Ruth Ben Ghiat, History Professor and political commentator on Strong Men: From Mussolini to the Present that anchors the experience of present-day authoritarianism and neo-fascism in Italian Fascism and looks at the continuities among recent and present authoritarian politicians globally (i.e.; Berlusconi, Trump, Gaddafi, Putin and Bolsonaro).

In this episode, we will cover the following topics: 

• (1:00) Serena Bassi’s introduction to Ben Ghiat’s book.
• (3:30) Ruth Ben Ghiat speaks of her content choices and methodologies.
• (9:15)  Italian Fascism as a blueprint for all European Fascisms of the XX Century
• (18:00)  Fascism as an autobiography of the Italian nation/ Trump’s legacy in the context
• (24:00)  Masculinity Fascism and the Patriarchy
• (39:00) Various Questions: Film and Fascism, Trasformismo, Transnational Italian Studies, Narcissism and the autocrat, Marine Le Pen and Giorgia Meloni: neo-fascism and “feminism”, authoritarianism: victimhood and grievance, machismo and personal politics.

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