CasaPound Italia: ‘Back to Believing. The Struggle Continues’

Abstract

This article aims to be a contribution to the ongoing debate among scholars concerning the question whether recently formed right-wing radical parties represent a new phenomenon and a break with the fascist tradition or whether they remain close to a fascist ideology. The author focuses on a specific national radical right-wing party: CasaPound Italia (cpi), founded at the beginning of this century, which declares itself to be ‘fascist’. While existing research insists on the intervention of external factors such as the economic crisis of 2008 in order to explain a new ‘wave’ of right-wing radicalism in Italy, this article will show the constant evolving of right-wing radical discourse over a longer historical period. The analysis will mainly delve into the ideological and political role played by three leading exponents of the Italian and European radical right: Pino Rauti, Roberto Fiore and Gabriele Adinolfi. Through a narrative style, and using a historical approach and qualitative analysis, this paper argues that their experiences represent the roots and sources for Gianluca Iannone’s project with cpi.

CasaPound Italy: The Sui Generis Fascists of the New Millennium

“…Iannone was also one of the leaders of the Romanist hooligans, the animator of the fascist pub Cutty Sark which was a meeting point for Rome's extreme right, and the owner of the "non-conventional" bookshop Testa di Ferro in Rome, which disseminated nostalgic fascist literature. Armed with charisma and a strong reputation, Iannone became the leader of the "right-wing" house occupations in Rome (Wolff, 2019;Jones, 2018).…”

“…Indeed, Bradbury's critique of a totalitarian state was transformed into Casa Pound's intolerance against anti-fascism in Italian politics. CasaMontag became the first example of right-wing Occupazioni Non Conformi (ONC, or Non-Conventional Occupation), which aimed to use musical events to get young people to discuss politics in a non-structured way (Wolff, 2019).…”

“…Several others followed. Many make a clear distinction between ONC and OSA, arguing that the former has a metapolitical nature while the latter has a social purpose (Wolff, 2019). The concern for housing is the core of CasaPound's ideology and policy and is reflected in the group's name as well as its use of the turtle as its main logo: "The turtle is one of the few living beings which is fortunate enough to have with them the house" (Bartlett et al, 2012).…”

“…Contextually, the octagonal shape is reminiscent of the historical monument Castel del Monte, built by the "last Cesare" in Italy. The arrow is the same as that in the flags of other far-right movements across Europe (Wolff, 2019).…”

Neofascismo como objeto de estudo: contribuições e caminhos para elucidar este fenômeno

“…Mesmo estando restrito (em seu formato típico) a um período sócio-histórico específico (entreguerras), diversos analistas no mundo vêm demonstrando que, aquilo que se vive hoje, tratase da ascensão de um 'tipo fascista' no seio social. Em que pese a diversidade de epistemologias que se dedicam à análise do renascimento fascista na Europa (TOMIĆ, 2013;WOLFF, 2019), parece haver uma sintonia na compreensão do fascismo sobrevivente da experiência histórica no continente e que se reaviva no cenário de hoje depois de um longo período de dispersão na centralidade europeia (GRIFFIN, 2012;KALLIS, 2015).…”