What drives politics in dictatorships? Milan W. Svolik argues authoritarian regimes must resolve two fundamental conflicts. Dictators face threats from the masses over which they rule - the problem of authoritarian control. Secondly from the elites with whom dictators rule - the problem of authoritarian power-sharing. Using the tools of game theory, Svolik explains why some dictators establish personal autocracy and stay in power for decades; why elsewhere leadership changes are regular and institutionalized, as in contemporary China; why some dictatorships are ruled by soldiers, as Uganda was under Idi Amin; why many authoritarian regimes, such as PRI-era Mexico, maintain regime-sanctioned political parties; and why a country's authoritarian past casts a long shadow over its prospects for democracy, as the unfolding events of the Arab Spring reveal. Svolik complements these and other historical case studies with the statistical analysis on institutions, leaders and ruling coalitions across dictatorships from 1946 to 2008.

During the Cold War Italy witnessed the existence of an anomalous version of a civil conflict, defined as a 'creeping' or a 'low-intensity' civil war. Political violence escalated, including bomb attacks against civilians, starting with a massacre in Milan, on 12 December 1969, and culminating with the massacre in Bologna, on 2 August 1980. Making use of the literature on national reconciliation and narrative psychology theory, this book examines the fight over the 'judicial' and the 'historical' truth in Italy today, through a contrasting analysis of judicial findings and the 'narratives of victimhood' prevalent among representatives of both the post- and the neo-fascist right.

Drawing on a wide range documentary and oral sources, including interviews with refugees, this book explores the responses in Manchester to those threatened by the rise of Fascism in Europe. The book has been written with the general reader in mind, but it will be of particular interest to those studying Britain's attitudes to immigrants and refugees, the history of the British Jewish community, the role of Zionism during the Second World War, the role of philanthropy and the Christian churches in Manchester society and issues surrounding the settlement and acculturation of newcomers to British society. Bill Williams is an Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester

This book is about the ideas and policies that characterised the rightward trajectory of Austrofascism in the 1930s. It is the first major Anglophone study of Austrofascism in over two decades and provides a fresh perspective on the debate over whether Austria was an authoritarian or fascist state. The book is designed to introduce specialists, general scholars of fascism, and undergraduate students of interwar Austrian and Central European history, to the range of issues confronting Austrian policy and opinion makers in the years prior to the Anschluss with Nazi Germany. The book makes an original contribution to studies of interwar Austria by introducing several new case studies, including press and propaganda, minority politics, regionalism, immigration and refugees, as the issues that shaped Austria's political culture in the 1930s. Its arguments and findings will be of value for scholars as well as students of interwar fascism and twentieth-century Austrian and Central European history. -- .

Highlights the persuasive devices most common to fascist appeals Fascism has resurfaced as one of the most pressing problems of our time. The rise of extremist parties and candidates in Europe, the United States, and around the globe has led even mainstream political commentators to begin using the term “fascism” to describe dangerous movements that have revived and repackaged many of the strategies long thought to have been relegated to the margins of political rhetoric. No longer just confined to the state regimes of the past, fascism thrives today as a globally self-augmenting, self-propagating rhetorical phenomenon with a variety of faces and expressions. The Rhetoric of Fascism defines and interprets the common persuasive devices that characterize fascist discourse to understand the nature of its enduring appeal. By approaching fascism from a rhetorical perspective, this volume complements established political and sociological understandings of fascism as a movement or regime. A rhetorical approach studies fascism less as a party one joins than as a set of persuasive strategies one adopts. Fascism spreads precisely because it is not a coherent entity. Instead, it exists as a loosely bound and often contradictory collection of persuasive trajectories that have attained enough coherence to mobilize and channel the passions of a self-constituted mass of individuals. Introductory chapters focus on general theories of fascism drawn from twentieth-century history and theory. Contributors investigate specific historical figures and their relationship to contemporary rhetorics, focusing on a specific rhetorical device that is characteristic of fascist rhetoric. A common thread throughout every chapter is that fascist devices are appealing because they speak to us in the familiar language of our culture. As we are seduced by one device at a time, we soon find ourselves part of a movement, a group, or a campaign that makes us act in ways we might never have imagined. This volume reveals that fascism may be closer to home than we think. CONTRIBUTORS Patrick D. Anderson / Rya Butterfield / Nathan Crick / Elizabeth R. Earle / Zac Gershberg / Stephen J. Hartnett / Marie-Odile N. Hobeika / Sean Illing / Jacob A. Miller / Fernando Ismael QuiÑones Valdivia / Patricia Roberts-Miller / Raquel M. Robvais / Bradley A. Serber / Ryan Skinnell

Parties of the extreme right have experienced a dramatic rise in electoral support in many countries in Western Europe over the last two and a half decades. This phenomenon has been far from uniform, however, and the considerable attention that the more successful right-wing extremist parties have received has sometimes obscured the fact that parties of the extreme right have not recorded high electoral results in all West European democracies. Furthermore, the electoral scores of these parties have also varied over time, with the same party recording low electoral scores in one election but securing high electoral scores in another. This book, available in paperback for the first time, examines the reasons behind the variation in the electoral fortunes of the West European parties of the extreme right in the period since the late 1970s. It proposes a number of different explanations as to why certain parties have performed better than others at the polls and it investigates each of these different explanations systematically and in depth. As well as offering a comprehensive analysis of the reasons behind the uneven electoral success of the West European parties of the extreme right, this book provides up-to-date information on all right-wing extremist parties that have contested elections at national level across Western Europe since the late 1970s. In addition to examining the parties' ideology and organisation, it discusses their relationship with the parties of the mainstream, and it investigates the impact that electoral institutions have on their ability to attract votes. This book is aimed at both scholars and students interested in the extreme right, in party politics and in comparative politics more generally. -- .

Between 1926 and 1943, the Fascist regime arrested thousands of Italians and deported them to island internment colonies and small villages in southern Italy. Ordinary Violence in Mussolini's Italy analyses this system of political confinement and, more broadly, its effects on Italian society, revealing the centrality of political violence to Fascist rule. In doing so, the book shatters the widely accepted view that the Mussolini regime ruled without a system of mass repression. The Fascist state ruled Italy violently, projecting its coercive power deeply and diffusely into society through confinement, imprisonment, low-level physical assaults, economic deprivations, intimidation, discrimination and other quotidian forms of coercion. Moreover, by promoting denunciatory practices, the regime cemented the loyalties of 'upstanding' citizens while suppressing opponents, dissenters and social outsiders. Fascist repression was thus more intense and ideological than previously thought and even shared some important similarities with Nazi and Soviet terror.

In 1945, French political prisoners returning from the concentration camps of Germany coined the phrase 'the concentrationary universe' to describe the camps as a terrible political experiment in the destruction of the human. This book shows how the unacknowledged legacy of a totalitarian mentality has seeped into the deepest recesses of everyday popular culture. It asks if the concentrationary now infests our cultural imaginary, normalizing what was once considered horrific and exceptional by transforming into entertainment violations of human life. Drawing on the political philosophy of Hannah Arendt and the analyses of violence by Agamben, Virilio, Lacoue-Labarthe and Nancy, it also offers close readings of films by Cavani and Haneke that identify and critically expose such an imaginary and, hence, contest its lingering force.

The remarkable true story of friendship, resilience and survival against the odds 'A remarkable tale of survival' Jeremy Dronfield, bestselling author of The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz 'It's an account of astounding courage and resourcefulness . . . The real miracle here is the vitality of Kacenberg's faith and determination' Mail on Sunday __________ In a small Polish village, Mala Kacenberg grew up in the comfort of her family. Until the Nazis arrived. Her village was torn apart. Her family were murdered. And Mala had no one left. Except she wasn't alone. Her beloved cat, Malach, remained by her side. They were forced to hide in the forest. Food was impossible to find. And with German soldiers hunting them at every turn, they were never safe. Alone, they would have died. But could they somehow survive together? __________ This is the astonishing true story of one girl's journey through the Holocaust, and the guardian angel who gave her the strength to live. 'A vital document of a history that must never be allowed to vanish' Julie Orringer for the New York Times 'To read Mala's Cat is to enter a dreamscape of horrors seen through innocent eyes' Jewish Chronicle

In the years between the two world wars, fascism triumphed in Italy, Germany, Spain and elsewhere, coming to power after intense struggles with the labour movements of those countries. This book analyses the way in which the British left responded to this new challenge. How did socialists and communists in Britain explain what fascism was? What did they do to oppose it, and how successful were they? In examining the theories and actions of the Labour Party, the TUC, the Communist Party and other, smaller left-wing groups, the book explains their different approaches, while at the same time highlighting the common thread that ran through all their interpretations of fascism. The author argues that the British left has largely been overlooked in the few specific studies of anti-fascism that exist, with the focus being disproportionately applied to its European counterparts. He also takes issue with recent developments in the study of fascism, and argues that the views of the left, often derided by modern historians, are still relevant today. -- .

Fascism is a political ideology which has been identified with totalitarianism, state terror, fanaticism, orchestrated violence, and blind obedience. Yet what is fascism? Why does it hold such strong appeal? Why does it provoke charismatic and dangerous movements? To what may these lead?

With extracts written by fascist thinkers and propagandists both inside and outside Europe, before and after the Second World War, this Reader offers a fascinating insight into the breadths and depths of this expanding political force.

As Hitler's dreams of a Thousand Year Reich crumbled in the face of overwhelming assaults from both East and West in the first months of 1945 the heavily out numbered German armed forces were still capable of fighting with a tenacity and professionalism at odds with the desperate circumstances. While Hitler fantasized about deploying divisions and armies that had long since ceased to exist, boys of fifteen, officer cadets, sailors and veterans of the Great War joined the survivors of shattered formations on the front line. Leading historian Tony Le Tissier gives a German perspective to the mayhem and bloodshed of the last months of the Second World War in Europe. Teenaged Flak auxiliaries recount their experiences alongside veteran Panzergrenadiers attempting to break out of Soviet encirclement. Struggles between the military, industry and the Nazi Party for influence over the defenders of Berlin contrast with a key participant's account of Goebbel's abortive attempt to conclude a cease-fire with the Soviets. This is fascinating reading for anybody interested in the ordinary soldier's experience of the culminating battles in central Europe in 1945.

CHOICE OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC TITLE 2009

..".an essential book. It provides precise facts and figures for many issues that have heretofore been presented in impressionistic terms." . The International History Review

Basing his extensive research into hitherto unexploited archival documentation on both sides of the Rhine, Allan Mitchell has uncovered the inner workings of the German military regime from the Wehrmacht's triumphal entry into Paris in June 1940 to its ignominious withdrawal in August 1944. Although mindful of the French experience and the fundamental issue of collaboration, the author concentrates on the complex problems of occupying a foreign territory after a surprisingly swift conquest. By exploring in detail such topics as the regulation of public comportment, economic policy, forced labor, culture and propaganda, police activity, persecution and deportation of Jews, assassinations, executions, and torture, this study supersedes earlier attempts to investigate the German domination and exploitation of wartime France. In doing so, these findings provide an invaluable complement to the work of scholars who have viewed those dark years exclusively or mainly from the French perspective.

Based on extensive archival research, this is a comprehensive study of theatre in the Third Reich. It explores the contending pressures and ambitions within the regime and the Nazi party, within the German theatre profession itself and the theatre-going public. Together, these shaped theatrical practice in the Nazi years. By tracing the origins of the Nazi stage back to the right-wing theatre reform movement of the late nineteenth century, Strobl suggests that theatre was widely regarded as a central pillar of German national identity. The role played by the stage in the evolving collective German identity after 1933 is examined through chapters on theatre and Nazi racial policy, anti-religious campaigns and the uses of history. The book traces the evolving fortunes of theatre in the Third Reich, to the years of 'total war', and the resulting physical destruction of most German playhouses.

In 1942 Gearoid O Cuinneagain, a young pro-Axis activist, founded Ailtiri na hAiseirghe ("Architects of the Resurrection"), a fascist movement that aimed to destroy the infant Irish democracy and replace it with a one-party totalitarian state.

But Ailtiri na hAiseirghe was no Nazi imitator. Rather, it aimed at something far more ambitious: the fusion of totalitarianism and Christianity that would make Ireland a "missionary-ideological state" wielding global influence in the postwar era. Supported by idealistic youths and mainstream politicians like Ernest Blythe, Oliver J. Flanagan and Dan Breen--and scrutinized anxiously by British and American intelligence--Aiseirghe won several seats in the 1945 local government elections.

"Architects of the Resurrection" casts an uncomfortable light on the popularity of anti-democratic, anti-Semitic and extremist ideas in wartime Ireland. Students of Irish history and of comparative fascism will find many new insights in this book.

This book is based on the oral life histories of about 70 men and women workers, born between the end of the last century and 1920, which are combined with sources such as police reports, documentary films and judicial documents. The interviewees recount their visions of life, of history, and of themselves; they call to memory the fascist period, and the ambivalent relationship between the Duce and the masses. A picture of resistance emerges, through such minor episodes as jokes and graffiti, wearing a red tie or whistling an old socialist tune, and through major issues such as abortions carried out in direct opposition to state propaganda. Acquiescence is also recalled, however, in the enrolment of children in fascist youth organisations or in the use of new state-controlled social services. The final chapter reconstructs an event that acquired great symbolic meaning: the eloquent and unexpected silence of the Fiat workers before Mussolini in 1939 at the inauguration of the Miraflori factory.

In 1942 Gearoid O Cuinneagain, a young pro-Axis activist, founded Ailtiri na hAiseirghe ("Architects of the Resurrection"), a fascist movement that aimed to destroy the infant Irish democracy and replace it with a one-party totalitarian state.

But Ailtiri na hAiseirghe was no Nazi imitator. Rather, it aimed at something far more ambitious: the fusion of totalitarianism and Christianity that would make Ireland a "missionary-ideological state" wielding global influence in the postwar era. Supported by idealistic youths and mainstream politicians like Ernest Blythe, Oliver J. Flanagan and Dan Breen--and scrutinized anxiously by British and American intelligence--Aiseirghe won several seats in the 1945 local government elections.

"Architects of the Resurrection" casts an uncomfortable light on the popularity of anti-democratic, anti-Semitic and extremist ideas in wartime Ireland. Students of Irish history and of comparative fascism will find many new insights in this book.

Benito Mussolini has persistently been described as an 'actor' - and also as a master of illusions. In her vividly narrated account of the Italian dictator's relationship with the theatre, Patricia Gaborik discards any metaphorical notions of Il Duce as a performer and instead tells the story of his life as literal spectator, critic, impresario, dramatist and censor of the stage. Discussing the ways in which the autarch's personal tastes and convictions shaped, in fascist Italy, theatrical programming, she explores Mussolini's most significant dramatic influences, his association with important figures such as Luigi Pirandello, Gabriele D'Annunzio and George Bernard Shaw, his oversight of stage censorship, and his forays into playwriting. By focusing on its subject's manoeuvres in the theatre, and manipulation of theatrical ideas, this consistently illuminating book transforms our understandings of fascism as a whole. It will have strong appeal to readers in both theatre studies and modern Italian history.

"The Devil in History" is a provocative analysis of the relationship between communism and fascism. Reflecting the authorOCOs personal experiences within communist totalitarianism, this is a book about political passions, radicalism, utopian ideals, and their catastrophic consequences in the twentieth centuryOCOs experiments in social engineering. Vladimir Tismaneanu brilliantly compares communism and fascism as competing, sometimes overlapping, and occasionally strikingly similar systems of political totalitarianism. He examines the inherent ideological appeal of these radical, revolutionary political movements, the visions of salvation and revolution they pursued, the value and types of charisma of leaders within these political movements, the place of violence within these systems, and their legacies in contemporary politics.The author discusses thinkers who have shaped contemporary understanding of totalitarian movementsOCopeople such as Hannah Arendt, Raymond Aron, Isaiah Berlin, Albert Camus, Fran ois Furet, Tony Judt, Ian Kershaw, Leszek Kolakowski, Richard Pipes, and Robert C. Tucker. As much a theoretical analysis of the practical philosophies of Marxism-Leninism and Fascism as it is a political biography of particular figures, this book deals with the incarnation of diabolically nihilistic principles of human subjugation and conditioning in the name of presumably pure and purifying goals. Ultimately, the author claims that no ideological commitment, no matter how absorbing, should ever prevail over the sanctity of human life. He comes to the conclusion that no party, movement, or leader holds the right to dictate to the followers to renounce their critical faculties and to embrace a pseudo-miraculous, a mystically self-centered, delusional vision of mandatory happiness."

While fascism perhaps reached its peak in the regimes of Hitler and Mussolini, it continues to permeate governments today. This reference work explores the history of fascism and how it has shaped daily life up to the present day. Perhaps the most notable example of Fascism was Hitler's Nazi Germany. Fascists aimed to control the media and other social institutions, and Fascist views and agendas informed a wide range of daily life and popular culture. But while Fascism flourished around the world in the decades before and after World War II, it continues to shape politics and government today. This reference explores the history of Fascism around the world and across time, with special attention to how Fascism has been more than a political philosophy but has instead played a significant role in the lives of everyday people. Volume one begins with a introduction that surveys the history of Fascism around the world and follows with a timeline citing key events related to Fascism. Roughly 180 alphabetically arranged reference entries follow. These entries discuss such topics as conditions for working people, conditions for women, Fascist institutions that regulated daily life, attitudes toward race, physical culture, the arts, and more. Primary source documents give readers first-hand accounts of Fascist thought and practice. A selected bibliography directs users to additional resources. A timeline lists and describes key events related to fascism An overview essay surveys the history and significance of fascism around the world Alphabetically arranged reference entries provide information about fascist thought and daily life up to the present day Entries cite works for further reading and provide cross-references A selection of annotated primary source documents gives readers first-hand accounts of fascism in theory and practice A selected, general bibliography directs readers to the most important resources on fascism