Does the recent wave of right-wing populism foreshadow a revival of fascism? To elucidate this question, this book examines the politics of fascism, authoritarianism, and Communism during the interwar years. In this way, the study sheds light on the reversal of liberal progress during this era, which brought the frequent downfall of democracy and the proliferation of authoritarianism and fascism. This autocratic riptide arose from a massive backlash against Communism and from conservative elites' wariness of fascism and their preference for authoritarian rule. After summarizing the book's main argument, the chapter explains its scholarly contributions, its research design & sources, and central concepts, namely fascism and reactionary rule. It ends with brief chapter summaries.