Academic Essays
Republicans Clapped When ‘Coolest Dictator’ Defended Trump. Somehow That Makes Sense.
USA Today, February 25, 2024
Authoritarians and their Sons-In-Law from Mussolini to Trump: Partners in Corruption
January 3, 2024
“The essence of authoritarianism is getting away with crime, and corruption must be at the center of any analysis of how dictatorships operate.”
The Wall and the Drill: Authoritarianism Means Controls for Some, License to Plunder for Others
December 11, 2023
“I said I wanted to be a dictator for one day. You know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
Talk of a Trump Dictatorship Charges the American Political Debate
New York Times, December 9, 2023
Trump’s Latest Speech Echoes Fascist Rhetoric
November 13, 2023
Mussolini and Hitler dehumanized their enemies in the same way. Here is a rare Monday post on an important subject: Trump’s use of dehumanizing language that echoes Fascist speech.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat has been recognized for her groundbreaking interdisciplinary work throughout her career. Her scholarship on fascism, World War Two, and visual propaganda has introduced new approaches, broken with prevailing orthodoxies, and integrated new sources, from forgotten Fascist-era films and novels to documents from the United Nations War Crimes Commission.