Towards a New Model of Generic Fascism

Abstract

The vast academic literature on fascism can usefully be divided into conceptual and theoretical approaches. The former tries to unravel fascist ideology, the latter seeks more to explain its support. Most approaches have focused on the latter. This stems from the view that fascist ideology tends to be incoherent, and the belief that support-based models are more `scientific'. However, the result has been that different forms of movement/regime are often lumped together. A conceptual approach is therefore proposed called the `spectral-syncretic', which sees the essence of fascism as a series of syntheses around four main themes. The import of this approach is to undermine the view that fascism was essentially a feature of inter-war Europe, but without allowing the term to degenerate so that it can be applied to large numbers of significant non-European movements/regimes. Differences of interpretation over the syntheses, and especially national contextual factors, also make it difficult to place fascism on the left-right spectrum.