Title of the Dissertation

Fascist Movements and Authoritarian Regimes in Southeast Europe during the

Interwar Period: Their Interplay and Connection with Catholic and Orthodox
Christianity

Project of Dissertation
It is true that during the interwar period a great number of fascist movements
overflowed and swamped all over Europe. However in most European countries,
apart from Germany and Italy, the majority of fascist movements didnt accomplish
their goals and didnt seize the governmental power. Despite their repression from the
various authoritarian regimes which ruled over these countries, these fascist
movements exerted considerable influence in the countries that emerged. This is
evident because of the resurgence of nationalism and fascism in southeast Europe,
especially after the collapse of the socialist regimes. Moreover these fascist
movements and the authoritarian regimes which emerged in Southeast Europe during
the interwar period were deeply influenced by religious fanaticism and especially a
kind of Christian zealotry.
This is shown by the fact that the Legion of the Archangel Michael attested its
adherence to the Romanian Orthodox Church and identified the Church with the
national community1. Apart from that, the dictator Ioannis Metaxas , who established
an authoritarian regime in Greece, lauded the values of Country, Loyalty, Family
and Religion and emphasized the devotion to the Greek Orthodox Church 2. In
Yugoslavia, Dimitrije Ljoti, founder of the Yugoslav National Movement was a
deeply religious man and a fervent member of the Serbian Orthodox Church, while a
friend of his, the theologian Dimitrije Najdanovi, became one of Zbors main
ideologues and later on a senior official in the Ministry of Education in the
1

Stanley G. Payne, A History of Fascism 1914-1945, (Wisconsin: University of Winsconsin

Press,1995): p. 136.
2
According to the ideology of Metaxism and the appointed from Metaxas undersecretary of press and
tourism Theologos Nikoloudes who propounded a theory of national ideology, the Greece experienced
three periods of national greatness. The second was the Byzantine period, where of course Greeks were
living under a regime of imperial autocracy combined with a deep adherence to Christianity. LS
Stavrianos. The Balkans since 1453, (New York: Rinehard & Company, 1958): p. 672.

collaborationist government of Milan Nedi3. Equally important was of course the

infamous Ustae, a clandestine ultranationalist Croatian organization, feverish
Catholic which is responsible for exterminating thousands Serbs during World War II.
I am, therefore, proposing to undertake a study to try and shed some light on
the affinity of religion with fascism and ultranationalism in Southeast Europe, to
discover the causes of this affinity and the great role which religion played in the
emergence of the fascist movements during the interwar period. Lastly, I will present
the current consequences of this affinity on the cultures and politics of Southeast
European countries. An important aspect of this study is the emphasis on the
interpretation of religion and its subsequent utilization as a means to foster
fundamentalism and fascism in nations and summon religious and political
intolerance on a large scale. Another important aspect of this study is the everlasting
role of religious traditions in shaping political opinions in South East Europe.
Furthermore, there is also a historical aspect on the proposal. It is a fact, that
fascism in Southeast Europe was not characterized by the radical, futuristic and
modernistic features of the German and Italian fascism which originated to a great
degree from the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. On the whole fascism in
Southeast Europe had more regressive characteristics, which propounded the theory
of return to an idealized historical past and the attempt of regenerating and reliving
the great past in todays time. By undertaking such a study I will be able to assess the
impacts of those ideological tendencies and allow comparative analysis with the
current era. In such a way firmer conclusions can be made about whether or not these
fascist ideological tendencies combined with religion exist and influence todays
societies and the political environment of Southeast European countries. In essence,
this is a study with two broad themes that inter-relate: Why Christian church had such
an affinity with fascist and authoritarian movements during the inter war period, and
how this affinity still exists and shapes the contours of populist ideologies and
political movements in todays Southeast European political climate.

Jovan Byford, Denial and Repression of Antisemitism: Post-Communist Remembrance of the Serbian
Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovi, (Budapest: Central European University Press, 2008): p. 50

Research Questions

How did authoritarian regimes and fascist movements combine

religion and nationalistic doctrine in their ideology?

To what extent did Orthodox and Catholic Church support and

influence the fascist movements and authoritarian regimes during the
interwar period? Did the positioning of the Church go along and
concur with the aspects and the policies of the authoritarian regimes
and the fascist movements in Southeast Europe?

Do some Church doctrines and teachings precondition fascism? Is

there an inherent conservative tendency in religion which can weaken
the pluralistic structure of todays states and invigorate fascist
tendencies?

What implications and impacts do the authoritarian regimes and fascist

movements of this period have to the current political, social and
cultural environment of Southeast Europe?
Work Plan And Methodology

The study will be largely based on historical and qualitative methods .A basic
action procedural routine will be applied. This means that firstly the research
questions will be identified, then the information to answer the questions will be
gathered and lastly this information will be analyzed and interpreted. It is also
important to apply external and internal criticism in order to evaluate the validity,
trustworthiness, reliability and accuracy of the contained information in the collected
sources. In addition to this the heuristics of corroboration, sourcing and
contextualization will be applied. This means that the documents will be compared to
each other in order to obtain information about their accuracy and credibility and also
the authors and the date of creation of the documents will be identified to establish the
authenticity and the accuracy of information. After that the synthesis and exposition
of the research findings will follow, by assembling the body of historical data,
selecting, organizing analyzing the materials collected and presenting them into
themes, central ideas and topics, in order to display a meaningful whole.

Moreover, in order to better understand the fascist movements and the

authoritarian regimes in interwar period a broad and in-depth reading of the relevant
historical literature will be needed. This will range from primary sources, which are
absolutely fundamental to history, such as memoirs, autobiographies, interviews,
special collections and the use of national archives and will extend to a wide range of
secondary data resources such as newspapers, journals, research reports, and use of
other studies if there is no primary source available. Whilst a large amount of the
resources for the research of this study will be necessarily from secondary sources, I
believe that my knowledge of Slavic languages, especially Bulgarian and apart from
this my knowledge of Greek language will give me the ability to generate a broad and
original research. I believe that this project will be of great contemporary academic
significance, and one that would be of value both to the Graduate School for East and
Southeast European Studies and to the wider academic community.
Working Plan Time Schedule
The time schedule for my dissertation covers approximately three years. The
following working plan and time schedule is planned:
year: Collaboration with the supervisor about the details of the research.
Searching for all essential and necessary literature and bibliography in order to start
the work and write the first drafts. Writing is of significant importance as soon as the
review of the bibliography is completed.
year: Screening and analyzing in more depth the existing bibliography and
searching for an updated bibliography if there is one. Undertake additional research
where necessary.
year Checking the first drafts and updating them. Subdiving the research
into distinct parts, each of which will lead to a paper or a chapter of my thesis.
Year: Checking the flow and the length of the dissertation. Undertake any
additional editing, writing and researching. Compiling and collating sections into the
first draft of the dissertation.

 Year: Comparison of the results up to this year and developing the final
paper of the dissertation.
.
Year Final proof-reading and final editing of the dissertation. Compiling of
bibliography and submitting the dissertation.
During the whole period of work on my dissertation, current changes or
updates in the research and bibliography will be tracked and will be covered until a
certain point of time, which has to be fixed in my dissertation.

References
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Denial and Repression of Antisemitism: Post-Communist

Remembrance of the Serbian Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovi. Budapest: Central European

University Press, 2008.
Payne, G. Stanley. A History of Fascism 1914-1945. Wisconsin: University of
Winsconsin Press, 1995.
Stavrianos, L.S. The Balkans since 1453. New York: Rinehard & Company, 1958.

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