According to Arendt, antisemitism is an ideology which differs from the hatred of Jews by individuals. Antisemitism calls for the total eradication of Jews, and it was a centerpiece for totalitarian movements in the 20th century. Arendt suggests that antisemitism serves as a pre-history to totalitarianism and that totalitarian regimes and pan-movements used antisemitism as an ideological weapon to engage and mobilize the masses.

The body politic represents the organized group of citizens within a nation. Arendt speaks about the body politic regarding imperialism, which seeks to expand outward and conquer peoples while still maintaining the importance and prevalence of the body politic.

Bolshevism represents a revolutionary socialist totalitarian movement with ties to Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. Arendt explores the history and functionality of bolshevism, as well as German Nazism, throughout The Origins of Totalitarianism.