In Fascism and the Right in Europe, 1919-1945 Martin Blinkhorn confronts, as a social and political historian, the challenge of exploring and explaining the relationship of European fascism with other forms of right-wing authoritarianism. In doing so he considers not just the 'major' fascist movements and regimes of Italy and Germany but the entire range of fascist and authoritarian ideas, movements and regimes present in the Europe of 1919-45. While recognizing the important distinctions that need to be made between different forms of right-wing extremism, Martin Blinkhorn also argues that the existence on the interwar right of shared ground, selective borrowing, and pragmatic compromise often made those distinctions less important in practice than they appeared in theory.
Key features include:
# A discussion of ways in which, since the 1920s, fascism has been understood and defined by a variety of political propagandists, social scientists and historians
#The author's own conclusions as to how 'fascism' can best be understood
#Reflections on contemporary neo-fascism and 'post-fascism'
#A Glossary, Chronology, Bibliography and Who's Who section of key figures, providing a framework of information for understanding events
The book will be welcomed by students of History and Politics for its clear-sighted account of the explosive phenomenon of fascism. It provides a unique 'template' against which the development of fascist and authoritarian ideas, movements and regimes may be studied.
MARTIN BLINKHORN is Professor of Modern European History at the University of Lancaster.