ABSTRACT
Together with communism, fascism put an indelible stamp on the politics of the 1930s. Appearing first in Italy in the years immediately following the Great War, fascism sought to provide a "third way" between the forces of liberal capitalism and those of communism. The threats to masculinity seemingly posed by such phenomena as the modern girl and unemployment helped to make the alternative representations of gender that fascism offered attractive to many. As was the case in Japan, Spain's turn to fascism derived from the actions of military officials involved in colonial adventuring. Mussolini initially believed fascism to be uniquely and exclusively Italian, an ideology particular to his country and not exportable to other peoples or nations. In fact, Mussolini's regime was eager to help any group seeking to embarrass or inconvenience the British in the Mediterranean area, and the Arab Revolt provided the perfect opportunity to both harass Britain and further Italy's intrusion into the Middle East.
