The Radical Right in Interwar Estonia

by Andres Kasekamp

The first detailed study of Estonian politics during the 1930s, this book examines the Estonian Veterans' League which won a majority in a referendum for its constitutional amendment creating a strong presidency. The Veterans appeared set to triumph in the 1934 elections, but were thwarted by the establishment of an authoritarian regime. By using formerly unobtainable archival records, this study fills a considerable gap in the literature on the Baltic states and should be appealing to those interested in fascism.

Genres: History

227 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would suggest it for everyone and anyone interested in the interwar Estonian radical right, though it doesn't get into some smaller groups like the Union of Estonian Nationalist Clubs and mainly just analyzes the history and worldview of the Vaps Movement and Päts regime. Though, at some parts, like in the WW2 chapter, the author's liberal bias was pretty apparent.

[Matthias · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent example of the kind of book I think of as "extended encyclopedia articles" - books I wouldn't recommend to people who aren't scholars or otherwise deeply interested in the particular subject at hand, but essential props for our collective knowledge about the world.

Concise and thorough, Kasekamp's book answers virtually every question a comparativist scholar on fascism or interwar politics might have (the only improvement I can think of would be to add some additional tables.) Where he has opinions, they're judiciously argued; in general, though, he leaves a rather slight stylistic and polemical footprint, which adds up to a book with fundamentally limited ambitions (if you're already familiar with the interwar right in general, almost nothing should deeply surprise you), but ambitions that are fulfilled in their entirety.