A History

Fascism

'A solid-history of the movement in Italy and Germany, where it took root, and France and Britain, where it failed to flourish' - Ian Thomson, Guardian

Mr Eatwell is a learned and careful scholar who has read a formidable list of sources, often very recondite, and he handles his material judiciously

A wide-ranging and thoroughly up-to-date survey... bravely argued, for there still exists a good deal of scholarly hostility to the idea that fascism did constitute a serious intellectual alternative

Stands out from almost everything else which has appeared on the subject by being as illuminating to the specialist as to the general reader

It takes us from Nietzsche and Romantic movement to cyber space oiks who swap neo-fascist sentiments... on the Internet

Roger Eatwell is Professor of European Politics at the University of Bath.  He has published many articles and several books on politics and fascism.  He has contributed to programmes on Radio 4 and the World Service, and has advised and appeared on television programmes on fascism.  He is married and has two children.

Fascism is one of the most destructive and influential political movements of the twentieth century. Its imagery - of mad dictators and nihilistic violence - haunts our imaginations, and its historical legacy is almost too momentous to be understood. At the same time it is curiously elusive: how do we define fascism? What is the basis of its appeal? Why did it take root so successfully in Germany and Italy, and not in France or Britain? 
 
Fascism: A History - a sweeping, enthralling study - tackles theses questions, and considers fascism in the round. It draws together its different strands, in Italy, Germany, France, and Britain, looking at its evolution up and during World War II; and it assesses post-war fascism, and examines its future in a Europe whose boundaries continue to change. Along the way, Fascism provides vivid portraits of Mussolini, Hitler, Oswald Mosley and other key figures within the movement. Lucid, dramatic, challenging, Fascism is a definitive book of its kind.

Roger Eatwell

Matthew Goodwin

Compelling ... Eatwell and Goodwin do a good job of demolishing lazy stereotypes about Trump and Brexit supporters being almost exclusively white and old ... Measured and insightful

A fascinating new study ... the authors analyse the long-term demographic and socioeconomic trends shaping our age of upheaval. The attraction of this book lies in its cool, dispassionate tone. The authors intend to explain and inform rather than polemicise

Intelligent, counterintuitive ... [ranging] far beyond Brexit and Britain ... they put a parochial debate in a much bigger context

Valuable ... A finely organised, lucid explanation of the elements presently constituting the most dynamic political movements in Europe and the US

A useful corrective... it demolishes the myth that young people aren't attracted to the populist right

A reality check to any clinging to the hope that populism is a passing political squall ... Goodwin is one of the few academics to be vindicated by the political trends of the past few years. With a forensic grasp of the detail, Eatwell and Goodwin show how commentators have succumbed to "stereotypes that correspond with their outlook" rather than evidence-based conclusions

Convincing, powerful and very definitely worth a read

Robert Colvile, Director of CPS Think Tank

An important and stimulating book .. well written, well argued, highly accessible to the lay reader, and mercifully free of political science jargon ... it leaves room for optimism for the future of our country

An invaluable guide to the new politics of revolt ... Eatwell and Goodwin draw attention to the historic problem that liberalism has faced in accepting democracy. They give us the theoretical framework to understand national populism's rise ... Compelling

Informative and often compelling, providing clarity around a number of key debates within political science and political theory [...] Usefully, they provide copious evidence that rightwing populism has been a long time in the making.

Unlike other authors, they do not write to warn and condemn, but to understand the movement ... Populist leaders are confrontational, mendacious and ruthless -- but those who follow them need to have their fears, resentments and beliefs addressed

Superb ... one of the best of the post-Trump analyses

Eatwell and Goodwin rightly point out that the UK's political and economic system is, for many people, broken

Readers may feel threatened by a rising tide of populism, but what, exactly, is it? National Populism offers penetrating and emancipating answers

The Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year 2019

The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy

A crucial new guide to one of the most urgent political phenomena of our time: the rise of national populism 
 
Across the West, there is a rising tide of people who feel excluded, alienated from mainstream politics, and increasingly hostile towards minorities, immigrants and neo-liberal economics. Many of these voters are turning to national populist movements, which have begun to change the face of Western liberal democracy, from the United States to France, Austria to the UK. 
 
This radical turn, we are told, is a last howl of rage from an aging electorate on the verge of extinction. Their leaders are fascistic and their politics anti-democratic; their existence a side-show to liberal democracy. But this version of events, as Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin show, could not be further from the truth. 
 
Written by two of the foremost experts on fascism and the rise of national populism, this lucid and deeply-researched book is a vital guide to our transformed political landscape. Challenging conventional wisdoms, Eatwell and Goodwin make a compelling case for serious, respectful engagement with the supporters and ideas of national populism - not least because it is a tide that won't be stemmed anytime soon.

Roger Eatwell

Praise for National Populism

Compelling ... Eatwell and Goodwin do a good job of demolishing lazy stereotypes about Trump and Brexit supporters being almost exclusively white and old ... Measured and insightful

A fascinating new study ... the authors analyse the long-term demographic and socioeconomic trends shaping our age of upheaval. The attraction of this book lies in its cool, dispassionate tone. The authors intend to ...

Intelligent, counterintuitive ... [ranging] far beyond Brexit and Britain ... they put a parochial debate in a much bigger context

Compelling ... Eatwell and Goodwin do a good job of demolishing lazy stereotypes about Trump and Brexit supporters being almost exclusively white and old ... Measured and insightful

A fascinating new study ... the authors analyse the long-term demographic and socioeconomic trends shaping our age of upheaval. The attraction of this book lies in its cool, dispassionate tone. The authors intend to ...

Intelligent, counterintuitive ... [ranging] far beyond Brexit and Britain ... they put a parochial debate in a much bigger context

Compelling ... Eatwell and Goodwin do a good job of demolishing lazy stereotypes about Trump and Brexit supporters being almost exclusively white and old ... Measured and insightful

A fascinating new study ... the authors analyse the long-term demographic and socioeconomic trends shaping our age of upheaval. The attraction of this book lies in its cool, dispassionate tone. The authors intend to ...

Intelligent, counterintuitive ... [ranging] far beyond Brexit and Britain ... they put a parochial debate in a much bigger context

Books by Roger Eatwell

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