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World Fascism: A Historical Encyclopedia. Ed. by Cyprian P Blamires with Paul Jackson. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, 2006. 2 vols, alkaline $185 (ISBN 1-57607-940-6).
The term fascism originally referred to the extreme rightwing ideological and political movement in Italy in the early 1920s under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. As an ideology and a system of governance, Italian fascism was characterized by populism, belligerent nationalism, the notion of racial rebirth, and the exaltation of the nation over individuals or groups. Hostile to democracy, socialism, and liberalism, Mussolini's government relied on a centralized, autocratic system of rule, severe economic and social regimentation, and a commitment to violently purging groups or movements opposed to the State. In the public's imagination, Italian fascism has come to be symbolized by its devotion to youth and masculinity, mass rallies, theatric displays of military power, and the use of terror to subdue political opposition. Since then, fascism has been a dynamic, evolving political ideology that has taken on many forms in a variety of diverse nations. As a result, experts have had difficulty identifying common traits relative to a generic form of fascism and have defined it in a variety of conflicting ways. Until recently, this lack of a cohesive framework for studying...