Fascist paramilitary

Article summary

A fascist paramilitary is a type of paramilitary fighting force – whether armed, unarmed, or merely symbolic – that is independent of regular military command and is established for the defence and advancement of a social-political movement that adheres to the far-right authoritarian and radical nationalist political ideology of fascism. Because fascism is an inherently militarist ideology, there are very few varieties of fascism for which, after any such variety gains significant or centralized power in a polity, paramilitaries do not play a central role in said polity; accordingly, some kind of paramilitary participation is almost always a basic requirement of membership in nearly all fascist movements. Fascist paramilitaries have seen action in both peacetime and wartime. Most fascist paramilitaries' members wear political uniforms indicating their participation in, and allegiance to, a given paramilitary force. Many such organizations have chosen their groups' names on the basis of the colours of their uniforms. The first definite fascist paramilitary was the Blackshirts of Italian Fascism led by Benito Mussolini. While many of the Blackshirts were former members of the Arditi who had fought in World War I or the Fascio of the immediate post-war years, the most direct inspiration for the first fascist paramilitary was Giuseppe Garibaldi's Redshirts.…

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