Fascism Unbound: Exploring the Rise of Transnational Movements Then and Now

With the recent rise of far-right governments around the world, fascism is back in the news. But what is fascism? And how do we identify a “fascist”? These questions are hauntingly similar to those of the interwar period. When Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922, he declared that fascism was “not for export.” Nonetheless, far-right nationalists across Europe borrowed from Mussolini’s fascism, creating hybrid, syncretic movements that scholars have labeled “transnational fascism.” This session uses the concept of transnational fascism to analyze illuminating, historical case studies, including Mussolini’s Italy, Adolf Hitler’s Germany, Gyula Gömbös’s Hungary, and Kārlis Ulmanis’s Latvia. Ultimately, the session will unveil the appeal of transnational fascism, both historically and in the present day.