Fascism yesterday and today
the banality of the nation and the risks to democracy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35416/2026.11261Keywords:
Fascism, Democracy, Banality of the nation, Authoritarianism, GeopoliticsAbstract
This essay discusses fascism as a political practice that reinvents itself in different historical contexts, appropriating the national imaginary to erode democracy from within. Drawing from authors such as Hannah Arendt, Robert Paxton, Umberto Eco, Jason Stanley, Eric Hobsbawm and Benedict Anderson, it discusses the concept of “banality of the nation” as a preparatory stage for the “banality of evil.” Historical examples, such as the Nazi rise to power and the Anschluss, and contemporary cases, including Brazil in recent years, are analyzed to understand how national symbols and discourses can be captured to legitimize exclusionary projects. It is argued that defending democracy requires rejecting the false symmetry between pluralism and ideologies that seek to eradicate it.
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References
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