Rita Almeida de Carvalho is an assistant researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon. Her work in the field of political and cultural history has focused on the Portuguese New State in a comparative perspective. Recently, she has been exploring transnationalism and European identity.
Taking into consideration the transnational dimension of Fascism that had its epicentre in Italy ... more Taking into consideration the transnational dimension of Fascism that had its epicentre in Italy − as Mussolini’s purpose of “marching throughout the streets of Europe and the World” plainly illustrates − this article explores the connections between the Italian Fascist regime and the Portuguese Estado Novo during the interwar period. From the moment Fascism became attractive for Portuguese intellectuals, state officers, and politicians, until it became a colonial threat to the Portuguese empire, the cultural diplomacy apparatuses of the two countries will be analysed from a balanced, bi-lateral perspective, encompassing actors, transferences, and resistances.
Fascism, Journal of Comparative Fascist Studies, 2018
This article challenges the common assumption of the fascist nature of the Portu-guese Estado Nov... more This article challenges the common assumption of the fascist nature of the Portu-guese Estado Novo from the thirties to mid-forties, while recognizing the innovative, modernizing dynamic of much of its state architecture. It takes into account the pro-lix discourse of Oliveira Salazar, the head of government, as well as Duarte Pacheco's extensive activity as minister of Public Works, and the positions and projects of the architects themselves. It also considers the allegedly peripheral status of architectural elites, and the role played by decision makers, whether politicians or bureaucrats, in the intricate process of architectural renewal. The article shows that a non-radical form of nationalism has always prevailed as a discourse in which to express the unique Por-tuguese spirit, that of a people that saw itself as transporting Christian morality and faith across the world, a civilizing role that the country continued to fulfil in its overseas colonies. Taking the architectural legacy of the Estado Novo in its complexity leads to the conclusion that, while the dictatorship did not dismiss modernization outright, and though it adopted what could be superficially considered fascist traits, the language of national resurgence disseminated by the Portuguese regime did not express a future-oriented fascist ideology of radical rebirth. The country's futural orientation would be accomplished by adopting a restrained policy of moderate modernization that lacked the dynamism and utopian ambition of fascism, a conservatism reflected in its architecture.
Pedro Tavares de Almeida, Paulo Silveira e Sousa (coord.), Do Reino à Administração Interna: História de um Ministério (1736-2012), Lisboa, Imprensa Nacional, pp. 149-194. ISBN - 978-972-27-2324-4, 2015
Em 1959, o Presidente deixou de ser eleito por sufrágio direto. Ao colégio eleitoral de 1959 segu... more Em 1959, o Presidente deixou de ser eleito por sufrágio direto. Ao colégio eleitoral de 1959 seguir-se-ia, em 1976, o sufrágio universal.
Aquele que é por muitos considerado o único verdadeiro fascista português teve uma vida breve mas... more Aquele que é por muitos considerado o único verdadeiro fascista português teve uma vida breve mas faustosa, trepidante, preenchida e aventurosa. Por Rita Almeida de Carvalho
Established in 1933 by Oliveira Salazar, the Portuguese New State was a civil, nationalist, conse... more Established in 1933 by Oliveira Salazar, the Portuguese New State was a civil, nationalist, conservative and corporatist dictatorship. A concordat was established between the New State and the Holy See in 1940, yet the treaty did not favour the Catholic Church to the degree one might expect from a Catholic interwar dictator. The fact that the political legitimacy of the Portuguese regime was not dependent on sanctioning by the Holy See justifies this apparent inconsistency. The distinctive features of the Portuguese concordat were enhanced by the authoritarian, rather than totalitarian, nature of the regime. Salazar, more so than Mussolini or Franco, was constrained by political forces not in favour of Catholic privileges. In addition, the dictator himself defended a strict separation of church and state as prescribed by the Portuguese constitution. Nonetheless, Salazar regarded the concordat as an important propaganda instrument that, in association with the 1940 Exhibition of the Portuguese World, would allow the internal and external prestige of the regime to be increased.
With a special interest in the nature of the interwar Portuguese dictatorial regime, this paper w... more With a special interest in the nature of the interwar Portuguese dictatorial regime, this paper will analyse the path followed by contemporary European aesthetic paradigms among the Portuguese architects. The aim is to understand whether these paradigms were internally absorbed and externally implicated in the built environment. To achieve this aim, architects’ travels will be reconstructed, minding that travel will be conceptualized in a broad sense, encompassing different contacts with non-Portuguese reality, such as through personal libraries, attendance to congresses, visits to exhibitions, study tours, vacations, education abroad, and acquaintance with foreign architects. This knowledge is expected to enlighten whether certain right-wing dictatorial political models, like Nazism and Fascism, were apprehended and embodied by architects involved in public buildings' commissions; or, conversely, if the aesthetic influence of Portuguese
long-standing allies, like the United Kingdom and France, was still dominant. Stretching the argument, one might event wonder if the autarchy's political claims during the Portuguese regime were also extended to the architectural field. All in all, the research's initial hypothesis was that some architects were more cosmopolitan than acknowledged. In proving it, the emphasis put by the art history and architectural history on Portuguese atavism loses strength, as architects would have been inspired and influenced by as many as the existent European regimes.
This paper deals with the nature of the Estado Novo, the right-wing dictatorship that ruled Portu... more This paper deals with the nature of the Estado Novo, the right-wing dictatorship that ruled Portugal from 1932 to 1968 and was led by Oliveira Salazar, a law professor with expertise in Finances. Focusing on the regime’s external influences, it aims a deep comprehension of its nature, an imbricate and plural nationalist anti-liberal and anticommunist union of monarchists – Legitimists , Integralists/Manuelists and Liberals – and republicans, either conservative, reactionary or fascist.
More precisely, this paper intends to scrutinize the relationship between Salazarism and the Italian Fascism, drawing upon the personal path of intellectuals, those who had the press monopoly and therefore a powerful vehicle of ideological indoctrination. We are particularly interested in the idea of transnational fascism, in the sense that this ideology could have been shared by a multitude of actors and fuelled by contacts whether in personal or institutional way.
Our interest is therefore not to study the already intensively analyzed discourse of Salazar and those that had occupied preeminent governmental positions. This time, the political elite who usually claimed to be apolitical – people with special expertise in Finances, Economics, and Law with a great political influence that consolidate their paths within the regime, i.e., organic intellectuals in a Gramscian sense – will be disregarded. Undertaken a new approach, we are dealing with nationalist fascistized literates, philosophers and artists – whose support to the regime is thought to be much more effective than usually acknowledge. Indeed, in this article it is argued that they importantly contributed to the general consensus that gave the regime the necessary endurance to survive until the early 70s.
Taking into consideration the transnational dimension of Fascism that had its epicentre in Italy ... more Taking into consideration the transnational dimension of Fascism that had its epicentre in Italy − as Mussolini’s purpose of “marching throughout the streets of Europe and the World” plainly illustrates − this article explores the connections between the Italian Fascist regime and the Portuguese Estado Novo during the interwar period. From the moment Fascism became attractive for Portuguese intellectuals, state officers, and politicians, until it became a colonial threat to the Portuguese empire, the cultural diplomacy apparatuses of the two countries will be analysed from a balanced, bi-lateral perspective, encompassing actors, transferences, and resistances.
Fascism, Journal of Comparative Fascist Studies, 2018
This article challenges the common assumption of the fascist nature of the Portu-guese Estado Nov... more This article challenges the common assumption of the fascist nature of the Portu-guese Estado Novo from the thirties to mid-forties, while recognizing the innovative, modernizing dynamic of much of its state architecture. It takes into account the pro-lix discourse of Oliveira Salazar, the head of government, as well as Duarte Pacheco's extensive activity as minister of Public Works, and the positions and projects of the architects themselves. It also considers the allegedly peripheral status of architectural elites, and the role played by decision makers, whether politicians or bureaucrats, in the intricate process of architectural renewal. The article shows that a non-radical form of nationalism has always prevailed as a discourse in which to express the unique Por-tuguese spirit, that of a people that saw itself as transporting Christian morality and faith across the world, a civilizing role that the country continued to fulfil in its overseas colonies. Taking the architectural legacy of the Estado Novo in its complexity leads to the conclusion that, while the dictatorship did not dismiss modernization outright, and though it adopted what could be superficially considered fascist traits, the language of national resurgence disseminated by the Portuguese regime did not express a future-oriented fascist ideology of radical rebirth. The country's futural orientation would be accomplished by adopting a restrained policy of moderate modernization that lacked the dynamism and utopian ambition of fascism, a conservatism reflected in its architecture.
Pedro Tavares de Almeida, Paulo Silveira e Sousa (coord.), Do Reino à Administração Interna: História de um Ministério (1736-2012), Lisboa, Imprensa Nacional, pp. 149-194. ISBN - 978-972-27-2324-4, 2015
Em 1959, o Presidente deixou de ser eleito por sufrágio direto. Ao colégio eleitoral de 1959 segu... more Em 1959, o Presidente deixou de ser eleito por sufrágio direto. Ao colégio eleitoral de 1959 seguir-se-ia, em 1976, o sufrágio universal.
Aquele que é por muitos considerado o único verdadeiro fascista português teve uma vida breve mas... more Aquele que é por muitos considerado o único verdadeiro fascista português teve uma vida breve mas faustosa, trepidante, preenchida e aventurosa. Por Rita Almeida de Carvalho
Established in 1933 by Oliveira Salazar, the Portuguese New State was a civil, nationalist, conse... more Established in 1933 by Oliveira Salazar, the Portuguese New State was a civil, nationalist, conservative and corporatist dictatorship. A concordat was established between the New State and the Holy See in 1940, yet the treaty did not favour the Catholic Church to the degree one might expect from a Catholic interwar dictator. The fact that the political legitimacy of the Portuguese regime was not dependent on sanctioning by the Holy See justifies this apparent inconsistency. The distinctive features of the Portuguese concordat were enhanced by the authoritarian, rather than totalitarian, nature of the regime. Salazar, more so than Mussolini or Franco, was constrained by political forces not in favour of Catholic privileges. In addition, the dictator himself defended a strict separation of church and state as prescribed by the Portuguese constitution. Nonetheless, Salazar regarded the concordat as an important propaganda instrument that, in association with the 1940 Exhibition of the Portuguese World, would allow the internal and external prestige of the regime to be increased.
With a special interest in the nature of the interwar Portuguese dictatorial regime, this paper w... more With a special interest in the nature of the interwar Portuguese dictatorial regime, this paper will analyse the path followed by contemporary European aesthetic paradigms among the Portuguese architects. The aim is to understand whether these paradigms were internally absorbed and externally implicated in the built environment. To achieve this aim, architects’ travels will be reconstructed, minding that travel will be conceptualized in a broad sense, encompassing different contacts with non-Portuguese reality, such as through personal libraries, attendance to congresses, visits to exhibitions, study tours, vacations, education abroad, and acquaintance with foreign architects. This knowledge is expected to enlighten whether certain right-wing dictatorial political models, like Nazism and Fascism, were apprehended and embodied by architects involved in public buildings' commissions; or, conversely, if the aesthetic influence of Portuguese
long-standing allies, like the United Kingdom and France, was still dominant. Stretching the argument, one might event wonder if the autarchy's political claims during the Portuguese regime were also extended to the architectural field. All in all, the research's initial hypothesis was that some architects were more cosmopolitan than acknowledged. In proving it, the emphasis put by the art history and architectural history on Portuguese atavism loses strength, as architects would have been inspired and influenced by as many as the existent European regimes.
This paper deals with the nature of the Estado Novo, the right-wing dictatorship that ruled Portu... more This paper deals with the nature of the Estado Novo, the right-wing dictatorship that ruled Portugal from 1932 to 1968 and was led by Oliveira Salazar, a law professor with expertise in Finances. Focusing on the regime’s external influences, it aims a deep comprehension of its nature, an imbricate and plural nationalist anti-liberal and anticommunist union of monarchists – Legitimists , Integralists/Manuelists and Liberals – and republicans, either conservative, reactionary or fascist.
More precisely, this paper intends to scrutinize the relationship between Salazarism and the Italian Fascism, drawing upon the personal path of intellectuals, those who had the press monopoly and therefore a powerful vehicle of ideological indoctrination. We are particularly interested in the idea of transnational fascism, in the sense that this ideology could have been shared by a multitude of actors and fuelled by contacts whether in personal or institutional way.
Our interest is therefore not to study the already intensively analyzed discourse of Salazar and those that had occupied preeminent governmental positions. This time, the political elite who usually claimed to be apolitical – people with special expertise in Finances, Economics, and Law with a great political influence that consolidate their paths within the regime, i.e., organic intellectuals in a Gramscian sense – will be disregarded. Undertaken a new approach, we are dealing with nationalist fascistized literates, philosophers and artists – whose support to the regime is thought to be much more effective than usually acknowledge. Indeed, in this article it is argued that they importantly contributed to the general consensus that gave the regime the necessary endurance to survive until the early 70s.
E l fascismo ha sido un tema predilecto entre historiadores, politólogos, sociólogos, antropólogo... more E l fascismo ha sido un tema predilecto entre historiadores, politólogos, sociólogos, antropólogos y críticos culturales. desde su aparición tras la i guerra Mundial (1914-1918) llamó la atención de sus contemporáneos. su papel principal en las catástrofes de la ii guerra Mundial (1939-1945) y del Holocausto acrecentó todavía más esta tendencia tras 1945. entonces, el fascismo fue concebido como algo totalmente opuesto y ajeno a la cultura. no obstante, desde los años 90 del siglo xx, esto ha sido puesto en entredicho por un buen número de especialistas: el fascismo fue un proyecto cultural que aspiraba a solucionar la crisis de la modernidad de comienzos de siglo. Prueba de ello es el presente libro, donde un buen número de destacados especialistas internacionales y nacionales realizan aportaciones novedosas sobre la relación entre fascismo y modernismo en la europa de entreguerras (1918-1945). algunos trabajos reflexionan sobre el carácter modernista o reaccionario del fascismo, mientras que otros ofrecen distintas manifestaciones del fenómeno en europa o lo vinculan a diversas experiencias bélicas. la mayor parte de la obra aborda las distintas expresiones culturales del fascismo, ocupándose de sus íntimas conexiones con el cristianismo y la religiosidad popular, sus manifestaciones arquitectónicas, el empleo del espacio público o el compromiso que suscitó entre la intelectualidad de la época. este libro es el resultado de un esfuerzo colectivo que ayuda a comprender desde dentro el fascismo, uno de los fenómenos más importantes de nuestra historia reciente que, por el momento, hemos dejado atrás.
is chapter seeks to overcome the fascism versus authoritarianism dichotomy by analyzing Salazar... more is chapter seeks to overcome the fascism versus authoritarianism dichotomy by analyzing Salazarism’s institutions and dominant political discourse in relation to the ideal type of men and women it creates. e regime’s propaganda and edu- cation departments are investigated, as is its single party, militia, and o cial youth movement. e main thesis here is that while it used modern institutions inspired by fascism, the Portuguese New State favored an “organic” vision of society based on trad- itionalist and Catholic values, which was the dominant element in the socialization of Portuguese youth.
Rita Almeida de Calvalho y Annarita Gori se ocupan del mito de la «Latinidad», impulsado y abraza... more Rita Almeida de Calvalho y Annarita Gori se ocupan del mito de la «Latinidad», impulsado y abrazado por algunos intelectuales portugueses. Para ellos, la peligrosa deriva del mundo occidental radicaba en que éste había perdido sus raíces latinas y, por ello, promovían una vuelta a ese espíritu para la regeneración social y política. No obstante, este proyecto no fraguó ni en el caso europeo ni portugués, tanto por el papel protagonista que quiso jugar el fascismo italiano, como por el carácter del nacionalismo promovido por el «Estado Novo» de Salazar, que identificaba el pasado de Portugal no con la latinidad, sino con la colonización y la evangelización.
This book takes a transnational and comparative approach that analyses the process of diffusion o... more This book takes a transnational and comparative approach that analyses the process of diffusion of a third way in selected transitions to authoritarianism in Europe and Latin America. When looking at the authoritarian wave of the 1930s, it is not difficult to see how some regimes appeared to offer an authoritarian third way some- where between democracy and fascism. It is in this context that some Iberian dictatorships, such as those of Primo de Rivera in Spain, Salazar’s New State in Portugal, and the short-lived Dollfuss regime in Austria, are mentioned frequently. Especially during the 1930s, and in those parts of Europe under Axis control, these models were discussed and often adopted by several dic- tatorships. This book considers how and why these dictatorships on the periphery of Europe, especially Salazar’s New State in Portugal, inspired some of these regimes’ new political institutions particularly within Europe and Latin America. It pays special attention to how, as they proposed and pursued these authoritarian reforms, these domestic political actors also looked at these institutional models as suitable for their own countries.
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long-standing allies, like the United Kingdom and France, was still dominant. Stretching the argument, one might event wonder if the autarchy's political claims during the Portuguese regime were also extended to the architectural field. All in all, the research's initial hypothesis was that some architects were more cosmopolitan than acknowledged. In proving it, the emphasis put by the art history and architectural history on Portuguese atavism loses strength, as architects would have been inspired and influenced by as many as the existent European regimes.
More precisely, this paper intends to scrutinize the relationship between Salazarism and the Italian Fascism, drawing upon the personal path of intellectuals, those who had the press monopoly and therefore a powerful vehicle of ideological indoctrination. We are particularly interested in the idea of transnational fascism, in the sense that this ideology could have been shared by a multitude of actors and fuelled by contacts whether in personal or institutional way.
Our interest is therefore not to study the already intensively analyzed discourse of Salazar and those that had occupied preeminent governmental positions. This time, the political elite who usually claimed to be apolitical – people with special expertise in Finances, Economics, and Law with a great political influence that consolidate their paths within the regime, i.e., organic intellectuals in a Gramscian sense – will be disregarded. Undertaken a new approach, we are dealing with nationalist fascistized literates, philosophers and artists – whose support to the regime is thought to be much more effective than usually acknowledge. Indeed, in this article it is argued that they importantly contributed to the general consensus that gave the regime the necessary endurance to survive until the early 70s.
long-standing allies, like the United Kingdom and France, was still dominant. Stretching the argument, one might event wonder if the autarchy's political claims during the Portuguese regime were also extended to the architectural field. All in all, the research's initial hypothesis was that some architects were more cosmopolitan than acknowledged. In proving it, the emphasis put by the art history and architectural history on Portuguese atavism loses strength, as architects would have been inspired and influenced by as many as the existent European regimes.
More precisely, this paper intends to scrutinize the relationship between Salazarism and the Italian Fascism, drawing upon the personal path of intellectuals, those who had the press monopoly and therefore a powerful vehicle of ideological indoctrination. We are particularly interested in the idea of transnational fascism, in the sense that this ideology could have been shared by a multitude of actors and fuelled by contacts whether in personal or institutional way.
Our interest is therefore not to study the already intensively analyzed discourse of Salazar and those that had occupied preeminent governmental positions. This time, the political elite who usually claimed to be apolitical – people with special expertise in Finances, Economics, and Law with a great political influence that consolidate their paths within the regime, i.e., organic intellectuals in a Gramscian sense – will be disregarded. Undertaken a new approach, we are dealing with nationalist fascistized literates, philosophers and artists – whose support to the regime is thought to be much more effective than usually acknowledge. Indeed, in this article it is argued that they importantly contributed to the general consensus that gave the regime the necessary endurance to survive until the early 70s.
fascismo italiano, como por el carácter del nacionalismo promovido por el «Estado Novo» de Salazar, que identificaba el pasado de Portugal no con la latinidad, sino con la colonización y la evangelización.
When looking at the authoritarian wave of the 1930s, it is not difficult to see how some regimes appeared to offer an authoritarian third way some- where between democracy and fascism. It is in this context that some Iberian dictatorships, such as those of Primo de Rivera in Spain, Salazar’s New State in Portugal, and the short-lived Dollfuss regime in Austria, are mentioned frequently. Especially during the 1930s, and in those parts of Europe under Axis control, these models were discussed and often adopted by several dic- tatorships. This book considers how and why these dictatorships on the periphery of Europe, especially Salazar’s New State in Portugal, inspired some of these regimes’ new political institutions particularly within Europe and Latin America. It pays special attention to how, as they proposed and pursued these authoritarian reforms, these domestic political actors also looked at these institutional models as suitable for their own countries.