Fascism in Europe and Beyond: A History of the First Hundred Years

Fascism in Europe and Beyond examines fascism from its origins to the present. It begins in the fin-de-siècle era when the various ideas that eventually coalesced into fascism first emerged and concludes with the re-emergence of fascist ideas in recent times. Historiographical discussions, illustrations, biographical textboxes and maps are interwoven into the text, while a valuable collection of primary documents can be found at the end of the book to facilitate further study. Paul Baxa focuses primarily on European experiences in countries such as Germany, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, the UK, France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal, but there is also significant coverage of imperial Japan and Cold War fascism in the shape of North American movements and leaders like Rockwell’s American Nazi Party. Baxa even discusses The World Union of National Socialists and its attempt to build a universal fascist movement after the Second World War. The aims of the fascist movements, their social composition, and their actions are explored extensively in the book, while an emphasis is placed on the ‘cult of personality’ in driving fascism in its many manifestations. Baxa’s underlying assertion that fascism is primarily a cultural movement – a political cult in fact – that relies on charismatic leaders who have been able to articulate and project the fantasies and desires of their followers provides a consistent position throughout, one that both enriches and enlivens the text itself and that offers a useful jumping-off point for classroom discussions.

Table of Contents:
List of Images List of Maps Timeline Introduction: The First Hundred Years and Beyond Part 1 - Origins & Rise to Power (1888-1924) Chapter 1: Fin-de-Siècle Culture Wars & the Origins of Fascist Ideology Chapter 2: The Great War: The Crucible of Fascism Chapter 3: Postwar: White Terrors, Red Years & the Rise of Fascism Part 2 - Interwar Fascism (1922-1939) Chapter 4: Fascist Italy: The Early Years Chapter 5: The Weimar Republic & the Rise of Nazism Chapter 6: The 1930s: Fascism in Power Chapter 7: Fascism in Western Europe Chapter 8: Mediterranean Fascism Chapter 9: Fascism in East and Central Europe Part 3 - World War II to the Present (& Future) Chapter 10: Building the Fascist World Order Chapter 11: Cold War Fascism Chapter 12: Neofascism & Terrorism in from the 1960s to the 1980s Chapter 13: Fascism in the Twenty-First Century Conclusion: The Continuing Fascination with Fascism Appendix 1 - Primary Documents Glossary Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Paul Baxa is Associate Professor of History and Chair of the History Department at Ave Maria University, USA. He is the author of Roads and Ruins: The Symbolic Landscape of Fascist Rome (2010).