Brothers of Italy
Identity and Pragmatism in the Italian Radical Right
Gianfranco Baldini author Filippo Tronconi author Davide Angelucci author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Edinburgh University Press
Publishing:28th Feb '27
£90.00
This title is due to be published on 28th February, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
How did Brothers of Italy develop from a marginal post-fascist successor into Italy’s dominant political force? This comprehensive study explains the party’s rise through the tension between identity and pragmatism. While preserving symbols, networks and personnel inherited from the Italian neo- and post-fascist right, the party has adapted its leadership, communication and policies to broaden its electoral appeal and meet the constraints of government. Drawing on electoral data, surveys of voters and party elites, political programmes, speeches and institutional analysis, Davide Angelucci, Gianfranco Baldini and Filippo Tronconi examine the party’s organisation, Giorgia Meloni’s leadership and its performance in office. They show how Brothers of Italy has normalised elements of the radical right while presenting itself as a credible governing party, and consider what this transformation means for democratic resilience in Italy and across Europe.
Meticulously researched, it captures a party simultaneously old and new, rooted in an earlier tradition yet substantially reinvented. Brothers of Italy pays homage to a past the party has still to reckon with honestly, while displaying all the hallmarks of a thoroughly contemporary organisation — not least its expert command of social media. A contradiction that will be debated for years -- Daniele Albertazzi, University of Surrey
When Giorgia Meloni became Prime Minister of Italy, international media reported it as the return of fascism to Italy. Her party the Brothers of Italy had unquestionable roots in Italy’s fascist past, yet it jumped from 4% in the polls in 2018 to a winning 26% vote in 2022. The authors explain the Brothers’ rapid ascent. They provide a meticulous, cogent and detailed historical analysis of Italy’s complicated current politics and its relation to its fascist past. The book is a necessary read not only for scholars who focus on Italy but also for those trying to understand the resurgence of right-wing politics across Europe today. -- Mabel Berezin, Cornell University
ISBN: 9781788218252
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
232 pages