Comparative Fascist Studies and the Transnational Turn: First comfas Convention

Abstract

Between 27 and 29 April 2018, approximately seventy academics from all over Europe met in Budapest to discuss fascism at the first comfas convention. The theme for this inaugural convention was ‘Comparative Fascist Studies and the Transnational Turn’. The International Association for Comparative Fascist Studies (comfas) was originally conceived in 2015 with the idea of creating a nonprofit and non-political community of researchers, ranging from graduate students to established professors. Not restricting itself exclusively to the narrow topic of European fascism of the mid-twentieth century, the organization would aspire to facilitate an interdisciplinary and collaborative scholarly-network that includes the whole spectrum of right-of-center politics and related social issues, including ultra-nationalism, authoritarianism, political violence, racism, genocide, and the Holocaust. Three years later, the original idea was finally put into action. The conference incorporated an overwhelming amount of presentation panels, public lectures, open debates, and would culminate in a reflection discussion on how the association could grow and improve in the future.