Dreaming of a national socialist world : the World Union of National Socialists (WUNS) and the recurring vision of transnational neo-nazism

This article will survey the transnational dynamics of the World Union of National Socialists (WUNS), from its foundation in 1962 to the present day. It will examine a wide range of materials generated by the organisation, including its foundational document, the Cotswolds Declaration, as well as membership application details, wuns bulletins, related magazines such as Stormtrooper, and its intellectual journals, National Socialist World and The National Socialist. By analysing material from affiliated organisations, it will also consider how the network was able to foster contrasting relationships with sympathetic groups in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, allowing other leading neo-Nazis, such as Colin Jordan, to develop a wider role internationally. The author argues that the neo-Nazi network reached its height in the mid to late 1960s, and also highlights how, in more recent times, the wuns has taken on a new role as an evocative 'story' in neo-Nazi history. This process of 'accumulative extremism', inventing a new tradition within the neo-Nazi movement, is important to recognise, as it helps us understand the self-mythologizing nature of neo-Nazi and wider neo-fascist cultures. Therefore, despite failing in its ambitions of creating a Nazi-inspired new global order, the lasting significance of the WUNS has been its ability to inspire newer transnational aspirations among neo-Nazis and neo-fascists.