Stanley G. Payne
Encyclopedia
Stanley George Payne is a historian
of modern Spain
and Europe
an Fascism
at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. He retired from full time teaching in 2004 and is currently Professor Emeritus at its Department of History. Payne is one of the most famous modern theorists of fascism. He is a specialist in Spanish fascism and he has also produced comparative analysis of Western European fascism. Payne is known for his typological description of fascism. He also asserts that Nazism and Communism are closely related.
In the 1960s, his books were published in Spanish
by "Ruedo Ibérico", an illegal publishing company at the time, based in Paris, as his work was censured by Franco
. His position regarding the Spanish Civil War
has been that of shedding light on the conflict's origin and addressing its related myths. One of his more famous books is Spanish Civil War, The Soviet Union and Communism, which analyzes Stalin and the Soviet government's intervention in Spain. He also wrote The Franco Regime, The Spanish Civil War and A History of Fascism 1914-1945.
Regarding the Spanish Civil War, Payne has more recently defended the work of Pío Moa
, a writer. While disagreeing with several of Moa's theses, Payne has also stated that "If that (loyalty to constitutionalism) had been the scrupulous policy of the left, there would have been no revolt and civil war". In Payne's view, what he calls political correctness
, i.e. a general pro-leftist bias in academia has led to an underestimation of the guilt of the Republican side in the war.
Payne uses a lengthy itemized list of characteristics to identify fascism, including the creation of an authoritarian state; a regulated, state-integrated economic sector; fascist symbolism
; anti-liberalism; anti-communism
, and anti-conservatism. He sees elimination of the autonomy or, in some cases, complete existence of large-scale capitalism
as the common aim of all fascist movements.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
of modern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. He retired from full time teaching in 2004 and is currently Professor Emeritus at its Department of History. Payne is one of the most famous modern theorists of fascism. He is a specialist in Spanish fascism and he has also produced comparative analysis of Western European fascism. Payne is known for his typological description of fascism. He also asserts that Nazism and Communism are closely related.
In the 1960s, his books were published in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
by "Ruedo Ibérico", an illegal publishing company at the time, based in Paris, as his work was censured by Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
. His position regarding the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
has been that of shedding light on the conflict's origin and addressing its related myths. One of his more famous books is Spanish Civil War, The Soviet Union and Communism, which analyzes Stalin and the Soviet government's intervention in Spain. He also wrote The Franco Regime, The Spanish Civil War and A History of Fascism 1914-1945.
Regarding the Spanish Civil War, Payne has more recently defended the work of Pío Moa
Pío Moa
Luis Pío Moa Rodríguez better known as simply Pío Moa, is a Spanish writer and journalist. His specialised subject field is the history and origins of the Spanish Civil War, the Second Republic in Spain, Francoism and the various political movements of that era.During his youth, Moa was a radical...
, a writer. While disagreeing with several of Moa's theses, Payne has also stated that "If that (loyalty to constitutionalism) had been the scrupulous policy of the left, there would have been no revolt and civil war". In Payne's view, what he calls political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
, i.e. a general pro-leftist bias in academia has led to an underestimation of the guilt of the Republican side in the war.
Payne uses a lengthy itemized list of characteristics to identify fascism, including the creation of an authoritarian state; a regulated, state-integrated economic sector; fascist symbolism
Fascist symbolism
As there were many different manifestations of fascism, especially during the interwar years, there were also many different symbols of Fascist movements...
; anti-liberalism; anti-communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
, and anti-conservatism. He sees elimination of the autonomy or, in some cases, complete existence of large-scale capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
as the common aim of all fascist movements.
Books
- Falange: A History of Spanish Fascism, 1961
- Politics and the Military in Modern Spain, 1967
- Franco's Spain, 1967
- The Spanish Revolution, 1970
- A History of Spain and Portugal, 1973
- Basque Nationalism, 1975
- La revolución y la guerra civil española, 1976
- Fascism: Comparison and Definition, 1980
- Spanish Catholicism: An Historical Overview, 1984
- The Franco Regime 1936-1975, 1988
- Franco: El perfil de la historia, 1992
- Spain's First Democracy: The Second Republic, 1931-1936, 1993
- A History of Fascism 1914-1945, 1996
- El primer franquismo, 1939-1959: Los años de la autarquía, 1998
- Fascism in Spain 1923-1977, 2000
- The Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union, and Communism 1931-1939, 2004
- The Collapse of the Spanish Republic, 1933-1936, 2006
- Franco and Hitler: Spain, Germany, and World War II, 2008
- Spain: A Unique History, 2011