Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
The crisis of democracy and the rise of totalitarism - Coggle Diagram
The crisis of democracy and the rise of totalitarism
Different factors eroded parliamentary democracies in the 1920s
The main one was the crisis of the capitalist system
This was manifested in Europe both by post-war difficulties (1919–1923) and in the recession that started in 1929
In comparison, the Soviet Union was not so affected by the Great Depression, as it had a different economic system
As a result of
Soviet prestige
Trade unions and communist parties became stronger
The unemployment and misery generated by the capitalist crisis
There was great political instability in many countries, caused by workers demands
Members of the wealthy and middle classes were afraid of the Soviet example
Started supporting dictatorial models and rejected the existence of workers organisations
At the end of the 1930s, dictatorships in Europe predominated over democracies
Some dictatorships were totalitarian regimes with some common characteristics
Exaltation of the dictator and a personality cult
Dictatorship and the absence of individual freedoms and information
An all-embracing state with power that controlled all facets of citizens’ lives
An official state ideology
A single mass party that represented the official ideology and mobilisation of the masses in support of that ideology
Repression of any idea or activity that differs from or questions the power of the state, the party and its official ideology
System of terror and violence, with a powerful political police force to ensure critics are repressed
Facing the rise of dictatorships
Great Britain overcame its economic problems
Thanks to the strength of its political institutions and managed to preserve democracy
In turn, France had to form a leftist unity government, the Popular Front, to contain the rise of the extreme right
