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==List of organizations and movements== ==List of organizations and movements==

Revision as of 21:41, 13 January 2006

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This page pertains to fascism after World War II. For a discussion of groups and movements that also include as core tenets racial nationalism, antisemitism, and praise for Hitler, see Neo-Nazism. For neofascist groups associated with a religious identity or theology, see Neofascism and religion. For analysis of where fascism fits on the left/right ideological spectrum, see Fascism and ideology. Some groups called neo-fascist are more accurately described as part of the dissident far right. For discussions concerning the United States, see this page for post-WWII, and Fascism and ideology for pre-WWII and the FDR Administration.

Neo-fascism is the term used to describe a range of groups emerging after the Second World War that display significant elements of Fascism, or Clerical Fascism. First adopted in Italy during the 1930s, Fascism spread across Europe between World War I and World War II. Neofascism is the term used to describe fascist movements active after World War II.

The definitional debates and arguments by academics over the nature of fascism fill entire bookshelves. Fascism is an authoritarian extreme rightpolitical movement. Its roots have been traced by some scholars, such as Zeev Sternhell, to the revolutionary extreme left movement, as it mixed, in its first stage, social policies with nationalist ideology.

Allegations that a group is neofascist are often hotly contested. Sometimes the term is used as a hyperbolic political attack that uses the term fascism as a politic epithet or slur.

In some cases the term Neo-Fascist (note uppercase 'F') is claimed by movements that express a specific admiration for Benito Mussolini, the insignia of Fascist Italy (e.g. the fasces, the Roman salute) and features specific to Fascist Italy. This usually includes ultranationalism, nativism, and various illiberal attitudes.

Neo-fascist (note lowercase 'f') movements can draw on an eclectic mix of attachment to Italian Fascism, German Nazism, and the fascisms of other nations.

Fascism is typified by:

  • Totalitarian attempts to impose state control over all aspects of life: political, social, cultural, and economic.
  • The fascist state regulates and controls (as opposed to nationalizing) the means of production.
  • Fascism exalts the nation, state, or race as superior to the individuals, institutions, or groups composing it.
  • Fascism uses explicit populist rhetoric; calls for a heroic mass effort to restore past greatness;
  • Demands loyalty to a single leader, often to the point of a cult of personality.

Fascism is associated by many scholars with one or more of the following characteristics:


Regimes often called fascist after World War Two

Argentina (1946-1955 and 1973-1974) - Juan Perón admired Mussolini and established his own pseudo-fascist regime, although it has been more often considered a right-wing populist. After he died, his third wife and vice-president Isabel Perón was deposed by a military junta, after a short interreign characterized by support to the neo-fascist Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (la Triple A). Similarities are best drawn, though, with the Vargas regime of Brazil (1930-1945; 1950-1954).

South Africa (1948-1994) - Many scholars have labelled the apartheid system built by Malan and Verwoerd as a type of fascism. Whether it was a fascist regime or an example of a socially conservative administration with excessive powers is hotly debated. The racial and nationalist ideas were implanted inside the South African regime, however the economic structure of the country was not as regulated as that of a typically fascist state.

Guatemala (1953-1980s) - Mario Sandoval Alarcón, a self-declared fascist, headed the National Liberation Movement after a coup d'état, supported by the US, overthrew the democratic government of Col. Jacobo Arbenz. Sandoval became known as the "godfather of the death squads" during the Guatemalan military's 30-year counter-insurgency campaign and at one point served as Guatemala's vice president.

Rhodesia (1965-1978) - The racial segregation system by Ian Smith is similarly considered by some to be a form of fascism. See the comments of South Africa.

Lebanon (1982-1988) - The right wing Christian Phalangist Party, backed by its own private army and inspired by the Spanish Falangists, was nominally in power in the country during the 1980s but had limited authority over the highly factionalised state, two-thirds of which was occupied by Israeli and Syrian troops. Phalangists, trained and supported by Israel carried out the Sabra and Shatila Massacre in 1982.

Iran (1950-1953) - Under the Iranian National Front, during the regime of Mohammad Mossadegh, attacks on the political left were led by right-wing groups with fascistic elements including the Iranian Nation Party, led by Dariush Forouhar; the Sumka (The National Socialist Iranian Workers Party) led by Dr. Davud Monshizadeh; and Kabud (Iranian Nazi Party) founded by Habibollah Nobakht.

Neo-Fascism and Italy

Organizations that have been described as 'Neo-Fascist' include;

Since the 1990s, Alleanza Nazionale has distanced itself from Mussolini and fascism and made efforts to improve relations with Jewish groups, with most die-hards leaving it; it now seeks to present itself as a respectable rightwing party. Lega Nord is primarily a secessionist movement, but has often been accused of xenophobia and racism; however, it has also lately presented its goals as a more moderate quest for local autonomy.

Neo-Fascism and religion (Islam, Christianity, Judaism etc)

See main article, Neofascism and religion.

Neo-Fascism and the United States

The presence or absence of fascism in the United States has been a matter of long-dispute from a variety of political viewpoints. This idea was brought up in the cautionary novel It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis. George Orwell once remarked that "fascism" no longer seemed to mean much of anything, other than "objectionable."

The claim that the United States is fascistic remains dubious and fiercely debated, with few scholars supporting the claim.

From the Right

Some on the political right have long argued that statism represents a form of fascism in the U.S. See: Fascism_and_ideology

Richard Rahn, a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute and adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute states:

"Despite the election of a 'compassionate conservative' as president, federal spending is again growing faster than national income, even excluding the new military spending, in large part due to a bipartisan effort to enlarge government. The laudable effort made in the late 1990s to get rid of most farm subsidies is now in the process of being thrown out. Free trade is under attack and protectionism is again emerging, and the recent 'campaign finance reform' legislation is a direct attack on free speech.

The new fascism is not just a danger for Europeans; it is a present danger for us."

Clinton Administration

A few conservative, libertarian, and independent activists argue that the Bill Clinton administration was fascist. They point to Clinton's attempt to "centralize" the financial and economic markets and to socialize the economy. They also suggest a liberal control of the media and contend that the media worked in collusion with the administration. Likewise, many of Hillary Clinton's policies have been criticized as fascist.

Certain actions taken by Clinton during his administration have also caused critics to call his administration Fascist:

Chip Berlet, of the think tank Political Research Associates, disagrees with this analysis, and wrote that a mythic conspiracy theory generated by right-wing conspiracists created the idea in several sectors of the U.S. political right (the Patriot and armed militia movement, the Christian Right, the libertarian right, the extreme right) that Clinton was attempting to create a fascistic and totalitarian New World Order:

From the Left

Some on the political left see fascism in authoritarian policies of various, but not all, recent Republican administrations based on their Church and State infuences from the Christian Right, on foreign policy matters from neoconservative thinktanks like PNAC, and the self-interest lobbying from big businesses such as Enron and Halliburton. Some leftists, notably Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, refer to both political parties as two sides of the same coin for allowing corporate power and influence to dominate the electoral process, and believe that essentially "free elections" have become defunct in America. Few establishment scholars take these claims seriously.

Noam Chomsky has warned that people in the U.S. need to remain vigilant to keep America from drifting towards fascism.. Some link growing corporate power to fascism..

In several essays, David Neiwert has explored the rise of what he calls "pseudo-fascism." He concedes that "American democracy has not yet reached the genuine stage of crisis required for full-blown fascism to take root" and thus "the current phenomenon cannot properly be labeled 'fascism.'" But he warns:

But what is so deeply disturbing about the current state of the conservative movement is that it has otherwise plainly adopted not only many of the cosmetic traits of fascism, its larger architecture -- derived from its core impulses -- now almost exactly replicates that by which fascists came to power in Italy and Germany in the 1920s and '30s.
It is in this sense that I call it Pseudo Fascism. Unlike the genuine article, it presents itself under a normative, rather than a revolutionary, guise; and rather than openly exulting in violence, it pays lip service to law and order. Moreover, even in the areas where it resembles real fascism, the similarities are often more familial than exact. It is, in essence, less virulent and less violent, and thus more likely to gain broad acceptance within a longtime stable democratic system like that of the United States.
And even in the key areas of difference, it is not difficult to discern that those dissimilarities are gradually shrinking, and in danger of disappearing.
That this is happening should not be a great surprise. After all, as I've already explored in great detail, the mainstream conservative movement has increasingly had contact with the genuine American proto-fascists of the extremist right over the past decade or more, particularly in the trafficking of ideas, agendas and the memes that propel them.

Particular allegations against the Bush Administration

Cases made to support the contention that the US is currently Fascist or moving towards fascism include:

  • Use of "administrative warrants" and other tools such as those in the Patriot act which allow the administration to exercise police powers without judicial oversight. The designation of "enemy combatants" by the administration and the use of courts like the Combatant Status Review Tribunal to bypass the normal rule of law. The use of torture. Claims by the administration that it needs more and more of these powers. These may indicate a movement towards a police state.
  • George W. Bush has recently admitted that he ordered domestic surveillance of US citizens without the authority of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Courts as required by law. His Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice has stated that the President's authority to take this action is derived from his status as Commander in Chief. However, several members of Congress are considering investigations into this matter, citing that FISA only gives the President authority to use these powers with court approval. (Such approval can be gained within hours from the FISA court, and can also be gained retroactively within 72 hours, which runs counter claims that the process is too slow.) (Domestic Spying Incident)
  • Connected to the FISA matter is the admission by the New York Times that they delayed reporting the information regarding domestic spying from the American public at the request of the Bush Administration. In the ninth paragraph of NYT article written by Risen and Lichtblau they state:

The White House asked The New York Times not to publish this article, arguing that it could jeopardize continuing investigations and alert would-be terrorists that they might be under scrutiny. After meeting with senior administration officials to hear their concerns, the newspaper delayed publication for a year to conduct additional reporting. Some information that administration officials argued could be useful to terrorists has been omitted. (Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts}

  • Decreasing openness in government: significant increases in the amount of information deemed classified, the introduction of "unclassified but sensitive" information, "sneak and peek" searches and gag orders on search targets (allowed by the Patriot act), etc.
  • Reports such as the Bush Administration paying journalists to promote the policies of the Administration. Also, self-censorship such as the sort practiced in open forums to prevent the spread of viewpoints that oppose the current administration may be considered evidence that the administration need not openly censor, but can rely on supporters to carry out the necessary censorship. (The Armstrong Williams incident)(The Balkans Website incident)
  • The allegedly widespread use of religion as a justification for many laws and policies (such as Faith Based Initiatives) and the premise of blocking of certain legislation on religious grounds (such as gay marriage and stem cell research). Also the perception by some of the widespread use of religious rhetoric and symbolism in many speeches and appearances lend credibility to the allegation of religion being intertwined with Government.
  • Allegations of fraudulent elections in both of the last presidential elections. See, for example, the sworn testimony of Mr. Clint Curtis, and other allegations of deceptive election processes in Ohio and other locations, and allegations of conflicts of interest with Secretary of State of Ohio (i.e. Mr. Ken Blackwell also being the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in Ohio).
  • The "no-fly" list, under which people are prohibited from flying on commercial airplanes: the claim that no reasons are ever given for being put on this list, and the claim that there is no way to challenge your placement on it; futhermore, the allegation that the list is kept secret. The claim that the list is controlled entirely by the executive branch with no Congressional or judicial oversight. Anecdote: The author of a book critical of Bush ("Bush's Brain") found himself on the list.

One of the most widely circulated arguments implying the U.S. shares some similarities with fascism is the article by Lawrence Britt.

Britt argues that "fascism’s principles are wafting in the air today, surreptitiously masquerading as something else, challenging everything we stand for." Britt claims to have looked at the following regimes in conducting his analysis: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco’s Spain, Salazar’s Portugal, Papadopoulos’s Greece, Pinochet’s Chile, and Suharto’s Indonesia. To be sure, they constitute a mixed bag of national identities, cultures, developmental levels, and history. But they all followed the fascist or protofascist model in obtaining, expanding, and maintaining power. Further, all these regimes have been overthrown, so a more or less complete picture of their basic characteristics and abuses is possible" . In support of his premise of U.S. fascism, Britt makes the following claims and accusations against the Bush Administration:

  1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.
  2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.
  3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
  4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
  5. Rampant sexism.
  6. A controlled mass media.
  7. Obsession with national security.
  8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.
  9. Power of corporations protected.
  10. Power of labour suppressed or eliminated.
  11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.
  12. Obsession with crime and punishment.
  13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
  14. Fraudulent elections.

References

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External links

List of organizations and movements

Organizations that also have been described as 'Neo-Fascist,' with varying degrees of justification, include the following.

See also

Academic surveys

  • The Beast Reawakens by Martin A. Lee, (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1997, ISBN 0316519596)
  • Fascism (Oxford Readers) by Roger Griffin (1995, ISBN 0192892495
  • Fascism in Britain: A History, 1918-1985 by Richard C. Thurlow (Olympic Marketing Corp, 1987, ISBN 0631136185)
  • Fascism Today: A World Survey by Angelo Del Boca (Pantheon Books, 1st American edition, 1969)
  • Free to Hate: The Rise of the Right in Post-Communist Eastern Europe by Paul Hockenos (Routledge; Reprint edition, 1994, ISBN 0415910587)
  • The Dark Side of Europe: The Extreme Right Today by Geoff Harris, (Edinburgh University Press; New edition, 1994, ISBN 0748604669)
  • The Far Right in Western and Eastern Europe by Luciano Cheles, Ronnie Ferguson, and Michalina Vaughan (Longman Publishing Group; 2nd edition, 1995, ISBN 0582238811)
  • The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis by Herbert Kitschelt (University of Michigan Press; Reprint edition, 1997, ISBN 0472084410)
  • Shadows Over Europe: The Development and Impact of the Extreme Right in Western Europe edited by Martin Schain, Aristide Zolberg, and Patrick Hossay (Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition, 2002, ISBN 0312295936)

External links

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