Author

Sara Engels

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hicks, Barbara

Area of Concentration

Social Sciences, Religion, Gender Studies

Abstract

Utilizing the definitions, characteristics, and enabling conditions provided by four experts of fascism who have collectively contributed over 150 years of scholarship to the field, this study assesses environmental conditions prior to elections, espoused party ideologies, policies enacted (and attempted) once in power, and the rhetoric employed by the leaders of movements in Hungary and the U.S., which have both been labelled as fascist, to determine whether such a description is fitting. Extensive analysis of speeches and policies in the two countries makes it clear that Hungary has developed a fascist government and state, albeit one that is not fully radicalized, and that the United States is quickly following in its footsteps, exhibiting almost every trait or condition that these preeminent scholars of fascism identify.

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