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The cover of The Anatomy of Fascism

The Anatomy of Fascism

Robert O. Paxton

How did fascism actually work, who helped it into power, and how can you tell it apart from other dictatorships?

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At a glance

Author
Robert O. Paxton

Why read it

  • You will judge fascism by what its followers do, not by what they say
  • You will see how traditional elites helped fascist leaders into office, and why they believed they could control them
  • You will be able to weigh whether fascism could return, using evidence rather than slogans

Who it is for

  • A reader worried by political movements that echo the interwar years
  • A history teacher who needs a precise definition to give students
  • A voter who hears fascist used as an insult and wants clarity

Contents

  1. PREFACE
  2. The Invention of Fascism
  3. Images of Fascism
  4. Strategies
  5. Where Do We Go from Here?
  6. The Immediate Background
  7. Intellectual, Cultural, and Emotional Roots
  8. Long-Term Preconditions
  9. Precursors
  10. Recruitment
  11. Understanding Fascism by Its Origins
  12. Successful Fascisms
  13. An Unsuccessful Fascism: France, 1924–40
  14. Some Other Unsuccessful Fascisms
  15. Comparisons and Conclusions
  16. Mussolini and the “March on Rome”
  17. Hitler and the “Backstairs Conspiracy”
  18. What Did Not Happen: Election, Coup d’État, Solo Triumph
  19. Forming Alliances
  20. What Fascists Offered the Establishment
  21. The Prefascist Crisis
  22. Revolutions after Power: Germany and Italy
  23. Comparisons and Alternatives
  24. The Nature of Fascist Rule: “Dual State” and Dynamic Shapelessness
  25. The Tug-of-War between Fascists and Conservatives
  26. The Tug-of-War between Leader and Party
  27. The Tug-of-War between Party and State
  28. Accommodation, Enthusiasm, Terror
  29. The Fascist “Revolution”
  30. What Drives Radicalization?
  31. Trying to Account for the Holocaust
  32. Italian Radicalization: Internal Order, Ethiopia, Salò
  33. Final Thoughts
  34. Is Fascism Still Possible?
  35. Western Europe since 1945
  36. Post-Soviet Eastern Europe
  37. Fascism Outside Europe
  38. What Is Fascism?
  39. Conflicting Interpretations
  40. Boundaries
  41. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY

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