Faşizme Heves Etmek: Demokrasiye Karşı En Büyük Tehdidi Anlamak İçin Bir Rehber

by Federico Finchelstein, Zeynep Şarlak (Translator)

“Faşizm, ham siyasi şiddet biçimlerini idealleştirir ve uygular. Oysa popülizm bu yaklaşımı teoride ve çoğu zaman pratikte benimsemez. Bu nedenle popülizm ve faşizmi aynı şeymiş gibi konuşmak sorunludur. İkinci Dünya Savaşı’nda faşist güçlerin çöküşünün sonrasında ilk kuşak popülistler yalnızca diktatoryal faşizmi değil, aynı zamanda aşırı siyasi şiddeti, ırkçılığı, antisemitizmi, topyekûn savaş ve militarizmi de reddettiler.”

Günümüz politik dünyasında lider merkezli otoriter hareketler ve siyasetleri anlamlandırmak için çeşitli kavramsallaştırmalara ve teorik müdahalelere başvuruyoruz. Bir yandan da geçmişin izini sürerek bu “küresel otokratların” tarihsel muadillerini ve benzerlerini keşfediyoruz; Adolf Hitler’e, Benito Mussolini’ye, Francisco Franco’ya benzeyen, onların “uğursuz” mirasını sahiplenmeye hevesli çağdaş otokratlarla baş etmeye çalışıyoruz.

Tarihçi Federico Finchelstein, Faşizme Heves Etmek’te bu kez tarihsel faşizm ve popülizm arasındaki farkı ortaya koyarken, bu farkın bizi hiç de rahatlatmaması gerektiğini söylüyor. Faşist tehdidin kapıda olduğunu, bildiğimiz ve geleneksel anlamıyla faşist diyemeyeceğimiz faşizm heveslilerinin, çeşitli politik formlar içerisinde, faşizmin tahrip edici gücüyle eşdeğer antidemokratik siyasetlerinin çağdaş demokratik politika açısından ne tür tehlikeler arz ettiğini hatırlatıyor. Küresel otoriter manzarayı daha isabetli kavramak için iyi bir rehber...

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Political Science

253 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2025

About the author

Federico Finchelstein is Professor of History at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College. He has taught at the History Department of Brown University and he received his PhD at Cornell University. Finchelstein is Director of the Janey Program in Latin American Studies at NSSR.

Reviews

[Gianni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I conti con il fascismo, le sue origini, i suoi lasciti, non sono mai stati affrontati in modo ”definitivo” e non solo, anche se forse soprattutto, nel nostro paese. Da noi il dibattito e il confronto si sono avvitati per decenni su una contrapposizione antifascismo/fascismo spesso improduttiva, visto che ha permesso ai movimenti neofascisti di continuare ad operare, a fare proseliti e a combinarsi con apparati dello stato deviati, con la massoneria e la mafia per minare dall’interno una fragile democrazia. L’era berlusconiana ha determinato un cambio di passo, con lo sdoganamento definitivo degli eredi del fascismo e la politica populista, che ha determinato in molti politici, intellettuali e giornalisti, la difficoltà a rintracciare elementi di fascismo nelle politiche autoritarie, reazionarie, plebiscitarie dell’attuale maggioranza di governo.
Ben venga, quindi, questo libro dello storico argentino Federico Finchelstein che utilizza una considerevole mole di documenti per comparare il fascismo storico e le altre dittature fasciste che si sono sviluppate nel tempo in diverse parti del mondo con la recente e l’attuale situazione geopolitica, a partire dal trumpismo. Tra le categorie del populismo classico, che tende a rimanere nell’ambito democratico e si fa legittimare dai risultati elettorali, e del fascismo, che è caratterizzato dalla dittatura, Finchelstein pone la categoria degli aspiranti fascisti, i populisti e gli autocrati che non hanno ancora fatto il passo definitivo per instaurare la dittatura, ma utilizzano gli altri tre pilastri del fascismo: la violenza e la militarizzazione della politica, le menzogne e la manipolazione della verità e la xenofobia.
Incrociando documenti storici e fonti recenti Finchelstein, che da anni si occupa di populismo e fascismo, costruisce un impianto di sconcertante solidità e allarmante, a volte straniante per la costruzione del discorso utilizzando frammenti documentali, spesso di autori e periodi differenti. Mentre l’aspetto psicologico, politico e storico sono ampiamente discussi, quello materiale ed economico legati all’attuale fase del capitalismo e dello sconquasso del cosiddetto ordine mondiale è toccato soltanto in un paragrafo al termine del libro; peccato, perché è difficile modificare la situazione prescindendo dal peso del capitalismo finanziario e dalle oligarchie monopolistiche dell’Hi-Tech: in fondo è il miliardario Thiel che afferma ”non credo più che libertà e democrazia siano compatibili” (2009).

[Dennis McCrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author was born in Argentina and spent his early years until college there. He experienced the Argentina authoritarianism/dictatorships of the 70’s & 80’s as well as the aftereffects of Peronism via his extended family.

In short, he is a great resource (and is his area of expertise as a college professor at Princeton) as to this new area of categorization of modern day authoritarians such as Modi, Orbán, Bolsanaro, Duterte, and yes Trump, i.e. he classifies them as Wannabe Fascists. In fact, the book makes repeated references to Trump and these wannabe authoritarians and their behaviors and actions while in office and since and how their not being prosecuted have enabled a worldwide arisal of similar political leadership styles.

The author’s primary premise is that none of these movements bode well for democracies.

And this movement must be squelched.

[Lune Moorees · Rating 4 out of 5]

F*ck fascism

[Safa Furkan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Günümüz dünyasına çok iyi bir bakış. Ben bu kitabı 19 Mart tarihinden önce söylemiştim. O nedenle 19 Mart a hiç şaşırmadım. Ama kitabi okuyunca sonda kısa birkaç cümle hariç hiç Türkiye'den bahsetmemesi beni şaşırttı. Kitabın geneli Trump'ın yapıp ettikleri bağlamında bir tartışma ve daha ikinci kez başkan olmasan önce yazılmış. Bu nedenle bugün yazılsa bizim maalesef daha çok adımızın geçeceği bir kitap olurdu bu kesin. Çünkü Erdoğan Trump sayesinde Türkiye'yi farklı bir yere götürme yolunda. Halk her ne kadar yeterli tepki getirse de muhalefet halkın tepkilerini yok etti. Şimdi birkaç boykot eylemi dışında bir şey kalmadı. Belki de ben çok sabırsızım. Her şey şiddet olmadan Chp'nin izlediği yolla da çözülebilir. Bunu zaman gösterecek. Türkiye demokrasisi hiçbir zaman muhteşem olmadı ama hiçbir zamanda bu kadar yok edilmeye çalışılmadı. Bu zamanların bize denk gelmesi de hayatın bir cilvesi.

[Kristin Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a straightforward way, Finchelstein outlines the four core pillars of fascism—political violence, lies and propaganda, xenophobia, and dictatorship—and how right-wing populists today such as Donald Trump are verging on fascism, making them “wannabe fascists.” I came away with a much better understanding of the differences between fascism and populism, the main one being that populists will try to undermine democracy while operating within legal frameworks and standard election processes to do so, while fascists will disregard laws entirely and resort to violence to reach political aims. Finchelstein explains how Trumpism falls somewhere in between these two ideologies, with Trump’s rhetoric demonizing undocumented immigrants and attempted coup in Jan. 2021. Other takeaways- fascism is on the rise globally and American democracy is much weaker than we think, and journalism and media has a very important role to play in protecting democracy!!! 👀

[Kazen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Lindsey Woodward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so well done and incredibly informative. My only complaint is that the audiobook’s narrator’s impersonation of Trump and other politicians were insufferable. It almost made me quit the book.

[Alex Gruenenfelder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seeks to explore the rise of near-fascists like Donald Trump worldwide and, although it struggles to form a coherent definition of fascism despite it being the book's main subject, it is still fairly effective at exploring the criteria that fascism often entails. The so-called wannabe fascists are driven by personal gain and admiration for autocrats, not any real philosophical or intellectual underpinning. This is a book about violence and prejudice, both of which have become all the more relevant in recent years.

This study ranges in subject from populism, which it describes as an "authoritarian form of democracy," to full-on dictatorship. Violence and insurrection are the big markers of fascism, which is where figures like Trump and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro begin to border the most severe dangers. The book also discusses links to sexism, racism, and machismo, although these feel far more discussed than the academic underpinnings of a study of democratic decline. I would recommend this book to scholars of modern politics who want a light, easy read to engage with such important topics today.

[Richard Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly we have to worry about anti-democratic authoritarians in the US today, so its important to recognize them for what they are and work against them. In that way this book does a good deed. And I think that Mr. Finchelstein's international perspective is important too. We have many of the same problems and weaknesses of other coutries that have succumbed to right wing authoritarian governments. Much of what the MAGA people do and say is straight out of the fascist playbook as practiced and perfected around the world, and we need to be able to recognize it as such. But all of Mr. Finchelstein's endless parsing of the differences between populists, fascists and wannabe fascists seemed like a big waste of time to me. It just gave me a headache. I don't see the appeal of authoritarianism of any stripe. It's only slightly better if its on the left than on the right. I don't need a great leader. I don't need enemies or mythologies of greatness. Ugh. What a waste of time!

[Yoda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Fairly Average Recent Book on the Topic

There have, within the recent 3 or so years many books published on the topic of fascism and the present political environment. What differentiates this book from most of the pack? Unfortunately, not very much. The biggest difference is that this author provides extensive coverage of fascism in Latin America, unlike so few other recent books. Considering the author is from that part of the world, not much of a surprise. This, unfortunately, is the only positive of this book relative to most recent books on the subject.

The book, unfortunately, also does not provide any analysis on the nexus between economics and fascism or decaying social cultures and norms and fascism either. Considering the importance of these in the rise of fascism, a big mistake.

All and all, this is a pretty average book on the subject, relative to most recently published books on the topic. Three stars.

[Nick Basile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who lives in the US in 2025 paying attention to national headlines should read this. It was written last year before the election, and every warning about the eventual winner has only been confirmed in the first couple of weeks of the new administration. The populist authoritarian nativist/nationalist cult of personality is cause for concern. While "fascist" has devolved into an epithet, these traits are alarmingly similar to other contemporary authoritarian leaders, such as Orban, Bolsonaro, and Modi. They aren't quite WWII axis leaders, but their style adjacent to them. Even if they do a few things right, we should be wary lest "the ends justify the means," and 2 or 3 things done right blind us to the danger and harm of too much power concentrated in one or two men. Individuals should be subject to restraints, but so should national leaders. Eye-opening.

[NYguuurl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect analysis of how Trump brought fascism to the US. He is a wannabe fascist only because he failed to overthrow the government in 2021. If he succeeded, he would have been the first full-on fascist since the 1940s. Finchelstein gives us the tools to keep him from regaining power again. Voters, the media and police have the power to defeat him and his cult followers.

[Praveen Nair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy book to read in an age where populism had reared its ugly head towards the far-right in the Western Hemisphere and how these 'dictators' manipulate disinformation to the masses.
However it does not cover much of African, Central & East Asian measures of populism enough (an area of opportunity for the writer to research further or collaborate with historians covering those regions).

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thoughtful analysis of the threats to democracy from leaders like Donald Trump, Bolsanaro, Orban, etc. They are not full fascists - they are wannabe fascists. They aspire to absolute rule but never quite get there because they are not brave enough or not clever enough to completely subvert democracy, though they would like to.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic explanation of current world politics with an emphasis on how past fascists regimes are returning in the world. A detailed historical analysis of how the Trump administration brought fascism to modern America.

[Dan Nortman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, helps define fascism, how it is implemented and the small steps current right wing populists would have to take to be considered full fledged fascists.

[Catherine Bakken · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 prob

[Hadi Ariyan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Federico Finchelstein’s The Wannabe Fascists attempts to address one of the most pressing political questions of our era: how to classify and understand the new wave of authoritarian, right-wing populism that threatens global democracy. Unfortunately, for a book with such a bold and urgent title, it ends up being a disappointing and often confusing guide, failing to deliver on the promised clarity and depth.
Mismatched Thesis and Execution, the central issue is the book's execution of its core thesis. Finchelstein, an expert on historical fascism, aims to draw parallels between 20th-century movements and modern-day populists. While the historical context is sporadically interesting, the book struggles to bridge the gap effectively. Instead of a rigorous, guiding analysis, the text often feels like a jumble of historical anecdotes and sweeping contemporary generalizations. The key figures (from Trump to Bolsonaro) are frequently referenced, but the specific, detailed framework for why they qualify as "wannabe fascists"—or how they fundamentally differ from historical fascism—is not clearly or consistently established.
The book's structure and narrative flow detract significantly from its message. It is often repetitive and poorly organized, circling back to the same general points without providing new analytical meat. For a "Guide to Understanding," the book leaves the reader feeling less, not more, enlightened. The prose can be dense and academic, yet the arguments themselves often feel superficial or simplistic, relying too heavily on alarming rhetoric rather than deep scholarly analysis. Rather than offering a tool kit for democratic self-defense, the book mainly serves as an extended, alarmist warning that lacks the necessary intellectual rigor to make its warnings truly impactful.
The Wannabe Fascists is a book with a crucial mission but poor delivery. It takes a vital topic and handles it in a way that is frustratingly unfocused and ultimately unhelpful. Given the author’s background, the book falls dramatically short of expectations, failing to provide the concise, comprehensive, or compelling guide promised by the subtitle. It earns a disappointing 2 out of 5 stars, recommended only for those desperate for any text on the subject, but not for those seeking genuine understanding or a coherent framework.