In this essay we want to trace the political and ideological roots of the Francoist regime. The Francoist dictatorship was born in the context of inter-war Europe: both its political and social origins were closely linked to the general trend of the entire continent during those years (1918-39). The essay is divided into three parts. In the first part, we will deal with the political origins of the Francoist regime, trying to depart from the interpretations that identify its origins only in the period of the Second Spanish Republic (1931-36) or even in the months of the spring of 1936. Secondly, we will move towards the ideological origins of the ‘Nuevo Estado’: we will try not only to trace its trajectory over time, but also to highlight its links with the authoritarian and fascist tendencies that crossed Europe during the twenties and thirties, thus synthesising its main characteristics, including the social component. Finally, we will conclude with a section dedicated to the consolidation of the dictatorship. Dwelling on the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), we shall try to highlight how, in its consolidation, Francoism did not deviate from the elements of the modern Right embodied by Fascism in the inter-war period, even though it has shown itself to possess peculiar characteristics with respect to the more general and orthodox Fascism. In any case, the Franco regime represented – in its political and ideological origins as well as in its consolidation strategies – one of the dictatorships that destroyed democracy, civil rights and freedoms in Europe between the two wars. Ultimately, Francoism constituted the Spanish authoritarian solution to the political, economic and social crisis that emerged in those difficult years.