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University of California Press

The Wannabe Fascists

A Guide to Understanding the Greatest Threat to Democracy
by Federico Finchelstein (Author)
Hardcover eBook
Price: $24.95 / £21.00
Publication Date: May 2024
Edition: 1st Edition
Title Details:
Rights: World
Pages: 264
ISBN: 9780520392496
Trim Size: 5.5 x 8.5
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About the Book

Meet today's almost fascists and learn the warning signs to intercept them on the road from populism to dictatorship.
 
With The Wannabe Fascists, historian Federico Finchelstein offers a precise explanation of why Trumpism and similar movements across the world belong to a new political breed, the last outcome of the combined histories of fascism and populism: the wannabe fascists. This new type of populist politician is typically a legally elected leader who, unlike previous populists who were eager to distance themselves from fascism, turns to totalitarian lies, racism, and illegal means to destroy democracy from within.

Drawing on almost three decades of research on the histories of fascism and populism around the world, this book lays out in clear language what the author calls the "four pillars of fascism"—xenophobia, propaganda, political violence, and ultimately dictatorship. Finchelstein carefully explains how and why wannabe fascists like Trump, Bolsonaro, and Modi embrace the first three pillars but don't quite succeed in dictatorship and total suppression of the popular vote. The Wannabe Fascists stresses the importance of preventing despots from reaching this tipping point and offers a clear warning for what's at stake.

About the Author

Federico Finchelstein is a world-renowned expert on fascism, populism, and dictatorship and is Professor of History at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College in New York City. His previous books include From Fascism to Populism in History and A Brief History of Fascist Lies.

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction: How Populism Is Turning into Wannabe Fascism 

1. Violence and the Militarization of Politics 
2. Fascist Lies and Propaganda 
3. The Politics of Xenophobia 
4. Dictatorship 
Epilogue 

Acknowledgments 
Notes 
Index 

Reviews

"An important book about the most significant threat to global democracy."
— Kirkus Reviews
"Exploring the histories and ideologies of fascism and populism, The Wannabe Fascists exposes a new political force on the rise that blends the two—a danger to democracy everywhere."
— Foreword Reviews
"It is Finchelstein’s parallel definitions—that is, of outlining what makes one a populist, rather than a fascist outright—that sets The Wannabe Fascists apart from the mountains of previous Trump-related analysis. Finchelstein’s efforts at tracing the arcs and outlines of not just fascism but also populism present the book’s most successful intervention."
— The Bulwark
"As Finchelstein ably argues, it’s only in properly defining Trump—and properly understanding his historical context, American and otherwise—that we can truly understand the threat he poses and navigate the world he’s ushered in."
— The Bulwark
"Finchelstein is a scholar of populism as well as fascism, and he offers useful historical background for understanding the difference between the two. . . . Finchelstein presents four criteria to evaluate where a country sits on the fascist spectrum: political violence, propaganda and misinformation, xenophobia, and dictatorship. It is, to put it mildly, disconcerting to see where the United States now finds itself on that spectrum."
— New York Review of Books
"Federico Finchelstein's timely and carefully argued book unpacks the differences between fascism and populism and argues that many populists in the US, Europe, and Latin America are increasingly using violence, propaganda, xenophobia, and styles of self-presentation in ways that recall historic fascism and classic dictatorship."—Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present

"The Wannabe Fascists is a brilliant and provocative book of interest to those who want to learn how to defend democracy from fascist nightmares."—Carlos de la Torre, author of Populisms and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida

"Finchelstein is a leading figure in right-wing studies and offers us a new concept that is clever and very relevant in our contemporary political context."—Mabel Berezin, author of Making the Fascist Self and Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Sociology, Director of the Institute for European Studies, Cornell University

"Finchelstein, who is one of the world's leading experts on both fascism and populism, is essential reading for the times in which we live."—Times Literary Supplement