Abstract

Although studies of fascism have constituted one of the most fertile areas of historical inquiry in recent decades, more and more scholars have called for a new agenda with more research beyond Italy and Germany, less preoccupation with definition and classification, and more sustained focus on the relationships among different fascist formations before 1945. Starting from a critical assessment of these imperatives, this rigorous volume charts a historiographical path that transcends rigid distinctions while still developing meaningful criteria of differentiation. Even as we take fascism seriously as a political phenomenon, such an approach allows us to better understand its distinctive contradictions and historical variations.

“…this remarkable study… combines extraordinary command and interpretation of the literature on 1919–45 across many countries with very promising approaches for inquiry. These include viewing Fascism as an alternative modernity fashioned by experiences and interactions with others, domestic and international, including liberal regimes, conservatives, and the Soviets. Roberts also understands Fascism as a new mode of collective action lacking any central core, but composed of a series of unstable, vulnerable, interlocking pieces. The author concludes with a powerful plea that historians take Fascism seriously…Essential.” · Choice

“In the course of the last four decades, the previously hopelessly contentious and dysfunctional (non-)discipline of ‘fascist studies’ has been given enhanced cohesion, momentum and direction by the occasional ‘game-changing’ book. Roberts’s Fascist Interactions may well prove to be one of them… With a respectful and constructively critical tone he convincingly suggests what the next developmental phase might be which would allow us all to move on with a degree of productive synergy.” · European History Quarterly

“The literature on fascism has become so elaborate and dense during the past couple of decades that we badly need surefooted critical guidance of the kind that Roberts provides. This consistently interesting volume is the culminating statement of a long and distinguished career.” · Geoff Eley, University of Michigan

“This is a highly sophisticated synthesis of key debates and potential new directions in scholarship on fascism. It rests on a phenomenal grasp of the literature and represents a magisterial stock-taking that is essential reading for specialists.” · Christopher Dillon, King’s College London

David D. Roberts is Albert Berry Saye Professor of History, Emeritus, at the University of Georgia.