Books

2011

António Costa Pinto (edited by)

Rethinking the Nature of Fascism

Hampshire ,  Palgrave Macmillan

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Synopsis

Revisiting the major themes of research into, and interpretation of, the nature of fascism that have been developed over the past few decades, some of the foremost experts in the study of European fascism have united in this volume to provide a contemporary analysis of the theories and historiography of fascism. During the past twenty years the comparative study of fascism has moved from a 'sociological' to a more 'political' perspective, giving both ideology and culture much more importance than was previously the case. On the other hand, this area has become more restricted in disciplinary terms, with historians clearly dominating over sociologists and political scientists. This book asks about the most recent debates on the subject and how the changes that have taken place in the social sciences over the past forty years have impacted on the study of fascism.


Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Foreword

S.G.Payne

Acknowledgements

Notes on Contributors

Introduction: Fascism and the other '-isms'

A.Costa Pinto

PART I: FASCISM AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Decomposition and Recomposition of Theories: How to Arrive at Useful Ideas Explaining Fascism

S.U.Larsen

Desperately Seeking a 'Generic Fascism': Some Discordant Thoughts on the Academic Recycling of Indigenous Categories

M.Dobry

Fascism and Culture: A Mosse-Centric Meta-Narrative of how Fascist Studies Reinvented the Wheel

R.Griffin

PART II: NEW APPROACHES

Theories of Fascism: A Critique from the Perspective of Women's and Gender History

J.Pollard

Fascism and Religion

K.Passmore

Ideology, Propaganda, Violence and the Rise of Fascism

R.Eatwell

Political Violence and Institutional Crisis in Interwar Southern Europe

G.Albanese

Ruling Elites, Political Institutions and Decision-Making in Fascist-Era Dictatorships: Comparative Perspectives

A.Costa Pinto

Fascism, 'Licence' and Genocide: from the Chimera of Rebirth to the Authorization of Mass Murder

A.Kallis

Concluding Remarks

A.Lyttelton

Index


Contact Information

Antonio Costa Pinto   |   acpinto@ics.ul.pt
Institute of Social Sciences   |   Av. Professor Anibal Betencourt, 9   |   1600-189 Lisbon   |   Portugal