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‘THE LEGEND OF KORRA’ BOOK FOUR: KUVIRA AND THE RISE OF FASCISM

In his 1998 essay, “The Five Stages of Fascism,” political scientist Robert Paxton defines the titular phenomenon as, broadly speaking, progressing through five stages of development and escalation. They are:

“The initial creation of fascist movements,” wherein discussion of national decline and the failure of the existing order manifest.
“Their rooting as parties in a political system,” wherein the fascist movement gains power and prominence.
“The acquisition of power,” wherein the ruling elites, threatened by fascist momentum, invite the movement to share power.
“The exercise of power,” wherein the fascist movement controls the state, in varying degrees of cooperation with traditional powers.
“Radicalization or entropy,” wherein the fascist movement settles into authoritarianism or, as happened in Nazi Germany, veers into extremism.

The premiere episode of The Legend of Korra’s fourth and final season finds the Earth Kingdom navigating the choppy waters of the second stage. In the three years since season 3’s finale, Kuvira has gone from the seemingly content captain of Su Yin’s guard to the “Great Uniter” of a fractured world. She has 90% of the Earth Kingdom under her thumb and, as we learn over the course of the episode, has accomplished this through a campaign of forced labor, manipulation of resources, and a burgeoning cult of personality.

We watch as the governor of Yi, initially committed to independence, is brought to heel by the lawless reality of his state and the temptations of Kuvira’s “generous proposal” of takeover. Idealists like Bolin and Baatar Jr. have joined her cause, as have opportunists like Varrick. Figures of murkily extrajudicial power, like Kai and Opal, urge caution in the face of her might, but by the end of the episode, that’s all they can do—urge caution.

Kuvira, in contrast, can feed the hungry, roust the bandits, and bring order to forsaken states. Children scramble merrily over her mecha-tanks, mothers return to their homes with boxes full of fruit and grain, and Bolin smiles blissfully at the difference he has made. All is well. All is Kuvira’s.

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