Book contents
- Assault on Democracy
- Assault on Democracy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Theory: The Double Deterrent Effect and the Bounds of Rationality
- 3 The Soviet Precedent and the Wave of Isomorphic Emulation Efforts
- 4 The Suppression of Isomorphic Emulation Efforts and Its Limited Regime Effects
- 5 Persistence of the Communist Threat and Rising Appeal of Fascism
- 6 The German Exception: Emulating Full-Scale Fascism
- 7 The Spread of Fascist Movements – Yet of Authoritarian Regimes
- 8 Conservative–Fascist Relations and the Autocratic Reverse Wave
- 9 The Edges of the Autocratic Wave: Battered Democracy and Populist Authoritarianism
- 10 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
10 - Conclusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2021
- Assault on Democracy
- Assault on Democracy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Theory: The Double Deterrent Effect and the Bounds of Rationality
- 3 The Soviet Precedent and the Wave of Isomorphic Emulation Efforts
- 4 The Suppression of Isomorphic Emulation Efforts and Its Limited Regime Effects
- 5 Persistence of the Communist Threat and Rising Appeal of Fascism
- 6 The German Exception: Emulating Full-Scale Fascism
- 7 The Spread of Fascist Movements – Yet of Authoritarian Regimes
- 8 Conservative–Fascist Relations and the Autocratic Reverse Wave
- 9 The Edges of the Autocratic Wave: Battered Democracy and Populist Authoritarianism
- 10 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter10 summarizes the book’s central findings, which highlight a massive backlash to Communism as well as fascism. Due to this double deterrent effect, revolutionary Communism and counter-revolutionary fascism rarely spread during the interwar years; instead, fear of these two extremes led to the overthrow of liberal democracy by the advocates of conservative authoritarianism. The chapter then emphasizes that cognitive-psychological insights are crucial for understanding the tremendous turmoil and terrible death toll of the interwar years. The subsequent section stresses that the horrors culminating in the 1940s exerted their own deterrent effects, which fostered the revival of political liberty and democratic consolidation in Western Europe. Because democracy has in recent years faced a rightwing-populist challenge, the last section highlights how this threat differs fundamentally from fascism. This study of the past thus helps to calm present fears.
Keywords
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- Information
- Assault on DemocracyCommunism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism During the Interwar Years, pp. 314 - 332Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021