Political Ideologies: An Introduction

168 Chapter 7 QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION y y Was fascism merely a product of the specific historical circumstances of the interwar period? y y Is there such a thing as a ‘fascist minimum’, and if so, what are its features? y y How has anti-rationalism shaped fascist ideology? y y Why do fascists value struggle and war? y y How can the fascist leader principle be viewed as a form of democracy? y y Is fascism simply an extreme form of nationalism?

y y In what sense is fascism a revolutionary creed? y y To what extent can fascism be viewed as a blend of nationalism and socialism? y y Why and how is fascism linked to totalitarianism? y y Are all fascists racists, or only some of them? y y Why and how have some fascists objected to capitalism? y y To what extent is modern ‘neo-fascism’ a genuine form of fascism?

FURTHER READING

Bosworth, R. The Oxford Handbook of Fascism (2012). A comprehensive collection of writings and research on fascism, and its ideological practice across many contexts. Griffin, R. Fascism (2018). A compact introduction to the concept of fascism and its development, with an emphasis on its relevance in contemporary global politics. Griffin, R. (ed.), International Fascism: Theories, Causes and the New Consensus (1998). A collection of essays that examine contrasting interpretations of fascism and a diversity of fascist movements from an international perspective.

Kallis, A. The Fascism Reader (2003). An excellent collection of writings from leading scholars of fascism on a broad range of topics. Mann, M. Fascists (2004). An extensive survey of the six regimes where fascism became the dominant ideology, and their political, intellectual, and sociological traits.

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