Dr Raul Cârstocea of the Department of History has been awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator grant of nearly €2 million for his 5-year research project on fascism.
The INTEMPO project, Insurgent Temporalities: Fascism as a Global Anti-Universalist Project, breaks new ground by drawing on transnational history to provide an original global history of fascism in the period from 1919 to 1945.
INTEMPO argues that the fascist national revolutions were part of a global project of overhauling the liberal international order and replacing it with a fascist one. Fascists everywhere repurposed a historical or mythical past, saw their present as a watershed moment in world history, and aimed to accelerate it toward a redemptive future of eternal plenitude when time would stand still.
Even though fascist movements and regimes appeared in different countries and contexts, their shared vision of a "New Order" made it possible for them to recognise each other and work together, despite their focus on extreme nationalism, according to INTEMPO.
The project brings together research in four distinct fields: fascism studies, global history, the history of empire and colonialism, and the interdisciplinary study of temporality.
The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. The highly-competitive Consolidator grants are awarded annually to exceptional individuals to help build research teams and conduct pioneering research across all disciplines.
“The last decade has witnessed increased connectivity between neo-fascist activists and organisations, on the one hand, and between self-proclaimed illiberal regimes and right-wing populist parties, on the other, rendering what could be defined as the contemporary authoritarian right a salient global challenge.
"This has a history, yet one that remains considerably under-researched from the perspective of global history. Understanding this history of global fascism calls precisely for a project of this scope: collaborative, comparative, transnational, and interdisciplinary," said Dr Cârstocea, who will recruit and lead a research team to undertake the project.
Professor Rachel Msetfi, Vice President Research and Innovation at Maynooth University, said: "We are incredibly proud of Dr Raul Cârstocea of the Department of History for receiving this highly competitive ERC grant.
"INTEMPO represents an innovative approach to studying fascism, offering fresh perspectives on its global reach and complex relationship with capitalism, colonialism, and temporality. This award highlights the outstanding quality of research at Maynooth University and demonstrates our commitment to supporting interdisciplinary projects that advance global history and critical social issues. We look forward to the significant impact this project will have in deepening our understanding of these important areas."