The world has completely transformed since the end of WWII, when the US could make Japan surrender with two ‘primitive’ nuclear bombs. Cheap drones have given contending power to weaker nations as is being seen in Ukraine that has resisted Russia for four years and Iran that continues to defy the US. In this focus on change in fighting machines, AI and instant communications, one change tends to be overlooked though it may have far-reaching consequences for the world.

In WWII, the Axis powers were Germany, Italy and Japan. Italy was the original Fascist state with Hitler accepting Mussolini as his ideological guru. In 1943, King Victor Emmanuel of Italy deposed Mussolini and got him arrested. Mussolini was imprisoned at a hotel on the Gran Sasso d’Italia massif. Hitler ordered a rescue mission, Unternehmen Eiche (Operation Oak) was launched and on 12 September 1943 Mussolini was liberated from captivity and flown to Vienna, where Hitler met him. Hitler created a puppet state, Italian Socialist Republic, in northern Italy that was controlled by Germany and installed Mussolini as its leader. Such was Hitler’s dedication towards Mussolini that Mussolini continued in that fictitious position till Hitler lost control of Germany and was driven to suicide. As soon as Nazi protection disappeared, Mussolini was grabbed by Italian partisans and executed.

What is the relevance of this story today? Of the three Axis powers, Italy and Japan now have Far-Right regimes and Germany is moving in that direction. Fascism was the original Far-Right ideology and today’s Far-Right parties cannot be called Fascists without an irrational stretch of definition. The essential characteristics for a regime to be labelled as Fascist are that they are far-right, authoritarian, have an ultranationalist political ideology, a dictatorial leader, have a centralised autocracy, militarism, a controlled judiciary and brutal suppression of opposition. Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and perhaps even Turkey under Erdogan will tick most of the boxes but somehow the label of fascism is not applied to theocracies and Communist states. On the other hand, democratically elected leaders are frequently called Fascists, even though they come to power through elections and leave power when the voters’ verdict is against them. The academics seem to be caught in the Left-Right binary and leave out theocracies.

Trump and Modi have been repeatedly accused of fascism though they do not meet half the indicators. Both are conservative, Far-Right and ultranationalist and display a degree of militarism. Yet, unlike in a Fascist state, the opposition parties and their criticism of the ruling dispensation are hyperactive, both in the US and in India. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni, often labelled as Far-Right is, in fact, a pragmatic right-wing leader who has brought a degree of stability to Italian politics and economy, both of which had remained unstable since WWII. Her success can be judged from the fact that the national deficit in less than four years of her leadership has dropped from 8 percent of GDP to 3 percent. In European politics, she is seen as an important, respected and resilient leader as compared to the struggling leaders of France and Germany. The old order in Italy, that favoured unchecked migration, has not given up and she lost in the recent judicial reform referendum. The loss itself falsifies the charge of fascism. Meloni is on record calling for a proactive and collaborative approach towards India, shifting Italy away from China and treating India as a key partner in the Indo-Pacific.

Sanae Takaichi has stepped into the shoes of her mentor Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022 when he was already the longest serving Prime Minister of Japan. Chinese official media repeatedly labelled him as fascist, militarist and revisionist while North Korea called him an Asian Hitler. Such accusations, coming from the likes of Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un, have the effect of confirming the democratic credentials of a leader. Abe was a far-right conservative and ultra-nationalist but there was no stain on his democratic credentials. He wanted Japan to be a contributing ally of the US, particularly in multilateral arrangements like the QUAD, of which he is considered the “architect.” He talked of the “Confluence of the Two Seas” in a speech to the Indian Parliament in 2007, shifting the narrative from “Sino-Pacific” to “Indo-Pacific.” This caused immense discomfort to China whose Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the idea of the QUAD as “sea foam on the Pacific and Indian oceans.” He said that like sea foam it will get attention but will soon dissipate. That was 2018 when the QUAD was reviving after lying dormant since 2007. For all the anger displayed by China, the shift from Sino-Pacific to Indo-Pacific has become irreversible and India, whose name is attached to the Indian Ocean, cannot but thank the Far-Right Abe.

Takaichi took over in October 2025 and cemented her position by boldly calling for a fresh poll that gave her a record mandate. She is the first woman Prime Minister of Japan, who has been in office for just six months and yet, it does not surprise anyone that she is already being called the “Iron Lady” of Japan, an allusion to Margaret Thatcher who had remained UK’s Prime Minister for 11 years and 208 days, becoming the longest serving British PM while being the first woman to hold that office. Thatcher was a conservative who too was called Fascist by her opponents and even described as a “new international threat.” Takaichi is being called a Fascist in the first year itself and that may be an indication that she will go far on the path of taking on China, reaffirming the new interpretation of “self-defence forces” aired by Abe and continuing with higher expenditure on the military. She is actively pushing to restart Japan’s nuclear energy sector that was stalled after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Japan is 100 percent dependent on imports for its hydrocarbon needs and given China’s propensity to practically blockade Taiwan frequently though temporarily, this import dependence is a serious strategic weakness for Japan. She has openly said that China’s invasion of Taiwan will constitute an existential threat for Japan. That situation, under the Japanese Constitution, calls for use of force to remove the threat. As expected, China has reacted strongly but Takaichi has stood her ground.

Takaichi has interacted with India ever since Modi became Prime Minister. In 2015 and 2017, as minister for internal affairs and communications, she accompanied Abe during discussions with Modi about digital infrastructure, cybersecurity cooperation and smart-city development. Abe’s successor and Takaichi’s predecessor, Ishiba Shigeru, had strengthened the bond by providing for 50,000 skilled Indian workers in Japan and doubling Japanese investments in India to $68 billion. Takaichi has committed herself to carry this legacy forward.

The Communists, who show all the traits of fascism, except the ‘Right’ label, will keep calling Thatcher, Trump, Modi, Meloni, Abe and Takaichi fascists. The world has had enough experience of Communist regimes since WWII - USSR, China, North Korea and others - and enough too of theocracies like Iran. In spite of the massive leftist propaganda, by now we know who are the real enemies of democracies, the real oppressors of opposition and regimes which rule without a mandate from the people. The academics and arm-chair experts can cry themselves hoarse over these developments but the snowball of the far-right democracies gets bigger by the day with increasing synergy between them. 

( R N prasher is a former IAS officer. The views expressed are his personal. )