The political blueprint in Europe, from the Netherlands to the Mediterranean, is being rewritten to cope with economic crisis and to enlarge the state's role in business, welfare, immigration and education. As state power over public ownership shrinks, the state is simultaneously appropriating more and more control over information, umderstanding and even over thought itself. For some Europe's radical right represents a regression to 19th century values. Others see new policies as a modernizing, pragmatic necessity. Many hear sinister echoes of 1930s fascism. Against this confusion, Simon Gunn charts the change in conservative policies on a Europe-wide basis.