DOCSLIB.ORG

THE INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS of FASCISM Author(S): G

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
THE INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS of FASCISM Author(S): G THE INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS OF FASCISM Author(s): G. A. BORGESE Source: Social Research, Vol. 1, No. 4 (NOVEMBER, 1934), pp. 458-485 Published by: The New School Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40981399 . Accessed: 31/01/2015 16:56 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The New School is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Social Research. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 149.31.21.88 on Sat, 31 Jan 2015 16:56:59 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS OF FASCISM BY G. A. BORGESE 1 he firstand second rules of reasoning,as formulatedby New- ton and repeatedby popular physicistsdown to the present,read as follows:"We are to admitno morecauses of naturalthings than such as are both true and sufficientto explain their appearance. Therefore to the same natural effectswe must, as far as possible,assign the same causes. As to respirationin a man and in a beast; the descentof stonesin Europe and America; the light of our culinaryfire and of thesun; thereflection of lightin the earth, and in the planets."Such rules are valid forhuman as well as for natural history,and thereforethe reasons that explain Italian fascismmust be good, at least in theirmain outlines,for German fascismtoo, and vice versa,or theyare not reasonsat all. Attemptshave been made,both fromthe politicaland fromthe economic approach, to establish the fundamentalcharacter of thisnew typeof political organization.It has been said that Ger- man fascismis a revoltagainst the injusticesand humiliationsof the Treatyof Versailles,a revulsionof defeat.But thisinterpreta- tion does not account for the birth of fascismin its countryof origin,Italy, a countrywhich had won the war more smashingly thanany other of the combatants,utterly destroying her hereditary enemy,the Austro-Hungarianmonarchy, and acquiringa frontier of a perfection,geographical, ethnical and military,unparalleled in continentalEurope. To be sure she failed in gettinghold of that zone of the Dalmatian mainland,opposite to her coast and inhabitedalmost wholly by Slavs, which the Allies had formally grantedher; but she won Fiume, whichshe herselfhad promised to Croatia, and she took definitepossession of Rhodes and some otherGreek islandsoff Asia Minor, of which her occupancyhad hithertobeen consideredmore or less temporary.It is also true This content downloaded from 149.31.21.88 on Sat, 31 Jan 2015 16:56:59 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS OF FASCISM 459 thatshe did not share,as largelyas her sacrificesentitled her, the tough and bony Africanand Asiatic prey, improperlyalthough magnificentlycalled the "colonial booty." In this she suffereda disillusionmentpartly due to the selfishnessof her partnersand partlyto her own lack of colonial purpose.Also she feltthat Eng- land and Francewere blindly stubborn in contestingwith her even some raggedreadjustments of bordersaround her sandyor rocky Africanterritories. But such minor failures,even supposingthat they injured real interestsmore than feelingsof pride, cannot make a defeatout of a victory.Neither can theyjustify the na- tionalisticslogan, "Italy won the war and lost the peace." Among someItalians a feelingof defeatarose and graduallyincreased dur- ing the years1919 and 1920; but it was a matterof feeling,not of fact,and it was a consequence,not a cause, of the fascistand pre- fascistmentality which later swept the country. For theiremotional purposesthese Italians wanted a feelingof distress,and theygot it. Happy warriors,totalitarian victors, exist only in the jealous imaginationof competitorsor, less frequently,in the case of na- tions as well as in that of individuals,in the self-sufficiencyof a delicatelybalanced and moderatemind. If the imperfectionor, as it was said, the mutilationof the Italian victoryexplains fascism, whyhad notfascism risen earlier and elsewhere,after other partially unsuccessfulvictories? Why did it not rise immediatelyafter 1918 in France,who had lostboth the main issuesof her victoryas con- ceived not only by inflamednationalists, but even by cautious patriots,and was unable to get eitherthe Rhine frontieror the Anglo-Americanguaranty of her safety?Why did it not rise in England,who saw, as an indirectbut promptconsequence of the triumph,Ireland driftingaway and the ties of the Empire loosen- ing?Or evenin America,which did not acquire anyterritory worth mentioningand, ratherstunned, lost her money?This is indeed no worldof justice,no Kingdomof God; and the destinyallotted to the Italian nation,jammed as it is in a poor and narrowterri- tory,is inferiorto the claimsshe maybase not only on her historic grandeurbut on the actual ambition of her living children to This content downloaded from 149.31.21.88 on Sat, 31 Jan 2015 16:56:59 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 460 SOCIAL RESEARCH collaboratein the workof human civilizationand to pluck, also, some deservedfruits of human happinessfor themselves. But even admittingthat this feeling of inferioritywas bound to growmore insistentafter the passion and sacrificeof war, and in spite of its positiveresults, why did it findits expressionin fascismand not in a subspeciesof communismor, as reason seemed to suggest,in a politicalplan whichwould somehowhave made Italythe leading power in Geneva? Italy was, as she is, the strongestamong the feeble and the feeblestamong the strong.Her universalbackground and ambi- tion mighthave gained forher the positionof leader of the minor and proletariannations of Europe, to balance with theirhelp the "Mightyof the Earth/'opposing the greatpowers when necessary and pushing them toward a sincere submissionof their shrewd policyto theirlofty principles. Italy mighthave made it her mis- sion to revivethe inspireddemocracy of Mazzini, adapting it to changed circumstances;to translateinto European concreteness the idealismof Wilson; to quicken the pace of historytoward the next goals: a federation,political and economic,in Europe, and a consortiumin the colonies,with the "open door" and equalityof rights.Certainly such a role would have been much less appealing to particularisticvanities, but proportionallymore satisfactoryif the aim were real justice and - why not?- real business.This plan mighthave been conceived,and it was indeed conceivedby some Italians of those days; it was, or seemed to be, at the same time wise and great. Perhaps it mighthave won the support of America,but it did not please the Italian mind and heartof those days. Not only did it appear Utopian to the mind; much more important,it was distastefulto the heart.And fascismcame. What Walter Lippmann wrote about Russia and America is equally true for Italy and Germany,and for any countryat any time."It is certainthat men musteat; it does not followthat they can eat onlywhat the cook choosesto provide. /. It was certain thatafter the breakdownof Czarismthere would have to be a new regimein Russia. Yet it was not certainthat it had to be the This content downloaded from 149.31.21.88 on Sat, 31 Jan 2015 16:56:59 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS OF FASCISM 461 regimeof theFive Year Plan. That wasthe dinner the cooks hap- penedto providefor hungry men. After the collapse of 1932-1933 a New Deal ofsome sort was imperative.But not everythingthat has been dealtout was imperative.That has dependedupon the temperament,the prejudices, the quick judgments of the dealers."1 Therewas no Italiandefeat, and thereis no reasonto believethat defeat,either imaginary or actual,either Italian or German,had to be followedby fascism.Turkey and Russiawere severely and unmistakablydefeated, but theyresorted to Kemalismand com- munism,which were indeed dictatorships, but ofquite a different brandfrom fascist dictatorships. Whatmatters, in each of these cases, is the mental and sentimental backgroundof "cooks and dealers." It is eveneasier to disposeof thepurely economic explanations thatare customarilygiven of thephenomenon of fascism. Marxism,at leastas a prophecy,collapsed long ago; so everyone asserts.But Marxianconcepts and formulaestill hang, each on itspeg, in thewardrobe of popular mental apparel. They are com- fortableand readyto wear.Hence the interpretationof fascism as theangry self-defense ofcapitalism against the communistic and socialisticmenace. But whythen did it not appearin Poland or Rumaniaor the otherstates bordering on Bolshevism;why did it notappear in Franceor in anyother country where capitalism is reallystrong and socialismis moreor lessmilitant? It is not a simplematter to explain,on purelyeconomic grounds, why the chosenland of fascism,its Meccaor Bethlehem,had to be Italy, wherecapitalism was comparativelyweak, and wherein 1922an agonizingsocialism, which had neverbeen verymuch alive, ex- pressedwhat strength it had onlyin rhetoricalstrikes, compared towhich the recent events in San Franciscoand Minneapolisor in the Americantextile strike could be consideredas full fledged revolutions. The answerusually given is thatbecause capitalism was weak, »Lippmann,Walter,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mussolini's Gladius: the Double-Edged Sword of Antiquity In
    Student Publications Student Scholarship Spring 2016 Mussolini's Gladius: The ouble-ED dged Sword of Antiquity in Fascist Italy Kyle W. Schrader Gettysburg College Follow this and additional works at: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship Part of the European History Commons, Military History Commons, and the Political History Commons Share feedback about the accessibility of this item. Schrader, Kyle W., "Mussolini's Gladius: The oubD le-Edged Sword of Antiquity in Fascist Italy" (2016). Student Publications. 431. https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/431 This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution. Cupola permanent link: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/ 431 This open access student research paper is brought to you by The uC pola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of The uC pola. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Mussolini's Gladius: The ouble-ED dged Sword of Antiquity in Fascist Italy Abstract Mussolini and the Fascist Party used a plethora of propaganda techniques in order to suggest the renewal of the old Roman Empire with the rise of the Italian Fascist Party. Through the use of ideology, race issues, religion, educational control, posters, theatre, architecture, and archeology, the Fascists used the Roman past to glorify modern Italy and the Fascist party. The asF cists’ use of these Roman allusions made their own deficiencies more apparent and led to a general failure of their propaganda program in terms of creating a new Italian identity focused upon the Ancient Roman past.
    [Show full text]
  • UKRAINIAN INTEGRAL NATIONALISM and the GREEK-CATHOLIC CHURCH in the 1920-30S Oleksandr Zaitsev, Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv)
    1 UKRAINIAN INTEGRAL NATIONALISM AND THE GREEK-CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE 1920-30S Oleksandr Zaitsev, Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv) In 1934, after a series of terrorist attacks carried out by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in Galicia, the head of the Greek-Catholic Church (GCC), Metropolitan Andrei Sheptyts’kyi, issued a pastoral letter which sharply condemned “the criminal deeds of Ukrainian terrorists”.1 It was the highest point in the conflict between the Greek- Catholic Church and the revolutionary Nationalist movement.2 Why did the conflict arise? The most obvious answer is: because the Church could not condone violence and murder. But this is only part of the truth. Although there are numerous studies on the history of radical Ukrainian Nationalism and the GCC, the ‘uncomfortable’ aspects of their relations still await special research. In full accordance with Ernest Renan’s famous aphorism, 3 nationalist historians directly resorted to selective emphasis or ‘forgetting’ of historical events: they preferred to write about how the Church supported the struggle for liberation and about the clergy participation in the Nationalist movement, but quite understandably avoided discussing the conflict between the OUN and the Church. 4 In the depiction of Soviet historians, “the criminal activities of Ukrainian bourgeois nationalists always found support on the part of the Uniate Church,” whose head, “the Trojan horse of Vatican” count Sheptyts’kyi, was the nationalists’ spiritual father.5 No conflicts between the ‘father’ and the ‘children’ were mentioned. Ironically, in this respect the approaches of the nationalist historians and their Soviet counterparts – leaving 1 Andrei Sheptyts’kyi, Pastyrs’ki poslannia, vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Words and Actions: Italian Ultras and Neo-Fascism Testa, Alberto; Armstrong, Gary
    www.ssoar.info Words and actions: Italian ultras and neo-fascism Testa, Alberto; Armstrong, Gary Preprint / Preprint Zeitschriftenartikel / journal article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Testa, A., & Armstrong, G. (2008). Words and actions: Italian ultras and neo-fascism. Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture, 14(4), 473-490. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504630802211951 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer CC BY Lizenz (Namensnennung) zur This document is made available under a CC BY Licence Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu den CC-Lizenzen finden (Attribution). For more Information see: Sie hier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.de Diese Version ist zitierbar unter / This version is citable under: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-460614 1 Words and Actions: Italian ultras and Neo-Fascism. Alberto Testa1 and Gary Armstrong2 School of Sport and Education Brunel University (UK) “This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture on 01 July 2008, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504630802211951.” 1 Email: a.testa@ brunel.ac.uk 2 Email: [email protected] 2 Abstract Over the past two decades the link – perceived and actual - between political extremism and football fans has been the subject of academic, political, and policing debate. It is not rare to witness manifestations of intolerance and ideological statements referring to regional, national and international issues at football stadia. In Italian football stadia, political representation has been evident for decades; politics has been integral to all realms of Italian society and culture since the origin of the nation.
    [Show full text]
  • Youth, Gender, and Education in Fascist Italy, 1922-1939 Jennifer L
    James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Senior Honors Projects, 2010-current Honors College Spring 2015 The model of masculinity: Youth, gender, and education in Fascist Italy, 1922-1939 Jennifer L. Nehrt James Madison University Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019 Part of the European History Commons, History of Gender Commons, and the Social History Commons Recommended Citation Nehrt, Jennifer L., "The model of masculinity: Youth, gender, and education in Fascist Italy, 1922-1939" (2015). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-current. 66. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/66 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors College at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Senior Honors Projects, 2010-current by an authorized administrator of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Model of Masculinity: Youth, Gender, and Education in Fascist Italy, 1922-1939 _______________________ An Honors Program Project Presented to the Faculty of the Undergraduate College of Arts and Letters James Madison University _______________________ by Jennifer Lynn Nehrt May 2015 Accepted by the faculty of the Department of History, James Madison University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Honors Program. FACULTY COMMITTEE: HONORS PROGRAM APPROVAL: Project Advisor: Jessica Davis, Ph.D. Philip Frana, Ph.D., Associate Professor, History Interim Director, Honors Program Reader: Emily Westkaemper, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, History Reader: Christian Davis, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, History PUBLIC PRESENTATION This work is accepted for presentation, in part or in full, at Honors Symposium on April 24, 2015.
    [Show full text]
  • 2020-1488-Cons
    THE WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES GRIEVANCE BOARD EDWARD SMARR and JOSHUA SCHULTHEISZ, Grievants, v. Docket No. 2020-1488-CONS DIVISION OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION/ BUREAU OF PRISONS AND JAILS/ ST. MARYS CORRECTIONAL CENTER AND JAIL, Respondent. DECISION Grievants, Edward Smarr and Joshua Schultheisz, were employed by Respondent, Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, at St. Marys Correctional Center and Jail (SMCCJ). Respondent dismissed Grievants during their probationary period of employment. On January 17, 2020, Grievant Schultheisz filed his grievance (Docket No. 2020- 0858-MAPS) stating, “Wrongfully accused of actions according to WV DCR, Commissioner, and Governor. Religious representation sought by state officials before investigation concluded. Wrongful Termination Resulting in permanent dismissal. Penalized for following orders from senior officer.” As relief, he requests, “Public apology from all who slandered and settlement for troubled times.”1 On January 19, 2020, Grievant Smarr filed his grievance (Docket No. 2020-0822-MAPS) stating the same. 1“The remedy of a public apology is not available as relief from this Grievance Board.” Lawrence v. Bluefield State Coll., Docket No. 2008-0666-BSC (June 19, 2008); Emrick v. Wood County Bd. of Educ., Docket No. 03-54-300 (Mar. 9, 2004); Hall v. W. Va. Div. of Corr., Docket No. 89-CORR-687 (Oct. 19, 1990). The undersigned will not further address Grievants’ request for an apology. 1 Grievants filed directly to level three of the grievance process.2 The two grievances were consolidated into the current action on June 5, 2020. A level three hearing was held on July 8, 2020, before the undersigned at the Grievance Board’s Westover, West Virginia office.
    [Show full text]
  • Mussolini's Ambiguous and Opportunistic Conception of Romanità
    “A Mysterious Revival of Roman Passion”: Mussolini’s Ambiguous and Opportunistic Conception of Romanità Benjamin Barron Senior Honors Thesis in History HIST-409-02 Georgetown University Mentored by Professor Foss May 4, 2009 “A Mysterious Revival of Roman Passion”: Mussolini’s Ambiguous and Opportunistic Conception of Romanità CONTENTS Preface and Acknowledgments ii List of Illustrations iii Introduction 1 I. Mussolini and the Power of Words 7 II. The Restrained Side of Mussolini’s Romanità 28 III. The Shift to Imperialism: The Second Italo-Ethiopian War 1935 – 1936 49 IV. Romanità in Mussolini’s New Roman Empire 58 Conclusion 90 Bibliography 95 i PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I first came up with the topic for this thesis when I visited Rome for the first time in March of 2008. I was studying abroad for the spring semester in Milan, and my six-month experience in Italy undoubtedly influenced the outcome of this thesis. In Milan, I grew to love everything about Italy – the language, the culture, the food, the people, and the history. During this time, I traveled throughout all of Italian peninsula and, without the support of my parents, this tremendous experience would not have been possible. For that, I thank them sincerely. This thesis would not have been possible without a few others whom I would like to thank. First and foremost, thank you, Professor Astarita, for all the time you put into our Honors Seminar class during the semester. I cannot imagine how hard it must have been to read all of our drafts so intently. Your effort has not gone unnoticed.
    [Show full text]
  • Omnipotent Government: the Rise of Total State and Total
    Copyright Preface Contents Introduction Part I Part II Part III Part IV Conclusion Index OMNIPOTENT GOVERNMENT The Rise of the Total State and Total War Ludwig von Mises Libertarian Press, Inc. P.O. Box 309 Grove City, PA 16127 (412) 458-5861 Copyright © 1985, Margit von Mises. Reprinted 1985 with permission of Margit von Mises by the Center for Futures Education, Inc., Grove City, PA. Special permission to print the Center’s edition granted to Libertarian Press, Inc., Spring Mills, PA, by the Center for Futures Education, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in connection with a review. This online edition made available by the Mises Institute by special lease arrangement with the Libertarian Press. All copyrights held by Libertarian Press remain applicable to this online edition. Copyright © 1969, Arlington House, New Rochelle, NY. Copyright © 1944, Yale University Press. Reprinted 1969 with permission of Yale University Press in an unaltered and unabridged edition. ISBN 0-910884-15-3 iii Preface In dealing with the problems of social and economic policies, the social sciences consider only one question: whether the measures suggested are really suited to bringing about the effects sought by their authors, or whether they result in a state of affairs which—from the viewpoint of their supporters—is even more undesirable than the previous state which it was intended to alter. The economist does not substitute his own judgment about the desirability of ultimate ends for that of his fellow citizens.
    [Show full text]
  • The Power of Images in the Age of Mussolini
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2013 The Power of Images in the Age of Mussolini Valentina Follo University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the History Commons, and the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Follo, Valentina, "The Power of Images in the Age of Mussolini" (2013). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 858. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/858 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/858 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Power of Images in the Age of Mussolini Abstract The year 1937 marked the bimillenary of the birth of Augustus. With characteristic pomp and vigor, Benito Mussolini undertook numerous initiatives keyed to the occasion, including the opening of the Mostra Augustea della Romanità , the restoration of the Ara Pacis , and the reconstruction of Piazza Augusto Imperatore. New excavation campaigns were inaugurated at Augustan sites throughout the peninsula, while the state issued a series of commemorative stamps and medallions focused on ancient Rome. In the same year, Mussolini inaugurated an impressive square named Forum Imperii, situated within the Foro Mussolini - known today as the Foro Italico, in celebration of the first anniversary of his Ethiopian conquest. The Forum Imperii's decorative program included large-scale black and white figural mosaics flanked by rows of marble blocks; each of these featured inscriptions boasting about key events in the regime's history. This work examines the iconography of the Forum Imperii's mosaic decorative program and situates these visual statements into a broader discourse that encompasses the panorama of images that circulated in abundance throughout Italy and its colonies.
    [Show full text]
  • Fascist Legacies: the Controversy Over Mussolini’S Monuments in South Tyrol
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications, Department of History History, Department of 2013 Fascist Legacies: The Controversy over Mussolini’s Monuments in South Tyrol Gerald Steinacher University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historyfacpub Steinacher, Gerald, "Fascist Legacies: The Controversy over Mussolini’s Monuments in South Tyrol" (2013). Faculty Publications, Department of History. 144. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historyfacpub/144 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the History, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications, Department of History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Gerald Steinacher* Fascist Legacies:1 Th e Controversy over Mussolini’s Monuments in South Tyrol2 Th e northern Italian town of Bolzano (Bozen in German) in the western Dolomites is known for breathtaking natural landscapes as well as for its medieval city centre, gothic cathedral, and world-famous mummy, Ötzi the Iceman, which is on dis- play at the local archaeological museum. At the same time, Bolzano’s more recent history casts a shadow over the town. Th e legacy of fascism looms large in the form of Ventennio fascista-era monuments such as the Victory Monument, a mas- sive triumphal arch commissioned by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and located in Bolzano’s Victory Square, and the Mussolini relief on the façade of the former Fascist Party headquarters (now a tax offi ce) at Courthouse Square, which depicts il duce riding a horse with his arm raised high in the Fascist salute.
    [Show full text]
  • The Influence of German National Socialism and Italian Fascism on the Nasjonal Samling, 1933–1936
    fascism 8 (2019) 36-60 brill.com/fasc Norwegian Fascism in a Transnational Perspective: The Influence of German National Socialism and Italian Fascism on the Nasjonal Samling, 1933–1936 Martin Kristoffer Hamre Humboldt University of Berlin and King’s College London [email protected] Abstract Following the transnational turn within fascist studies, this paper examines the role German National Socialism and Italian Fascism played in the transformation of the Norwegian fascist party Nasjonal Samling in the years 1933–1936. It takes the rivalry of the two role models as the initial point and focusses on the reception of Italy and Germany in the party press of the Nasjonal Samling. The main topics of research are therefore the role of corporatism, the involvement in the organization caur and the increasing importance of anti-Semitism. One main argument is that both indirect and direct German influence on the Nasjonal Samling in autumn 1935 led to a radi- calization of the party and the endorsement of anti-Semitic attitudes. However, the Nasjonal Samling under leader Vidkun Quisling never prioritized Italo-German rivalry as such. Instead, it perceived itself as an independent national movement in the com- mon battle of a European-wide phenomenon against its arch-enemies: liberalism and communism. Keywords Norway – Germany – Italy – Fascism – National Socialism – transnational fascism – Nasjonal Samling – Vidkun Quisling © Martin Kristoffer Hamre, 2019 | doi:10.1163/22116257-00801003 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the prevailing cc-by-nc license at the time of publication. Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:35:40AM via free access <UN> Norwegian Fascism in a Transnational Perspective 37 In October 19331 – five months after the foundation of the party Nasjonal Sam- ling [NS; National Unity]2 – Norwegian merchant Johan Wilhelm Klüver sent a letter from Tientsin in China addressed to the NS headquarters in Oslo.
    [Show full text]
  • On Memory Politics and Memory Wars: a Critical Analysis of the Croatian Dialogue Document
    Croatian Political Science Review, Vol. 55, No. 4, 2018, pp. 109-146 109 Original research article Received: 1 June 2018 DOI: 10.20901/pm.55.4.05 On Memory Politics and Memory Wars: A Critical Analysis of the Croatian Dialogue Document HRVOJE CVIJANOVIĆ Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Zagreb Summary Based on public demands for rectifying injuries of the past, memory politics recently became the most potent catalyst of social divisions and confronta- tions, as well as possible limitation of freedom of expression. In addition, facing the past might not yield conciliatory, but rather antagonizing effects, leading toward so-called “memory wars” regarding conflicting past narra- tives that might jeopardize political stability and aggravate cultural trauma in highly polarized societies, especially if there are powerful mnemonic warri- ors propelled with foundational and teleological attempts to impose historical “truth”, as the author shows in the first part of the article. In the second part the author focuses on the origin of the politics of memory in Croatia and on- going “memory wars” regarding displaying and using controversial symbolic expressions, while parts three and four contain a critical analysis of the Dia- logue Document provided by the Council for Dealing with the Consequences of Undemocratic Regimes that aimed to deliver comprehensive recommenda- tions for political decision-making and law-framing in an attempt to face the difficult past and socially contested symbolic expressions. Keywords: Memory Politics, Memory Wars, Mnemonic Warriors, Disputed Symbols, Croatia, Dialogue Document “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” William Faulkner Introduction In 1657 François Peleau sent the letter to Thomas Hobbes in which he wrote: “I found that, in my opinion, there is now and has always been a war of minds, so far as opinions and feelings are concerned, and that this war is exactly like the state of nature” (Malcolm, 1994: 424).
    [Show full text]
  • Mare Nostrum: Italy and the Mediterranean of Ancient Rome in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
    fascism 8 (2019) 250-274 brill.com/fasc Mare Nostrum: Italy and the Mediterranean of Ancient Rome in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries Samuel Agbamu King’s College London [email protected] Abstract The Mediterranean has occupied a prominent role in the political imaginary of Italian Fascisms, past and present. In the 1920s to the early 1940s, Fascist Italy’s imperial proj- ect used the concept of mare nostrum – our sea – taken from the vocabulary of Roman antiquity, to anchor modern Italian imperialism within the authority of the classical past. In the postwar years, following decolonization in Africa, mare nostrum receded from popular discourse, previous claims to the Mediterranean suppressed. However, in the context of the so-called refugee crisis, Italy resurrected mare nostrum, in the nam- ing of its military-humanitarian operation, a move rejected by the contemporary Ital- ian far right. This article argues that configurations of the Mediterranean of ancient Rome have served to yoke Africa to Italy when articulated into a Fascist, imperial ideol- ogy, as well as to reify the boundaries between Europe and the non-European other, in the xenophobic discourse of the contemporary Italian far right. Keywords Fascism – Italy – Libya – imperialism – romanità – migration – Mediterranean – mare nostrum The Mediterranean is by far the deadliest region for migration in the world, and the central Mediterranean, the area between Libya and Italy, has seen the highest number of migrant casualties when compared with other parts of the © samuel agbamu, 2019 | doi:10.1163/22116257-00802001 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the prevailing cc-by-nc license at the time of publication.
    [Show full text]