Defunct British neoconservatism is an ideology that is a strong proponent of foreign intervention in the Arab world and beyond, supports the role of the private sector in military contracts and is in favour of an alliance with Israel.
Murray is typical of the movement in arguing that the 'innate flaws of liberal democracy' leave Europe vulnerable to exploitation and domination by Islamic Fundamentalists; and that strong armed forces prepared to go to war are essential to the survival of what he sees as Conservative values.
An inspiration for Murray, who he frequently praises in the book, is the academic philosopher, Roger Scruton, who was part of a group of right-wing Cambridge University intellectuals under the influence of Maurice Cowling, an historian.
In 1978 Cowling helped found the Salisbury Group[3] of conservative thinkers (named after the earlier British Prime Minister).
As Scruton says in his semi-autobiographical book, Gentle Regrets: Thoughts From a Life,[5] it influenced a new generation of neo-con thinkers including Charles Moore, former editor of The Daily Telegraph, and former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.