Fascist Behaviour in Interpersonal Relationships:

Like many other academic terms which have their specific definitions in humanities theories but have acquired more general and non-specialised meanings in common usage, the term “fascism” is generally applied to any exertion of despotic and totalitarian power. In political theories fascism is defined as a type of ideology which is particularly studied in its manifestations in international relations. Thus in political science fascism is often defined or studied with emphasis on its emergence in political history. Historical explanation of fascism, in spite of its theoretical basis, neglects another aspect of fascism which in particular finds expression in individual behaviours and interpersonal relationships. Among the theorists who have studied this oft-neglected but crucial aspect of fascism is the contemporary Psychoanalyst Christopher Bollas, who considers fascism in international relations to be a largescale manifestation of fascism in interpersonal relationships. He analyses fascism by adopting a Lacanian approach and drawing on Robert J. Lifton’s concept of “psychical doubleness”. According to the psychoanalytical definition offered by Bollas, fascism is a potential in all humans which, if its manifestations in interpersonal relationships are ignored, can easily transform into a mass movement. The present essay starts with a discussion of the characteristics of the concept of “fascism” as defined in political theories, and then adopts an interdisciplinary approach to demonstrate that Bollas’s psychoanalytical definition of fascism not only throws an illuminating light on ordinary behaviours in everyday life, but also reveals important aspects of the unconscious origins of fascist acts in international relations.