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World War II and the Formation of the Italian Social Movement

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In July 1943, following the Allied invasion of Southern Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Benito Mussolini and placed him under arrest. After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile in September, Germany seized Northern and Central Italy, freeing Mussolini and establishing the Italian Social Republic.[1] The establishment of the Italian Social Republic allowed Italy to absolve itself of guilt in the collective memory of the war, avoiding a public reckoning such as that which occurred through the process of Denazification in Germany.[2]

Though Mussolini's Fascist party was banned by name from reorganization in the constitution of the new Italian Republic[3], former leaders and soldiers of the Fascist army reorganized under the Italian Social Movement (MSI) political party in 1946.[4] Through the 1940's and 1950s, the party offered its support to the Christian Democrats because of their anti-communist stance. However, following parliamentary victories by the Italian Socialist Party in 1963, the MSI was politically sidelined by the new center-left coalition.[5]

State-Sponsored Violence in the "Years of Lead"

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Immediately following World War II, Allied intelligence organizations began to seek out connections with right-wing paramilitary organizations to establish a network of anti-communist informants and operatives, including many fascist veterans. This eventually evolved into what became known as Operation Gladio, a NATO operation carried out by the CIA to arm and fund right-wing extremist groups in European countries.[6] During this period, some members of the intelligence and military community utilized terrorist attacks, through direct involvement or intentional inaction, to provoke a reactionary and conservative response in the electorate in what was called the "strategy of tension".[7] What followed was decades of terrorism and violence, both left-wing and right-wing, in which hundreds of civilians were killed in what would be referred to as the Years of Lead.

One such operative was Junio Valerio Borghese, a commander of the Fascist Navy known for leading violent reprisals against Italian partisans, who was rescued and protected by James Angleton, the OSS chief in Rome.[8] Junio Borghese later became involved with the MSI before leaving the group to found the more extreme National Front party in Rome.[9] In 1970, Borghese and the National Front attempted a coup in Rome but were unsuccessful and had to flee to Spain.[10]

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At the ninth congress of the MSI in Rome in 1970, the party attempted to broaden its base by emphasizing itself as the party of "law and order" and anti-communism to gain support of moderate voters as well as forming a unified front of right-wing parties called the National Right.[11] Despite small electoral gains by the National Right, the center-left coalition remained in power until the early 1990s, when several major parties were weakened by judicial scandals. This coincided with a general decline in the economy as well as growing popular dissatisfaction with the government.[12] Seeing an opportunity to take advantage of growing populism and anti-establishment trends, MSI changed its name to National Alliance and distanced itself further from Fascism.[13] In the 1994 general elections, the NA was elected to power as part of the short-lived ruling coalition with Silvio Berlusconi, while the more extreme parts of the group split off to form the overtly fascist Tricolor Flame. The result of this ideological split was both the normalization of parts of fascist ideology in the government and media, as well as the creation of more extreme Neo-Fascist splinter groups.

The Growth of Neo-Fascism in Rome in the 21st Century

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On 27 December 2003, a group of Tricolor Flame members broke into an abandoned building in Rome's Chinatown, forming a Neo-Fascist movement called CasaPound and squatting the building to protest high eviction rates.[14] In 2008, Gianni Alemanno, a former youth leader of MSI was elected mayor of Rome.[15] Upon his election, supporters were reported to have chanted "Duce" in reference to Benito Mussolini while raising their arms in the Roman Salute.[16] Throughout the recession of the aughts, Neo-Fascist groups such as CasaPound and Forza Nuova, another offshoot of the Tricolor Flame, continued to grow in popularity as well as media exposure. These organizations attempted to appeal to working class groups normally aligned with leftist parties by creating social support programs that are only open to native Italians.[17]

Proliferation of Neo-Fascism and Immigration

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Membership in extreme right-wing or Neo-Fascist parties has risen considerably throughout Italy since the start of the European migrant crisis. Forza Nuova has more than 13,000 members as of 2018, up from 1,500 in 2001, while CasaPound had more than 234,000 followers on Facebook.[18] On 7 January 2018, a CasaPound rally drew 4000-5000 members to commemorate the Acca Larentia killings by marching in place and offering the Fascist Roman Salute in formation at the location of the killings.[19] The rise in popularity of Fascist parties has coincided with a sharp rise in anti-immigrant violence. Between 2014 and January 2018, 154 attacks by Fascist groups were reported, with other half being attributed to CasaPound.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Tarchi, Marco (September 2010). "Authoritarian Past and Democracy in Italy, South European Society and Politics". South European Society and Politics. 15 (3): 378. doi:10.1080/13608746.2010.513600.
  2. ^ Veugelers, John W.P. (June 2011). "Dissenting families and social movement abeyance: the transmission of neo-fascist frames in postwar Italy". The British Journal of Sociology. 62 (2): 241–261. doi:10.1111/j.1468-4446.2011.01363.x.
  3. ^ "Constitution of the Italian Republic" (PDF).
  4. ^ Davies, Peter; Lynch, Derek (2002). The Routledge companion to fascism and the far right (1st published. ed.). London: Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 9780415214940.
  5. ^ Gallego, Ferran (1999). The Extreme Right in Italy From the Italian Social Movement to Post-fascism. Barcelona: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. p. 6.
  6. ^ Nuti, Leopoldo (16 November 2007). "The Italian 'Stay-Behind' network – The origins of operation 'Gladio'". Journal of Strategic Studies. 30 (6): 965. doi:10.1080/01402390701676501. {{cite journal}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 34 (help)
  7. ^ Lazaridis, Gabriella; Campani, Giovanna (2016). The Rise of the Far Right in Europe: Populist Shifts and 'Othering'. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 965. ISBN 9781137556783.
  8. ^ Kisatsky, Deborah (2005). The United States and the European right : 1945-1955 (1. ed. ed.). Columbus: Ohio State Univ. Press. p. 117. ISBN 9780814209981. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  9. ^ Ferraresi, Franco (17 August 2016). "The Radical Right in Postwar Italy". Politics & Society. 16 (1): 117. doi:10.1177/003232928801600103.
  10. ^ Bale, Jeffrey (2017). The Darkest Sides of Politics, I : Postwar Fascism, Covert Operations, and Terrorism. Milton : Taylor and Francis. p. 252. ISBN 9781138785618.
  11. ^ Mammone, Andrea (7 April 2008). "The Transnational Reaction to 1968: Neo-fascist Fronts and Political Cultures in France and Italy". Contemporary European History. 17 (02): 222–223. doi:10.1017/S0960777308004384.
  12. ^ Minkenberg, Michael (October 2001). "The radical right in public office: Agenda‐setting and policy effects". West European Politics. 24 (4): 1–21. doi:10.1080/01402380108425462.
  13. ^ Cotta, Maurizio; Verzichelli, Luca (2007). Political institutions in Italy (1. publ. ed.). Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press. p. 53. ISBN 9780199284702.
  14. ^ Froio, Caterina; Gattinara, Pietro Castelli; Albanese, Matteo (1 January 2013). "The appeal of neo-fascism in times of crisis. The experience of CasaPound Italia". Fascism. 2 (2): 243. doi:10.1163/22116257-00202007.
  15. ^ "Right back; A new mayor of Rome". The Economist.
  16. ^ Hooper, John (30 April 2008). "Cries of 'Duce! Duce!' salute Rome's new mayor". the Guardian.
  17. ^ Florenzi, Carlo. "It Never Went Away". Jacobin. Jacobin Magazine.
  18. ^ Tondo, Lorenzo (6 February 2018). "Attacks on immigrants highlight rise of fascist groups in Italy". the Guardian.
  19. ^ Jones, Tobias (22 February 2018). "The fascist movement that has brought Mussolini back to the mainstream". The Guardian.
  20. ^ Baldi, Chiara (17 January 2018). "Aggressioni neofasciste, arriva la mappa interattiva per monitorarle sul territorio". Repubblica.it (in Italian).
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