Fascism: A Warning Hardcover – April 10, 2018 by Madeleine Albright (Harper)

Madeleine Albright’s newest book, “Fascism: A Warning”, is a provocative book of profound meaning for increasingly dire times. As a former US Secretary of State, she has a lifetime of experience working at the heart of diplomacy worldwide. Her perspective has afforded her deep reflection about democracy, authoritarianism, as fascism, the latter which she sees deeply on the rise. She looks at what characterizes “fascism” — not an easy term to define because it is overused and often is incorrectly used. Other books on the topic (of fascism) note the struggle to define it as well. This specificity is not just a fascism problem though in trying to describe it. For example, many country’s claim democracy but are far from “democratic” in sense of political science meaning of the word. She defines “a Fascist as someone who claims to speak for a whole nation or group, is utterly unconcerned with the rights of others, and is willing to use violence and whatever other means are necessary to achieve the goals he or she might have.” It’s not “populism” or simply “authoritarianism”. It’s not being of the political right or left. Historical examples are Hitler and Mussolini of the World War 2 era. Yet as Albright notes with alarm, after a surge in democracy in previous decades, today many fewer countries are democracies (only 30) in the world when it used to be over 100. With a multitude of countries spiraling ever closer to authoritarianism and some of those gravitating toward Fascism, she examines the appeal that Fascism plays for a number of world leaders in Poland, Venezuela, Russia, Uganda, and yes, startlingly from the US. She cites numerous examples of fascist leaders who are intolerant of criticism and see that only they are capable of solving their countries’ problems offer while suppressing those they see as the opposition. 

While Albright does reflect on the US in this book, she sees this struggle as a worldwide problem. As a young child, her family was forced to flee from her homeland (Czechoslovakia) when the Nazis took over (her father was a Czech diplomat), then after the war they were forced to flee again when the Soviets took control of her country. This is how she ended up in the United States. She has a deep abiding love of democracy and as one of the most well-travelled people on our planet, she has seen all types of governments and leaders up-close and personal, which is what gives this book increases gravity. This book is deeply provocative, and calls for people to be wary of being complacent against the forces of fascism. She has clearly thought about this topic deeply, and she presents her ideas with clarity. Unlike what some of this book’s reviewers say, this book isn’t just about the US, and to claim that as a weakness of this book misses the key point Albright makes in asserting this political rise is happening around the world. Anyone who values a global perspective, should find this book of worthy of deep contemplation. I have long been an admirer of Madeleine Albright, and this book has helped me now see her as an even more formidable thought leader of our time.