Fascism in the Contemporary World

ment are defined by a tendency to disregard constitutional provisions and laws generally. To some extent, these phenomena must be present in a society or in an organization designated as fascist in character. Some fascist organizations may also be racist or anti﷓Semitic in outlook, paramilitary in character, or may observe ritual. Not all racist, anti﷓Semitic, paramilitary, and ritualistic groups, however, will be fascist in character.Assessing Contemporary Croatia, Hungary, and Serbia Within the Contexts of Ultranationalism and FascismThe contemporary societies in Croatia, Hungary, and Serbia, together with some organized groups within these countries, are assessed within the contexts of ultranationalism and fascism. The defining assessment criteria are as follows:1. Ultranationalist societies and groups. a. Strongly patriotic.b. Strongly chauvinistic.c. Highly insular.d. Highly exclusionary.e. Strong tendency to avoid international interventionist activities.2. Fascist societies and groups.a. Authoritarian control.b. Charismatic leadership.c. Preference for single﷓party dictatorship.d. Strongly nationalistic.e. Strongly anti﷓communist.f. Anti﷓liberal.g. Anti﷓democracy.h. Anti﷓parliamentary party.i. Willing to seize political power through the use of force when provided with an opportunity.j. Willing to use violence, terror, and propaganda to attain political objectives. k. A tendency, when in control of government, to disregard constitutional provisions and laws generally.CroatiaAs early as 1897, a political movement with fascist characteristics existed in Croatia. The Party of the Pure Right was fanatically anti﷓Serbian, and was strongly nationalistic, although Croatia was at the time a part of the Austro﷓Hungarian Empire (Palmer, 1970, p. 100).In the 1920s, the Croatian Ustase Party was born. Ustase meant rebels, and the party opposed the inclusi...