Description
Book SynopsisAntifascism has received little attention compared to its enemy. No historian or social scientist has previously attempted to define its nature and history - yet antifascism became perhaps the most powerful ideology of the twentieth century. Michael Seidman fills this gap by providing the first comprehensive study of antifascisms in Spain, France, the UK, and USA, with new interpretations of the Spanish Civil War, French Popular Front, and Second World War. He shows how two types of antifascism - revolutionary and counterrevolutionary - developed from 1936 to 1945. Revolutionary antifascism dominated the Spanish Republic during its civil war and re-emerged in Eastern Europe at the end of World War II. By contrast, counterrevolutionary antifascists were hegemonic in France, Britain, and the USA. In Western Europe, they restored conservative republics or constitutional monarchies based on Enlightenment principles. This innovative examination of antifascism will interest a wide range of s
Trade Review'Michael Seidman makes us rethink our understanding of the ideologies and practices of anti-fascists in their struggles with fascist parties and fascist regimes before and during the war. His typology of antifascisms and his critical analysis of their nature and effectiveness enables historians and all citizens to engage in new ways with a fundamental political conflict of the twentieth century. Transatlantic Antifascisms is of real importance to those who identify as antifascists today as well as historians of the modern world.' Donald M. Reid, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
'Transatlantic Antifascism is an admirable study: for its scope, its subtlety, its conceptual rigour and its many ideas and insights. This is a lively and enjoyable account of antifascism which will appeal to scholars, students and the general reader alike.' Nigel Townson, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
'Michael Seidman makes a powerful case for giving antifascism the analytical attention scholars have long given to fascism. His erudite and lively study of Spain, France, Britain, and the US does that and more. It breaks open the subject with fresh, provocative ideas, and it explores the many dimensions of antifascism - its politics, its religious and cultural wellsprings, its place in working-class life - with deft authority. A remarkable contribution.' Herrick Chapman, New York University
'Transatlantic Antifascisms makes a significant contribution to the study of antifascism. As with his previous works, Seidman does not shy away from challenging some of the dominant trends within the relevant historiography, and the field is the better for it.' Christopher Bannister, H-France Review
'The work of Michael Seidman offers a brilliant interpretation of these decisive years of the 'short twentieth century'.' Gilles Vergnon, European History Quarterly
Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Revolutionary antifascism in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–39; 3. The antifascist deficit during the French Popular Front; 4. British and French counterrevolutionary antifascism; 5. Counterrevolutionary antifascism alone, 1939–40; 6. American counterrevolutionary antifascism; 7. Antifascisms united: 1941–44; 8. Beyond fascism and antifascism: working and not working; 9. Antifascisms divided, 1945; 10. Conclusion and epilogue.
