What is fascism, and what are the signs of fascism? The fascist form of government is a complex and multi-faceted ideology that can manifest in various ways, making it challenging to pin down with a single definition.

Fascism resists simple definition precisely because it’s a syncretic ideology—adaptable to different contexts while maintaining core structural features. Rather than a fixed doctrine, it operates as a political methodology characterized by specific power dynamics, rhetorical strategies, and institutional patterns.

Structural characteristics of fascism

These are the ideological foundations and belief systems that define fascist movements—not merely policy positions but the fundamental orientations toward power, identity, and social organization that shape how fascism understands the world and its place in it.

1. Authoritarian Consolidation: Fascism centralizes power through the dismantling of horizontal accountability structures, typically concentrating authority in a charismatic executive who positions themselves above institutional constraints.
2. Ultranationalism as Identity Politics: Goes beyond patriotism to assert inherent civilizational superiority or racial supremacy, often manifesting as collective narcissism where national mythmaking replaces historical accuracy.
3. Militarized Social Order: Valorization of martial virtues, hierarchical discipline, and violence as political tools. Fascist movements frequently draw from veteran communities and paramilitary traditions.
4. Anti-Intellectualism and Epistemic Closure: Systematic devaluation of expertise, academic inquiry, and empirical reasoning in favor of intuition, emotion, and revealed truth. The “coastal elite” or “ivory tower” becomes a rhetorical enemy.
5. Ethno-Nationalism and Boundary Enforcement: Xenophobia operating through strict in-group/out-group categorization, often targeting immigrants, religious minorities, or racialized “others.”
6. Reactionary Temporal Orientation: Deployment of a mythologized past as political program—the promise to restore a golden age that never existed, weaponizing nostalgia against pluralism.
7. Anti-Leftist Mobilization: Positioning communism, socialism, and progressive movements as existential threats, often conflating disparate left ideologies to create a unified enemy.

The Us vs. Them Architecture: In-group/Out-group dynamics as core infrastructure

Fascism doesn’t just exploit social divisions—it requires their constant production and intensification as its primary source of political energy. While most political movements contain some degree of group identity, fascism is structurally dependent on a stark binary between insiders and outsiders, making this dynamic its foundational operating system rather than an incidental feature. The movement coheres not around shared policy goals or governance philosophy, but around the ongoing project of boundary maintenance: defining, defending, and purifying the “us” against an ever-present “them.”

Understanding this black and white thinking mechanism is critical because it explains fascism’s characteristic escalation pattern—the need for external enemies isn’t a bug that could be reformed away, but the core function that generates loyalty, justifies authoritarianism, and mobilizes collective action. Without manufactured threat and enforced belonging, the entire structure collapses.

This binary structure isn’t incidental to fascism—it’s the load-bearing mechanism of fascist politics. Fascism requires constant boundary maintenance between the “true” people and various categories of outsiders, traitors, and contaminants.

The Pure vs. The Polluted: Fascist rhetoric constructs the nation or people as an organic body that can be corrupted, infected, or diluted. This biologized political thinking creates permission structures for exclusion and political violence—if demographic change is “invasion,” if cultural pluralism is “genocide,” then extreme defensive measures become rationalized.

Flexible Enemy Categories: The “them” is strategically ambiguous and expandable. Today’s target might be immigrants; tomorrow it’s political opponents reclassified as “enemies within.” This flexibility allows fascist movements to continually generate threat narratives as earlier enemies are defeated or lose salience. It also means there is continuous seeking for new enemies, and one’s own group may easily be next on the chopping block.

Purity Spirals and Betrayal Narratives: Even within the in-group, fascism creates concentric circles of belonging. Ideological purity tests escalate, and former allies become traitors when they fail to match movement radicalization. The category of “us” continually contracts.

Strength Through Unity Rhetoric: The elimination of internal dissent and difference is framed as necessary for collective strength. “Division” becomes the ultimate sin, and calls for pluralism are recast as weakening tactics by enemies. This rhetorical move justifies suppression of internal debate.

Victimhood and Domination: Paradoxically, the in-group simultaneously claims superior status while positioning itself as victimized by the out-group. This dual narrative—”we are the rightful rulers AND we are under attack”—justifies both restoration of traditional hierarchies and preemptive aggression.

Traits

These are the core ideological characteristics that define fascist movements—the recurring features that appear across different historical and geographical contexts. While no single trait proves fascism alone, their clustering creates a recognizable pattern. These aren’t just policy preferences but fundamental orientations toward power, identity, and social organization that shape how fascist movements understand and interact with the world.

1. Authoritarianism: Fascism is inherently authoritarian, advocating for a centralized power structure, often under a single charismatic leader.
2. Nationalism: Extreme nationalism is a hallmark, often coupled with the belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own nation over others — a form of collective narcissism.
3. Militarism: A strong emphasis on military power and aggression as a means to achieve national objectives is common. Many fascists are former military and/or current militia members.
4. Anti-Intellectualism: Fascist regimes often distrust intellectuals and experts, preferring emotion and popular sentiment. Railing against the “Eastern elite” is a common refrain.
5. Xenophobia and Racism: There’s often a strong element of fear or hatred towards outsiders or people considered “different.”
6. Traditionalism: A romanticized, mythologized view of the past and a desire to return to so-called “traditional” values.
7. Anti-Communism: A strong opposition to left-wing ideologies, particularly communism and socialism.

Tactics

If traits represent fascism’s ideological architecture, tactics are its operational methodology—the specific techniques used to seize power, maintain control, and neutralize opposition. These tools recur across contexts because they’re functionally effective at dismantling democratic resistance.

1. Propaganda: The use of propaganda to manipulate public opinion is rampant in fascist regimes. Often, conspiracy theories are used to whip up strong emotion quickly.
2. Suppression of Dissent: Any form of opposition is often met with severe punishment, including imprisonment or even death.
3. Cult of Personality: Leaders often build a cult of personality around themselves, portraying themselves as the saviors of the nation.
4. Scapegoating: Blaming societal problems on a particular group, often minorities, to divert attention from real issues. One of the oldest examples is antisemitism.
5. Control Over Media: The media is often state-controlled or heavily influenced to propagate the regime’s messages.
6. Political Violence: The use of violence, or the threat thereof, is common to intimidate opposition and enforce policies.

Behaviors and beliefs

These are the day-to-day practices and institutional behaviors that emerge when fascist traits and tactics become embedded in governance structures—the observable patterns that reveal how the ideology functions in practice rather than just rhetoric.

1. Dogmatic Beliefs: A refusal to consider alternative viewpoints or engage in constructive debate.
2. Manipulation of History: Rewriting, distorting, or hiding historical facts to suit the regime’s preferred narrative.
3. Secrecy and Surveillance: A lack of transparency and an emphasis on surveillance to monitor citizens.
4. Economic Control: Often, there’s a form of state capitalism where the government controls key industries.
5. Social Darwinism: A belief in the survival of the fittest, often used to justify social inequality.

How to identify a fascist

Identifying someone as a fascist can be complex due to the ideology’s fluid nature. However, if an individual strongly exhibits many of the traits, tactics, and behaviors listed above, it could be a sign. Fascism is a multi-dimensional ideology that can manifest in various ways but generally includes authoritarianism, extreme nationalism, and a range of tactics aimed at maintaining power. Understanding these signs is crucial for recognizing and combating the rise of fascist ideologies, which are on the rise at this time in an alarming number of places.