Fascism studies (and the 'Post-Fascist' era): an ideal meeting ground?

Abstract

As a historian of fascism's recent manifestations, I am acutely aware of the continuing and rather unfortunate division between historians and political scientists that still obtains in the field of fascism studies. "Most political scientists", as Roger Eatwell put it some time ago, "use the term 'fascism' in the contemporary context within a rigid inter-war template" (Eatwell 2004 , 6). Despite the laudable attempt of Roger Griffin and others to draw attention to fascism's inherent protean quality, little has changed in the intervening period. Indeed, when it comes to the contemporary extreme right, few political scientists would even recognise the relevance of 'fascism studies' to their concerns, preferring to deploy neologisms such as 'radical right-wing populism' instead. Their field is not 'fascism studies' but 'radical right-wing populism' studies, a field that is concerned with the plethora of party-political organisations of authoritarian, nativist and populist type that have become increasingly embedded within Europe's contemporary political landscape.