The Fascist State

The Fascist State
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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
Fascist State.................................................................................................................................3
Similarities and differences between fascist movements and states in Italy and Germany.........4
Reflection of fascism over the power of the state........................................................................5
Strong personal rule, a characteristic of fascist leader and the power they wield.......................5
Fascist state – a stage in rise of modern state or malfunction of the state or a return to neo-
feudal models of power...............................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8
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Introduction
Fascism is a political ideology or philosophy that had developed over the years as a mass
movement in various countries of Europe in early 20th century. It is placed at far right in the
traditional left-right spectrum (Tollardo, 2016). It is believed to be authoritarian which promotes
ultra-nationalism by all measures. Therefore, it is believed to be characterised by dictatorship,
forcible suppression of those who oppose the ideology and complicated and complex economic
conditions that treat nation as an asset. This essay deals with the characteristics of a typical
fascist state and attempts to find out if existence of such state is possible in modern state or not.
Main Body
Fascist State
A nation or state is characterised by a defined territory which has a ruler or government
that has sovereignty over its decision-making about people who reside in that defined territory.
Such people are generally collectivised by a shared common culture, history, traditions and
language. Till medieval times, mostly states were ruled by monarchs and then new forms of
government emerged which are broadly termed in between left-right spectrum. Socialism and
communism form extreme left while extreme right was termed as fascism. Fascism saw its origin
in Italian word 'fascio' which means bundle. Politically, it meant union or league. Fascism as an
ideology to lead a State came into prominence in early 20th century in Europe. A fascist state is
typically termed as one which has infused propaganda techniques in its rule and has expansion of
nationalist agenda in its list and adopts violent measures to suppress liberals and socialists
(Berezin, 2018). Therefore, it is said to characterised by one-party totalitarian regime which was
run by charismatic dictators who would glorify their racist ideology and violent measures.
Although, the best-known fascist state are Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy, other countries
of Europe such as Spain under Francisco Franco and Argentina under Juan Peron also
experienced fascist regimes. It was during World War I that Benito Mussolini formed a radical
group in Italy, calling it ‘fasci’, from where the term came up. He continued his movement
against state and rose to the position of Prime Minister during “March on Rome”. His rule saw
few welfare measures like old age insurance, rent supplements, employment and disability
benefits, etc. but also witnessed measures which were against the concept of welfare state like
censorships, exiles, exterminations, etc. Hitler was in army and joined German Workers’ Party
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