The Dictionary of Human Geography

Technology-drivenintensive agriculture
has hardly gone away, in spite of increased
incidences of biological ‘blowback’ from
industrial food production – such as bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or ‘mad
cow’ disease. Driven in part by the twin
revolutions in information science and bio-
technology, farming itself seems to be mov-
ing in directions that belie the opening
definition of this entry. Already, surplus com-
modities, such as corn and oil seed, which
have long been a source of livestock fodder,
are being deployed for industrial uses.
Precision agriculture uses satellite data to
determine local variation in soil conditions
and plant development, and information tech-
nologies to track and fine-tune applications of
farm inputs. Genetic engineering has been
used to improve crop protection by, for
example, engineering natural pesticides or
frost protection into plants. The use of genet-
ically engineered livestock or plants to pro-
duce medically useful crops – or ‘gene
pharming’ – is just in the pipeline, as is the
introduction of nutrients or vaccines into
existing food crops. These sorts of develop-
ments are drawing geographers to new ques-
tions and theorizations, many borrowed from
the toolkits ofscienceand technology studies.
At the same time, many of these technolo-
gies carry ecologicalrisksand are also leading
to unprecedented degrees ofprivatization.
Therefore, they have become a major galvan-
izing feature of contemporarysocial move-
ments. Since most of these trends point to a
continued decline in rural populations, the
family farm seems to have achieved heigh-
tenedideologicalstatus. Thus, the distinc-
tions between peasant, family and corporate
forms are not just academic, but are relevant
to political practice, particularly given the re-
emergence of discourses of agrarianpopulism
within both institutions ofdevelopmentand
social-justice oriented social movements
(Wolford, 2003). jgu

Suggested reading
Bell (2004); Duncan (1996); Guthman (2004).

fascism A politicalideologythat formed
the basis of political parties and social move-
ments that emerged ineuropebetween the
two world wars. The nationalist governments
of Adolf Hitler in Germany (1933–45) and
Benito Mussolini in Italy (1922–43) are the
most notable examples, but fascism was a pol-
itical force across Europe at the time, includ-
ing Oswald Mosley’s ‘black shirts’ in Britain,

the Iron Guard in Romania and the Croix de

Feu in France (Laqueur, 1996). Despite the

lack of a seminal intellectual text, the follow-

ing characteristics of the ideology can be iden-

tified: extreme racistnationalism; a desire for

a ‘pure’nation-statethat contains just one

national group; goals of territorial expansion

to include all members of anationwithin the

borders of the state (cf.lebensraum); anti-

communismand other forms of working-class

organization;violencerepresented as neces-

sary for the survival of the nation and as a

pathway to fulfilling innate human needs; a

glorification of manliness and gender roles,

promoting men as defenders of the nation

and women’s primary role in the biological

reproduction of the nation (cf.masculinism);

and a mass politics in which thestateand the

party fuse and mass participation in politics

(based upon a cult of the leader) is encour-

aged. Elements of these ideologies exist in

contemporary nationalist political parties

across the world, as extreme nationalism is

mobilized in the wake of social dynamics (such

asimmigrationand a decline in the power of

the state) that are identified as ‘threats’.

Political parties in Russia and Serbia display

some of these traits, as do the British National

Party and some extremist right-wing move-

ments in the USA.

Theracismof fascist movements is often,

but not necessarily, anti-Semitic. Jews are fre-

quently targeted as enemies because, prior to

the establishment of the state of Israel, they

lacked connection to a particularterritory.

Hence, they were seen as disloyal to the nation

or inimical to the idea of territorial nation-

states. The foreign policy of the Nazi Party

was partially informed by the ideas ofgeo-

politik, which saw territorial expansion as a

strategy related to theholocaust and the

extermination of Jews (as well as gypsies,

communists and homosexuals), to create a

political geography of a ‘pure’ and ‘greater’

Germany (Clarke, Doel and McDonough,

1996: see alsogenocide).

Social scientists and historians have debated

the social bases of fascism. The idea that the

middle classes were the main source of sup-

port dominated until recent years, when the

notion of a cross-classsupport for the Nazis

emerged. The geography of fascism shows that

support is based upon different class coalitions

in different localities, within the broader

context of economic restructuring and

inter-state competition (Flint, 2001). Recent

scholarship has argued that the support for

inter-war fascism was more widespread than

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FASCISM