East Central Europe 37 (2010) 331–333 © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2010 DOI 10.1163/187633010X534513 brill.nl/eceu Debate Fascism in East Central and Southeastern Europe: Mainstream Fascism or ‘Mutant’ Phenomenon? Constantin Iordachi Central European University, Budapest, Hungary Fascism was a European-wide, and according to many authors, a global phe- nomenon. Given this transnational character, the comparative method is indispensable to fascism studies, as it enables scholars to identify similarities and differences between historical cases of fascism, and to account for the common or entangled dimensions of fascism at pan-European and global lev- els. Most recently, comparative studies have benefited from new methods of research, such as the history of transfers, shared or entangled history, and his- toire croisée. hese new approaches and angles of comparisons have provided students of fascism the opportunity to revisit their methods, units and levels of analysis, and to shift the focus of research from ideal types, variable- dependent methodology and causal reasoning to multiple levels of interaction among fascist movements and regimes. hese new trends of writing history from an integrated European or global perspective challenge students of fascism to firmly integrate non-Western fas- cist movements and regimes into unified research frameworks. he history of interwar fascism in East Central and Southeastern Europe should be placed at the very center of these endeavors, due to the complex and multifaceted nature of fascist movement and regimes in these regions, their strong political impact and their (geo)political entanglements with wider, contemporary European developments. Besides illuminating the relatively little known history of these movements and regimes, new comparative research on this topic might also provide novel insights into the nature of fascism as a generic phenomenon. In this context, the journal East Central Europe brings together prominent schol- ars of fascism, inviting them to engage in a critical evaluation of the state