For fascism, I tend to use the criteria of whether there’s a descent from fascist movements, or whether there’s an outright claiming to be fascist. That works for most European and international groups.
Now, for American movements in particular, they often fail those tests. One approach is to give it a special carve out, on the basis that Manifest Destiny was a proto-fascist movement. It and other American policies inspired the fascists of Europe. In a sense, America was the modern ur-fascist state.
As you’ve touched on, a key feature of fascism is borderline incoherency. It is not a coherent ideology, and the further you get from Mussolini, the less coherent it becomes. It thrives on the occult and conspiracy. That makes it difficult to draw a line between category 1 and category 2. I guess the best way is to put 2 in the ‘respectable fascists’ camp.
For fascism, I tend to use the criteria of whether there’s a descent from fascist movements, or whether there’s an outright claiming to be fascist. That works for most European and international groups.
Now, for American movements in particular, they often fail those tests. One approach is to give it a special carve out, on the basis that Manifest Destiny was a proto-fascist movement. It and other American policies inspired the fascists of Europe. In a sense, America was the modern ur-fascist state.
As you’ve touched on, a key feature of fascism is borderline incoherency. It is not a coherent ideology, and the further you get from Mussolini, the less coherent it becomes. It thrives on the occult and conspiracy. That makes it difficult to draw a line between category 1 and category 2. I guess the best way is to put 2 in the ‘respectable fascists’ camp.