchurch and Poway Synagogue terrorist attacks saw the alleged gunman produce a preattack manifesto, posted online, detailing immediate motivations and broader political strategy. This development is far from unique – the 2011 bombing and shootings by Anders Behring Breivik were presaged by a 1,500-page statement outlining his world view. Far right manifestos of this type seek to influence and direct opinion and have come to form part of the contested aftermath of terrorist attacks. Some of the dangers posed by such declarations can be seen in a much earlier document entitled ‘The White Wolves’.
The White Wolves circulated in the United Kingdom in the 1990s, and gained notoriety during a series of nail bombings in London, for which David Copeland, a member of a small far-right group called the National Socialist Movement (NSM) was eventually convicted. It seems unlikely Copeland was the author of the White Wolves; to this day it is unclear who is. The first contribution of this Research Note is to point to the risks inherent in assessing extremist materials where authorship has not been fully established. Dissemination of the White Wolves on the farright, and media speculation about it, heightened ultimately inaccurate fears a violent separatist group had been established that was about to start a terrorist campaign. The White Wolves sense of urgency and desire for blood however, are recurring themes in both fascist and terrorist declarations, and this text also serves as a contribution to the study of terrorist tropes.
