Historians are mostly in agreement that fascism was a phenomenon of pan-European significance. The most self-consciously visual of all political forms, fascism presents itself to us in vivid primary images: a chauvinist demagogue haranguing an ecstatic crowd disciplined ranks of marching youths, colored-shirted militants beating up members of some demonized minority….īut it has proved uncommonly hard to define the nature of fascism, to determine how widely the notion can usefully be applied, or what differentiates it from other political movements and regimes.
Originally published by A.A.Why is fascism such an elusive object of inquiry? As Robert Paxton notes at the outset of his study, the image of fascism has a deceptive clarity:Įveryone is sure they know what fascism is. This book, based on a lifetime of research, will have a lasting impact on our understanding of twentieth century history He goes on to examine whether fascism can exist outside the specific early twentieth century European setting in which it emerged, and whether it can reappear today. The author shows how these opportunities manifested themselves differently in France, in Britain, in the Low Countries, and in Eastern Europe, and yet failed to achieve supreme power. War opened opportunities for fascist extremists to pursue these goals to the point of genocide. Goals of forced national unity, purity, and expansion, accompanied by propaganda driven public excitement, held the mixture together. While fascist parties had broad political leeway, conservatives preserved many social and economic privileges. The author makes clear the sequence of steps by which fascists and conservatives together formed regimes in Italy and Germany, and why fascists remained out of power elsewhere. Fascist parties could not approach power, however, without the complicity of conservatives willing to sacrifice the rule of law for security. Their first uniformed bands beat up "enemies of the nation," such as communists and foreign immigrants, during the tense days after 1918 when the liberal democracies of Europe were struggling with the aftershocks of World War I. He focuses more on what fascists did than on what they said. The author of this book prefers to start with concrete historical experience. What is fascism? Many authors have proposed succinct but abstract definitions. From the author of Vichy France, a fascinating, authoritative history of fascism in all its manifestations, and how and why it took hold in certain countries and not in others.
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