The nature of 'fascism' has been hotly contested by scholars since the term was first coined by Mussolini in 1919. However, for the first time since Italian fascism appeared there is now a significant degree of consensus amongst scholars about how to approach the generic term, namely as a revolutionary form of ultra-nationalism. Seen from this perspective, all forms of fascism have three common features: anticonservatism, a myth of ethnic or national renewal and a conception of a nation in crisis. This collection includes articles that show this new consensus, which is inevitably contested, as well as making available material which relates to aspects of fascism independently of any sort of consensus and also covering fascism of the inter and post-war periods.This is a comprehensive selection of texts, reflecting both the extreme multi-faceted nature of fascism as a phenomenon and the extraordinary divergence of interpretations of fascism.

What is fascism? Is it revolutionary? Or is it reactionary? Can it be both? Fascism is notoriously hard to define. How do we make sense of an ideology that appeals to streetfighters and intellectuals alike? That is overtly macho in style, yet attracts many women? That calls for a return to tradition while maintaining a fascination with technology? And that preaches violence in the name of an ordered society? In the new edition of this Very Short Introduction, Kevin Passmore brilliantly unravels the paradoxes of one of the most important phenomena in the modern world—tracing its origins in the intellectual, political, and social crises of the late nineteenth century, the rise of fascism following World War I, including fascist regimes in Italy and Germany, and the fortunes of 'failed' fascist movements in Eastern Europe, Spain, and the Americas. He also considers fascism in culture, the new interest in transnational research, and the progress of the far right since 2002. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The Nature of Fascism draws on the history of ideas as well as on political, social and psychological theory to produce a synthesis of ideas and approaches that will be invaluable for students. Roger Griffin locates the driving force of fascism in a distinctive form of utopian myth, that of the regenerated national community, destined to rise up from the ashes of a decadent society. He lays bare the structural affinity that relates fascism not only to Nazism, but to the many failed fascist movements that surfaced in inter-war Europe and elsewhere, and traces the unabated proliferation of virulent (but thus far successfully marginalized) fascist activism since 1945.

This volume constitutes a survey of social science efforts to explain the fascist phenomenon. Attempts to adequately interpret fascism have involved an inordinate number of social researchers and historians for an inordinate amount of time over the past half century. For all that we still find ourselves without a compelling account of the entire complex sequence. Fascism constitutes a significant concern for students of contemporary politics. To develop an intellectually defensible explanation of the nature, origins, and development of Italian Fascism and German Nazism remains a responsibility still outstanding. Interpretations of Fascism provides a review of the efforts that have been made to date to interpret and explain the phenomenon, It addresses itself specifically to those efforts undertaken to provide a social science explanation of Mussolini's Fascism. Dealing wiht the special application of social science methods to a specific problem, the book provides a special angle to examine this ubiquitous system in a comparable context. The book should be useful for college courses inb political theory, comparative politics, democracy and dictatorship, economic and political change, and modern European history. The new edition is graced by a provocative, lengthy new essay reviewing the literature from 1973 through 1996. As such, it is an up to date examination of fascism in our times. Professor Gregor is careful to emphasize that fascist movements can thrive in confines far beyond Italy and Germany. It has found fertile soil from Russia to Africa. In short, Gregor argues that this makes fascism a movement that extends through political space no less than historical time. The documentation of the book is now very rich, with a bibliographic review that can serve experts and generalists alike. Stanley G. Payne credits Gregor with -clearing away useless, obfuscatory theoretical debris-, claiming that -Gregor's book serves the study of fascist politics very well indeed-. And Giuseppe Prezzolini, introduced the Italian language edition by noting that -Interpretations of Fascism is rich in information and scientifically precise in style...a reflection of an intelligence that operates beyond passions.-

This definitive contribution to social science literature describes German's general theory of authoritarianism in modem society, and applies it to authoritarian movements and regimes likely to merge out of the social mobilization of the middle and lower classes. Germani analyzes the nature, conditions, and determinants of authoritarianism in the context of Latin American political and social developments and compares it to European fascist movements.