‘What you are promoting will lead to the disappearance of my people and my culture.’ Exposure: White Right: Meeting the Enemy, opening salvo, ITV 2017
I grew up in Norway where white skinhead gangs terrorised our small Muslim community. ibid.
Jeff hates the idea of multiculturalism: he thinks it’s part of a plot against the white race. ibid.
‘We are fighting against the forces of darkness.’ ibid. Charlottesville protest
In recent years a new kind of white nationalist has emerged, people who present a very different image: they’re often known as the Alt Right. ibid.
Hate crimes are on the rise across Europe and the US. ibid.
Europe 2018: From the UK to Germany, Sweden to Greece, extreme right-wing politics are on the rise fuelled by xenophobia and a promise to fight for the rights of white Europeans. Dictators’ Rulebook s1e3: Benito Mussolini, National Geographic 2018
Italy’s Benito Mussolini: has been dismissed as a buffoon, a small-time tyrant who ruled in the shadow of Hitler and Stalin. But he was no-one’s disciple … He called it fascism. ibid.
‘Again and again he keeps getting in trouble for knifing people.’ ibid. Matthew Feldman
He uses an essential tool of dictatorship: creating an enemy. ibid.
The fascist army is publicly unleashed on the communists. ibid.
Mussolini and a handful of fascists are elected to parliament. ibid.
1924: Fascist thugs are posted outside of polling stations throughout the country. ibid.
It is time to build an empire … Mussolini orders his generals to burn Ethiopian villages and to use poison gas on civilians. ibid.
2017: A mass grave is revealed; it is but one of two thousand mass burial sites across the nation. This is the legacy of General Francisco Franco, victor of the Spanish Civil War. After taking control of the country in 1939 he consolidates his hold on the nation. Dictators’ Rulebook s1e4: Francisco Franco
The Spanish people move to establish a republic. And weeks later a general election is held: the majority of seats are won by left-leaning parties. ibid.
November 1933: Spain swings to the right as a coalition of conservative parties wins the next election … The right-wing government turns to Franco who welcomes the chance to restore order. ibid.
The pendulum swings and the right-wing government is ejected … A military coup is the ultimate gamble. ibid.
Franco intensifies his attack on civilians. ibid.
December 20th 1989: 27,000 US troops descend on Panama City. It’s the biggest American invasion since the Vietnam War. Ambition: to capture one man: Panama’s military dictator Manuel Noriega. US soldiers scour Panama City hunting Noriega but he’s nowhere to be found. Noriega’s turbulent six-year rule has been marked by violence, deception and excess. Dictators’ Rulebook s1e5: Manuel Noriega
By the mid-1970s Noreiga is the most important asset the US has in Central America. But little do they know he’s not just spying on the Cubans in the US, he’s spying on the US and the Cubans. ibid.
He strikes a deal with Pablo Escobar, the leader of Colombia’s Medellin drug cartel. ibid.
Soon, Noriega is not just running drugs, he’s running arms for the Americans. ibid.
June 11 1975: Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is right where he wants to be: at the centre of an international diplomatic crisis. A British citizen living in Uganda, Denis Hills, is about to publish a book critical of Amin. Enraged that his authority has been questioned, Amin wants Hills to face a firing squad. The British know this is no idle threat. Idi Amin has been in the business of capital punishment for years. Dictators’ Rulebook s1e6: Idi Amin
Idi Amin rose to power from humble beginnings and won the affection of millions of Ugandans and struck fear in the hearts of his many opponents. ibid.
The man who was once a lowly footsoldier in the colonial army now controls the military … With his loyal army behind him he stages a coup. ibid.
The secret police make thousands of arrests … His torture chambers become legendary. ibid.
Amin orders the expulsion of Uganda’s entire Asian population, some 55,000 people. ibid.
Tanzanian forces enter the capital; Amin’s war has proved to be a fatal mistake. ibid.
Amin boards a military helicopter and flees the country. ibid.
Lord of the empire, privileged guests, all hail her most imperial majesty, mother of the fatherland, overlord of Vulcan, dominis of Kronos … Star Trek: Discovery s1e12: Vaulting Ambition, fascists’ conference
Right-wing efforts to aid General Franco during the Spanish Civil War seventy years ago. According to the document I am holding, aircraft bound for the war took off on covert missions from the airfield which used to be on this very spot. The planes were owned and piloted by a colourful group of characters. Document: Franco’s British Friends, BBC Radio 4 2007
After Charlottesville, Frontline and Pro Publica reporter A C Thompson investigates who was behind the violent riot and uncovers a network across America that goes beyond Charlottesville. Frontline: Documenting Hate: Charlottesville, PBS 2018
Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12th 2017: Charlottesville was a crime scene … The largest gathering of White Supremacists in a generation: they called it Unite the Right. ibid.
I’m able to identify several more RAM [Rise Above Movement] members. ibid.
In 2017, national elections are held in France. The National Front, a far-right party, is defeated. Shortly after the official results announcement, its leader, Marine le Pen, is spotted on the dance floor. She received 33.9% of the vote, continuing her party’s rise in French politics. Field of Vision: Dancing with Le Pen, captions, Nora Mandray, short 22:20 2018
1972: Marine le Pen’s father – Jean-Marie le Pen – co-founds the National Front, a new far-right party. In his first presidential run, he receives 0.75% of the vote. Le Pen fails to get the necessary signatures to run for president. ibid.
Jean-Marie le Pen declares ‘the gas chambers are a mere detail of history.’ ibid.
‘20 years from now France will be an Islamic state … ’ He receives 14% of the vote. ibid. Le Pen on tele with chart alleging proliferation of Mosques
2017 three days before the vote: ‘Ending immigration, and sending immigrants back to their countries.’ ibid.
Jean-Marie le Pen assaults a left-wing opponent. He is banned from politics for one years. His daughter acts as his defence-attorney. ibid.
2002: For the first time Jean-Marie le Pen qualifies for a second round of voting. ibid.
Massive protests prevent his election. ibid.
‘Three national front members faced trial.’ ibid. channel 2 news
Jean-Marie le Pen reiterates his statement on gas chambers. His daughter expels him from the national front. ibid. caption
In 2002, more than one million people demonstrate against the national front. In 2017, only 280,000 people show up. ibid.
From 1998 to 2010, Jean-Marie le Pen appears on TV 2,000 times. ibid.
1993: Marine le Pen starts her career in politics. ibid.
‘On top of that, they start to remove the wallpaper.’ ibid. Marine on talk show
It’s evident today that corporations raise and spend huge amounts of money on the political campaigns of presidents and congressmen. These corporations also spend huge amounts of money hiring former government officials to lobby Congress to pass laws that mainly benefit their interests. Corporate Fascism: The Destruction of America’s Middle Class, 2011
Is a corporation really a citizen? ibid.
A different totalitarian ideology calls for corporations of the world to unite … fascism develops when the state initiates the merger of corporate power with state power. ibid.
Francisco Franco, absolute ruler over Spain, was one of the most enigmatic dictators in European history. Even today the country still bears the scars of his reign. He seized power in a bloody civil war and ruled the country with an iron hand for forty years. A despot not even his trusted followers could really see through. The Truth About Franco: Spain’s Forgotten Dictator I: The Rise to Power, PBS 2019
His dominant wife – she would survive the despot. ibid.
A shy boy, Francisco was just an average pupil. ibid.
In Catalonia and the Basque country in particular calls for independence grew louder. ibid.
1932: The army launched an attempted coup but it failed. ibid.
‘He started making preparations for a future civil war.’ ibid. Paul Preston, historian and biographer
The rebels made Franco their generalissimo. ibid.