ThinkTankWeekly

Fascism and the Global Far Right: A Historical View

Foreign Affairs | 2026-04-21 | europe

Topics: Europe

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English Summary

The historians argue that while contemporary global far-right movements exhibit fascist elements—such as reactionary nationalism and xenophobia—the full reemergence of consolidated, single-party fascism is unlikely. They differentiate historical fascism, which was a unique 20th-century phenomenon tied to post-WWI trauma and economic collapse, from modern movements. While the term 'fascist' is often used today as an adjective describing political techniques rather than a state structure, the persistence of these extremist methods remains a concern. Policy focus should therefore shift from anticipating a total collapse to monitoring the ideological creep and specific tactics employed by these groups.

中文摘要

歷史學家認為,儘管當代全球極右翼運動展現了法西斯元素——例如反動民族主義和排外主義——但整合的單一政黨法西斯主義完全重現的可能性不大。他們將歷史上的法西斯主義,這種與一戰後創傷和經濟崩潰相關的獨特二十世紀現象,與現代運動區分開來。雖然「法西斯」一詞如今常作為形容詞來描述政治手法,而非國家結構,但這些極端主義方法的持續存在仍是令人擔憂的。因此,政策重點應從預測全面崩潰,轉向監測這些群體的意識形態滲透和具體戰術。

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