The neoconservative movement has played a key role in the production of Islamophobia in the UK and elsewhere. We see neoconservatism as an example of a ‘social movement from above’, that is, an instance of ‘the collective agency of dominant groups, which is centred on… maintain [ing] or modify [ing] a dominant structure’(Cox and Nilsen, 2014: 59–60). The particular trajectory of the neoconservatives and, in the particular case of Islamophobia, their alliances with other social movements is also the story of divisions or factions within ‘dominant groups’. Neoconservatism, which emerged to some extent from sections of the left, was born as a coherent political force in response to the rise of the New Left in the 1960s and 1970s; and the neocons’ bid for hegemony necessitated not only intellectually confronting the various ‘movements from below’of that period, but also influencing, challenging or attempting to displace more traditional conservative forces, organisations and structures.

In this chapter, we examine the role of the neoconservative movement in contemporary Islamophobia. We discuss the movement’s origins in the US, and then outline its more recent manifestations in the UK, where we focus in particular on two key British neo conservative think tanks: Policy Exchange and the Henry Jackson Society. We examine the broader political networks and milieu within which these think tanks operate, and we detail the neoconservative movement’s alliances with other Islamophobic movements, notably the counterjihad movement and elements of the Zionist movement.