Falangism

Falangism (Spanish: Falangismo) was the political ideology of three political parties in Spain that were known as the Falange, namely first the Falange Española, the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS), and afterward the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS). Falangism combined Spanish nationalism, authoritarianism, Catholic traditionalism, anti-capitalism, and anti-communism, along with a call for national syndicalism. Historian Stanley Payne, a scholar on fascism, considers the Falange to have been a fascist movement, though he also recognizes the nuances, faults, and controversies of calling Falangism a fascist movement. Another interpretation is that the Falange from 1937 onward during Franco's leadership was a compromise between radical fascism and authoritarian conservatism.

The FE de las JONS merged with the Traditionalist Communion and several other parties in 1937 following the Unification Decree of Francisco Franco, to form FET y de las JONS. This new Falange was meant to incorporate all Nationalist political factions and became the sole political party of Francoist Spain. The merger was opposed by some of the original Falangists, such as Manuel Hedilla.

Falangism places a strong emphasis on the Roman Catholic religious identity of Spain. However, it has held some secular views on the Catholic Church's direct influence on Spanish society, since one of the tenets of the Falangist ideology holds that the state should have the supreme authority over the nation. Falangism emphasizes the need for total authority, hierarchy, and order in society. Like Italian Fascism, German Nazism, and other Third Position ideologies, Falangism is ultranationalist, anti-communist, anti-capitalist, anti-democratic, and anti-liberal.

The Falange's original manifesto, the "Twenty-Seven Point Program of the Falange" later changed to the "Twenty-Six Point Program of the Falange" by Francisco Franco, declared Falangism to support the unity of Spain and the elimination of regional separatism, the establishment of a dictatorship led by the Falange, using political violence as a means to regenerate Spain, and promoting the revival and development of the Spanish Empire. Some of these attributes align with the attributes of Classical Fascism which is a widely cited influence of Falangism even by its founders. The manifesto also called for a national syndicalist economy and advocated agrarian reforms, industrial expansion, and respect for private property with the exception of nationalizing credit facilities to prevent usury.

The Spanish Falange and its affiliates in Hispanic states around the world promoted a form of panhispanism known as Hispanidad that advocated both the cultural and economic union of Hispanic societies around the world.

Scholarly sources reviewing Falangism place it on the far right of the political spectrum. Falangism has attacked both the political left and the right as its "enemies", declaring itself to be neither left nor right, but a syncretic third position. The founder of the Falange, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, said: "Fascism was born to inspire a faith not of the Right (which at bottom aspires to conserve everything, even injustice) or of the Left (which at bottom aspires to destroy everything, even goodness), but a collective, integral, national faith." Some also state they lean more towards authoritarian conservatism. While deriving from authoritarian conservatism it is marked by left-leaning economics and initial links to leftist thought.

During the Spanish Civil War, the Falange and the Carlists both promoted the incorporation of Portugal into Spain, and the new Falange resulting from their unification in 1937 continued to do so. The Falange also advocated the incorporation of Gibraltar into Spain, both before and after its merger with the Carlists. During its early years, the Falange produced maps of Spain that included Portugal as a province of Spain. The Carlists stated that a Carlist Spain would retake Gibraltar and Portugal. After the civil war, some radical members of the Falange called for reunification with Portugal and annexation of former Spanish territories in the French Pyrenees. During World War II, Franco in a communiqué with Germany on 26 May 1942 declared that Portugal should be made a part of Spain.

Some of the Falangists in Spain had supported racialism and racialist policies, viewing races as real and existing with differing strengths, weaknesses and accompanying cultures inextricably obtained with them. However, unlike Nazism, Falangism is unconcerned about racial purity and does not denounce other races for being inferior, claiming "that every race has a particular cultural significance" and claiming that the intermixing of the Spanish race and other races has produced a "Hispanic supercaste" that is "ethically improved, morally robust, spiritually vigorous". It was less concerned about biological Spanish racial regeneration than it was in advocating the necessity of Spanish Catholic spiritual regeneration. Some have nonetheless promoted eugenics designed to eliminate physical and psychological damage caused by pathogenic agents. Falangism did and still does support natal policies to stimulate increased fertility rate among ideal physically and morally fit citizens.