Falangism

Falangism (Spanish: Falangismo) is a political ideology that originated in Spain with the Falange Española and parties descending from it including the Falange Española de las JONS, the FET y de las JONS, and multiple other parties after the dissolution of the FET y de las JONS. Falangism combines Spanish nationalism, authoritarianism, Catholic traditionalism, and anti-communism, along with a call for national syndicalism. 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 Catholic religious identity of Spain, resulting in what is known as National Catholicism. However, Falangism 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 revolutionary nationalist ideologies of the era, 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...