—Travis Dean-Ploof (Mentor: Nick Smith)
The prominent “checklist” and analogical approaches of trying to pin down the characteristics that do and do not constitute fascism cause consistent disagreement around the meaning of the term (e.g., How many traits make a regime fascist?). This distracts us from understanding what fascism is and recognizing its potential presence and implications in our modern politics. Without developing a critical understanding of the term, I fear that its use will develop into an empty political smear that distracts from genuine concern about oppressive politics. In this project, funded by a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, I geared my inquiry toward the question: What is understood and posed as fascism in our contemporary political climate, and why? To answer this, I give the reasons for the respective understandings of fascism throughout our political sphere, offering a much-needed context for the multiplicity of ways in which the term is used today. This article should not be understood as advocating for or agreeing with any particular conception of the term, nor should it serve as a diagnosis of fascism. Rather, it introduces the various contexts of the term’s use throughout today’s politics to clarify some of the confusing climate surrounding the term and promote genuine political discourse.
