The nature of fascism revisited / António Costa Pinto.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pinto, António Costa.

Series:

Social Science Monographs (Series)

Social Science Monographs, Boulder

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fascism.

Physical Description:

xv, 158 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Boulder : Social Science Monographs ; New York : Distributed by Columbia University Press, 2012.

Summary:

Fascism continues to fascinate scholars within the social sciences, perhaps as much as communism, that other great non-democratic'-ism' of the 20th century. Moreover, the already voluminous academic literature on contemporary dictatorships often returns to the fascist and dictatorial regimes of the interwar period.

In recent years the social science literature has returned to the question of the factors leading to the survival or downfall of the dictatorships and dictators: the construction of legitimacy, the regimes' capacity to distribute resources, divisions within the power coalitions, the political institutions of the dictatorships, their capacity for survival and the cost-benefit analysis of rebellion. On the other hand, the survival (and appearance) of several dictatorships after the end of the Cold War and, particularly, the increasing complexity of their institutions, has led to a new field of study into the hybrid nature of many contemporary political regimes that were already present in the political landscape of the era of fascism'.

This series of essays by Antonio Costa Pinto are symbolic of a 'new institutionalist' turn in the study of fascism, reassessing its previously neglected dimensions, such as decision-making, or nominally democratic institutions, such as legislatures and parties, which are typically integral to a dictatorial regime. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Fascists: A 'revolutionary right' in interwar Europe 1

2 The origins of fascist ideology: The Sternhell debate 29

3 New interpretations (I): The constituencies of fascism 47

4 New interpretations (II): Conceptual problems 63

5 Fascism, dictators, and charisma 79

6 Ruling elites, political institutions, and decisionmaking in fascist-era dictatorships: Comparative perspectives 89

7 Fascism, corporatism, and authoritarian institutions in interwar European dictatorships 119.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780880336666

0880336668

OCLC:

500818457