Radical Right Populism is not limited to any specific geography but rather is something that has been on the rise all over the world. This paper is concerned with the question how radical right...Show moreRadical Right Populism is not limited to any specific geography but rather is something that has been on the rise all over the world. This paper is concerned with the question how radical right populism relates to a modern day understanding of fascism. This thesis will first answer the question of what populism is and then compare this to a theoretical approach to fascism. Because I will follow the understanding of populism as a political style a special attention will be given propaganda and how it is delivered to a given constituency. The case study used in this these is the Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India. Within the context of this case I will focus on Mann Ki Baat, a monthly radio show held by the Indian Prime Minister. Throughout the text of this thesis I hope to show that radical right populism and fascism have too many similarities, in respect to its definition, theoretical approach towards these concepts and performance, to ignore. Furthermore, I will argue that the perceived direct communication that Mann Ki Baat and social media facilitate are closer to propaganda than a genuine political exchange. The research presented here is building on and adding to the growing literature on populism, social media in the political sphere and radical right politics.Show less
The experiences of contemporaries have been neglected in the research of the far-reach-ing changes in Austria in the early 1930s. With the historiography focussing on institutions and structures as...Show moreThe experiences of contemporaries have been neglected in the research of the far-reach-ing changes in Austria in the early 1930s. With the historiography focussing on institutions and structures as well as mostly the time since 1933, significant gaps exist and underlying assump-tions which do not reflect the experiences of people living in the troubled times. In contrast, this thesis uses a bottom-up approach to unravel the lives of contemporaries, their hopes and fears and the impact of the various crises in politics, economics and identity from 1930 to 1934. It thus asks how ordinary members of society experienced their times and witnessed the slow slide towards fascism and how they reacted to it. Based on the accounts of seven diarists, these troubled times are analysed through the lenses of contemporaries writing soon after the events and often still under the impression of them. Hence, they paint unblurred pictures of their times influenced by their surroundings. Their views shed light on the past as it ‘actually was’ and unravel the stories beyond the institutions. The first chapter analyses the end of parliamentary democracy in Austria in 1934 as witnessed by the diarists with a focus on the turning point of February 1934. The second chapter situates the diarists within the political and financial crises of the violent times. Lastly, the third chapter looks at the profound unsolved questions of identity, linked to religion and political decisions within the framework of the diarists’ perceptions of the past. In this fascism in Austria is understood as existing in two similar yet distinct variants: clerical Austrofascism and Nazism. The former tried to establish itself foremost by eliminating its biggest enemy, the Socialists, at the same time as creating a collective identity based on religion, German nationalism and the Habsburg past. The diarists’ experiences change the external narrative especially in view of February 1934: they showed the necessity of reinterpreting February 1934 as the turning point in the timeline of Austrian history as which it was perceived in comparison to the Anschluss in 1938. Furthermore, the accounts revealed the interconnectedness of the many crises of their times and how these as well as the remembered past and anticipated future shaped their perceptions and everyday life. However, also the split into distinct ‘Lager’ and the thesis of Austrofascism op-posing the threat of Nazism have to be revisited. The latter was insofar challenged as the step from democracy to an authoritarian regime was seemingly more impacting the diarists’ lives than the step from one variant of fascism to another.Show less
The focus of this thesis is on the role of the Dutch national identity in the perceptions and experiences of a wide array of Dutch Spainfighters, who volunteered to fight on the Republican side in...Show moreThe focus of this thesis is on the role of the Dutch national identity in the perceptions and experiences of a wide array of Dutch Spainfighters, who volunteered to fight on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. It aims to understand how the volunteers dealt with the potential for clashes between the imagined communities of the Dutch nation-state and the border transcending, transnational appeal of their left-wing ideology. This thesis demonstrates that they felt loyalty both to the transnational community of left-wing and communist sympathizers, and the national Dutch community. It argues that the motivation of the Spainfighters is closely linked to their national identity, which they tried to construct in symbiosis with their transnational thoughts via the message of anti-fascism. As such, the thesis adds to the understanding of the phenomenon of foreign fighters. Next to the conscious building of national identity, national sentiments and practical culture played a considerable role in the daily reality of the Spainfighters, which is especially relevant if the rather mythical image of the International Brigades as a classic example of a transnational army is taken into account. As the case of the Dutch Spainfighters illustrates, the International Brigades provided space and even recognition for national identity as an organizing entity and as such functioned more as an ideologically motivated international army. For this reason, this thesis suggests that the fundaments of the supposedly transnational movement of support to the Spanish Republic may partly be built on national tensions and the resulting compromises. While studying transnational movements in the twentieth century, it therefore may be worth the effort to analyze the role of national identity, of national political culture.Show less
This thesis investigates the impact of fascist ideas and practices on anticolonial nationalism in late colonial Indonesia (primarily 1935-42). Focusing on the example of Partai Indonesia Raya ...Show moreThis thesis investigates the impact of fascist ideas and practices on anticolonial nationalism in late colonial Indonesia (primarily 1935-42). Focusing on the example of Partai Indonesia Raya (Parindra) and its youth organization Surya Wirawan, it aims at bringing together disparate historiographies on fascism, anticolonial nationalism, and Indonesian intellectual history. Moreover, it traces the first 'birth pangs' of Indonesian paramilitarism back to the late colonial period, thus arguing against the commonly held view explaining the militarization of Indonesian politics merely as an effect of the Japanese occupation (1942-45). Therefore, this thesis uncovers traces of a 'homegrown' tradition of paramilitarism that drew a considerable part of its inspiration from fascist role models. For the purpose of this study, fascism is applied as a heuristic tool to ask hitherto avoided questions about organizations like Parindra that have long been labeled as 'cooperative' nationalist parties. In doing so, this thesis considers Indonesia as one of the countless (emerging) nations that were receptive to the global fascist hype in the 1930s.Show less
In this thesis, I will research the academic practices of some selected historians during the first years of the Portuguese New State. These can be divided in two kinds of practices: those directly...Show moreIn this thesis, I will research the academic practices of some selected historians during the first years of the Portuguese New State. These can be divided in two kinds of practices: those directly implicated in the histories they wrote — the final product —and those which are related to their habits and work ethics, be it of socialization with other scholars in academic organizations and correspondence, or work-habits related to how they thought history should be researched and transmitted. This approach provides a holistic view of particular cases within the Portuguese historiography landscape, focused on epistemic, political and moral aspects, and their connection with the Regime in which they were inserted. It also provides the key features of the phenomenon of Discipline at the time, given its emergence in Portuguese Academia, and in History in particular, highlighting the goods, virtues, skills and habits which defined History as collective endeavor.Show less
