Unlike yesterday’s fascists, today’s radical right-wing leaders propagate neither territorial expansion nor anything close to the racial laws of the 1930s. Björn Höcke is public enemy number one in present-day Germany. At least that’s what German media suggest. Höcke is a leading exponent of the “völkisch” wing of Alternative for Germany (AfD), the country’s radical right-wing populist… Continue reading “Have We Seen the Eternal Return of Fascism?”
The tradition of German historismus (often translated in English as historicism) was the leading method of historical study in Germany through the 19th and well into the 20th century. Its reputation for rigour made it attractive to historians across Europe, notably in Britain through the advocacy of Lord Acton, Regius Professor of Modern History at… Continue reading “Historismus. Part One: Historismus, Ranke and its Roots at the University of Berlin”
The hateful actions of the furthest fringes tend to be tolerated, downplayed or even ignored. In October 2019, England’s national football team played what should have been a humdrum European Championship qualifying match against Bulgaria in Sofia, the country’s capital. But the match soon made headlines for all the wrong reasons, being stopped twice because… Continue reading “Football fandom and fascist generals: Bulgaria’s radical right”
Violent language — even language that only gestures toward violence — creates its own effects and its own momentum, which it cannot always control. In February 1909, a strange new manifesto appeared, first in the Bologna-based Italian- language newspaper Gazzetta dell’ Emiliana, and then in French in Le Figaro. Readers of the declaration might have… Continue reading “When Angry Words Become Violent Actions”
Those who defend statues meant to assert dominance have yet to learn the lessons of the past. In 1975, on a satirical newscast on the American television show Saturday Night Live, mock reporter Chevy Chase announced Spanish dictator Francisco Franco’s death for the better part of a year, reminding audiences that the dictator was ‘still… Continue reading “The memory of Generalisimo Francisco Franco is still alive”
Anti-fascist action has been an inherent part of the British society. Macklin and Busher (2015), who looked at the interactions between far right movements and counter-movements in the period after World War II, referred, for instance, to the activities of the 43 Group in the 1940s, the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the 1970s, Anti-Fascist… Continue reading “The Battle of Cable Street: ‘they shall not pass’”
A key under-studied area for analysis is how contemporary extreme right movements can also be seen as totalitarian. Indeed, it is not difficult to find examples of such. According to an old joke, while in a liberal democracy everything that is not forbidden is allowed, in a totalitarian system everything that has not been banned… Continue reading “Totalitarianism in the twentieth century and beyond”
The creation of new symbols and rituals to evoke belief in a higher cause are central to the concept, ‘political religion’, prevalent in fascism studies for at least two decades. ‘I’m beginning to comprehend, I think, some of the reasons for Hitler’s astounding success. Borrowing a chapter from the Roman church, he is restoring pageantry… Continue reading “Political religions and fascism”
Four facets of the Fascist label in the Swedish context The use of the term ‘fascism’ or ‘neo-fascism’ in the context of the Swedish radical right and its parliamentary arm, the Sweden Democrats (SD), is extremely contested. Following the general elections of 2014, PM Stefan Löfven characterized the party in an op ed in Dagens… Continue reading “’Spöknippet’: the chilling continuities of fascist imagination in the Swedish Radical Right”
In May 2019, the Italian government approved an anti-immigration “decreto sicurezza” (or security decree). Among other nationalist policies, the new law foresees a fine against anyone who is found transporting a migrant into the country. In response, the students of Sicilian high school teacher Rosa Maria dell’Aria produced a short video that compared the decree,… Continue reading “Is freedom of expression at stake in Italy?”