Afro-Fascism

“We were the first Fascists, when we had 100,000 disciplined men, and were training children, Mussolini was still an unknown. Mussolini copied our Fascism.“
- Marcus Garvey

Inspired by this quote and a recent thread about an anti-colonialist form of Fascism as well as plans for a timeline around this subject, I wished to ask - how plausible is it for indigenous Fascist movements in Africa to pop up? What would they look like?
 
What is the context of that quote? Did Garvey really mean that there was an ideological affinity between his movement and fascism, or just that he had pioneered all the supposedly incredbie organizational stuff that Mussolini was then being praised for, and just used "fascism" as a stand-in for that?

I know there were black nationalists who identified with fascism, I'd just like more info about whether Garvey was one of them.
 
What is the context of that quote? Did Garvey really mean that there was an ideological affinity between his movement and fascism, or just that he had pioneered all the supposedly incredbie organizational stuff that Mussolini was then being praised for, and just used "fascism" as a stand-in for that?

I know there were black nationalists who identified with fascism, I'd just like more info about whether Garvey was one of them.
I believe it was the latter but I could be wrong.

He might’ve been.
 
What is the context of that quote? Did Garvey really mean that there was an ideological affinity between his movement and fascism, or just that he had pioneered all the supposedly incredbie organizational stuff that Mussolini was then being praised for, and just used "fascism" as a stand-in for that?

I know there were black nationalists who identified with fascism, I'd just like more info about whether Garvey was one of them.
I believe it was the latter but I could be wrong.

He might’ve been.

From Wikipedia (the source is Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey and His Dream of Mother Africa by Colin Grant, p. 440-441)
In the early 1930s Garvey expressed a strong admiration for Benito Mussolini and argued that "we were the first fascists", comparing the mass membership and discipline of Mussolini's followers to that of his own. Garvey changed his opinion following the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935 and soon denounced Mussolini as "a tyrant, a bully, [and] an irresponsible upstart".
 
Does it have to be 1930’s/40’s? I’d argue that Idi Amin’s Regime could be called fascist (blatant ethnic cleansing), and possibly Robert Mugabe’s. I’ve seen the South African political party the EFF described as fascist as well. There were a lot of African dictators in the 1970’s/80’s who could have the term fascist applied to them though most were “just” authoritarian leaders.
 
Does it have to be 1930’s/40’s? I’d argue that Idi Amin’s Regime could be called fascist (blatant ethnic cleansing), and possibly Robert Mugabe’s. I’ve seen the South African political party the EFF described as fascist as well. There were a lot of African dictators in the 1970’s/80’s who could have the term fascist applied to them though most were “just” authoritarian leaders.
Are we using Fascist in its original form or as a term to describe ultranationalist, authoritarian, militaristic and xenophobic regime? Also, I’d prefer it to be in the range of the 1920s to the 1940s.
 
The first blow against Afrofascism becoming a prominent movement was Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia, the second was World War II destroying fascism's reputation forever and leading to the rise of the Soviet Union and its backing of nationalist anti-colonial movements and local communists/left-wing leaders.

So keep Mussolini occupied elsewhere, have no World War II, but still eventual decolonization. And reform Japan too and have its economy take off but still keep it with some prominent fascist/pan-Asian types (OTL Imperial Japan was not fascist but had some genuinely fascist elements). Japan could back a lot of African fascist movements which struggle against colonialism, while the philosophy in general could appeal to a lot of intellectuals who'd otherwise support socialism.

Does it have to be 1930’s/40’s? I’d argue that Idi Amin’s Regime could be called fascist (blatant ethnic cleansing), and possibly Robert Mugabe’s. I’ve seen the South African political party the EFF described as fascist as well. There were a lot of African dictators in the 1970’s/80’s who could have the term fascist applied to them though most were “just” authoritarian leaders.

Mugabe and the EFF claim to be left-wing but there's is a strain of left-wing nationalism which is easy to see in some other TL filled instead by black nationalist, anti-colonial fascism.
 
The first blow against Afrofascism becoming a prominent movement was Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia, the second was World War II destroying fascism's reputation forever and leading to the rise of the Soviet Union and its backing of nationalist anti-colonial movements and local communists/left-wing leaders.

So keep Mussolini occupied elsewhere, have no World War II, but still eventual decolonization. And reform Japan too and have its economy take off but still keep it with some prominent fascist/pan-Asian types (OTL Imperial Japan was not fascist but had some genuinely fascist elements). Japan could back a lot of African fascist movements which struggle against colonialism, while the philosophy in general could appeal to a lot of intellectuals who'd otherwise support socialism.
I think it’s plausible for the rise of an Ethiopian Fascist movement and it becoming an important factor in the Ethiopian government which might be willing to export a pan-African strain of Afro-Fascism if she survives after World War 2. In regards to Mussolini’s Italy being distracted, could we have an earlier Italian invasion of Albania and/or involvement in Yugoslavia?

Maybe have Japan cement the same ties with Ethiopia that it didn’t get to and export its own version of Fascism to Ethiopia that eventually takes on a different form that is replicated throughout Africa.
 
If you have an Axis victory in Europe but a defeat elsewhere.
You could have Germany play the role the Soviets played in otl Somalia leading to a Fascist Somalia with officers that adopted communism in otl adopting Fascism in this TL.
 

Deleted member 1487

Did the Hutu extremists in the Rwandan Genocide share any ideological similarities with any Fascist ideology?
Results from a 10 second google search:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_fascism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism_in_Africa
The Coalition for the Defence of the Republic (CDR) has been described as a Rwandan Hutu fascist political party responsible for inciting the Rwandan Genocide.[14][15][16] The CDR refused to operate within the law nor cooperate with other Rwandan political parties.[17] The CDR had a paramilitary wing, the Mupuza Mugambi that repeatedly provoked violent confrontations with members of other parties, using hand grenades and bombs, and served as one of the death squads that massacred Tutsis in the Rwandan Genocide.[17]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_for_the_Defence_of_the_Republic
 
If you have an Axis victory in Europe but a defeat elsewhere.
You could have Germany play the role the Soviets played in otl Somalia leading to a Fascist Somalia with officers that adopted communism in otl adopting Fascism in this TL.
Why would Somalia turn towards Germany of all countries?
 

Derek Pullem

Kicked
Donor
I don't think it's what you were looking for but Nasser could be described as fascist (or perhaps better national socialist). It's one of those "politics is a circle" arguments. Not a perfect analogy but not entirely false.
 
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