The Re-emergence of Fascism and Its Impact on European Democracies in the Immediate Postwar Period

Abstract

After the end of Second World War, fascist movements re-emerged in many areas of Europe. This forced governments to consider counter-measures from the early days of the Cold War, when communism was seen as the main threat. Nevertheless, even studies produced in recent decades aimed at exploring the immediate postwar history of Europe using a more accurate and comprehensive approach than in the past have failed to pay sufficient attention to this issue. In response, this article aims to place new emphasis on the re-emergence of fascism by comparing the behaviour of the Labour governments of postwar Britain with the attitude of the various Italian executives of the first legislature, characterized by Christian Democracy majorities. Through this comparison, the article will demonstrate how this re-emergence represented a comprehensive challenge to the process of defining a new democratic culture, since it raised questions about the right way to tackle extreme political movements while also preserving essential pillars of democracy, such as freedom of expression and assembly. The comparison also explores how governments attempted to confront this issue with solutions that also had the potential of undermining the communist threat, in a moment when governments believed that democracy was in need of protection.