“Tomorrow belongs to us”: Pathways to Activism in Italian Far-Right Youth Communities

Abstract

Based on long-term ethnographic research, this article contributes to the growing scholarship on far-right social movements by presenting an in-depth account of the Italian far-right scene. In presenting personal accounts of three activists and situating them within the milieus in which they are active, it sheds light on a variety of factors that push youth to engage in far-right militancy. Many researchers of far-right extremism have asserted the need to provide more in-depth knowledge on far-right militants, yet there remain important gaps that this article strives to address. First, it demonstrates the value of the ethnographic approach in the study of far right, which offers unique insights into the motivations for involvement and the relations between ideas, beliefs, and practices. Second, it shows the importance of situating present-day activism in a historical context, not only by looking for long-term patterns but also by paying attention to the ways studied actors engage with historical comparisons. Third, in engaging critically with some commonsensical approaches to far-right activists, the paper suggests that ethnographic studies of far-right activism can give us fresh perspectives on broader social phenomena beyond the far right per se.

‘Real Orthodox men’: religious masculinities and the new Russian culture of military patriotism

“…The growing number of Orthodox military‐patriotic clubs in Russia reflects a global trend of metropolitan urban youth searching for ideological frameworks and social engagement to combat the forces of anomie that have fostered a feeling of uprootedness and absence of community – a phenomenon amply documented by anthropologists and social scientists across a variety of settings (e.g. Feischmidt 2020; Pasieka 2022). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, this search stimulated the creation of grassroots martial arts associations that cast physical training as part of a larger project of ethical self‐cultivation centred on patriarchal visions of masculinity, Slavic nationalism, and various forms of spirituality, often gravitating towards neo‐paganism rather than Orthodox Christianity.…”

“…In this light, the apparent disjuncture between Sodruzhestvo's discourse and its members’ status as ‘weekend warriors’ becomes legible as an impulse to create a moral community erected on the principles of mutual help and respect (Pasieka 2022) – ideals which cannot be simply reduced to resentment against specific identity groups or hateful rhetoric. The moral aspiration and desire to transform society, along with the search for personal fulfilment through a ‘noble cause’ and community of ‘brothers‐in‐arms’ (Atran 2010; Edwards 2017; Roy 2017), in some cases results in violent extremism, driving actors to turn into insurgents or ‘missionary warriors’.…”

“…Despite growing awareness of the role of the middle classes in the global resurgence of conservative movements (Geva 2019; Höjdestrand 2020; Pasieka 2022), scholarly discussion of militarized masculinity and right‐wing activism has disproportionately focused on the gendered performances of disenfranchised working‐class men (Kimmel & Ferber 2000; Miller‐Idriss 2017; Shoshan 2014). One of the reasons for this trend is likely the difficulty of demarcating the boundaries of ‘the middle class’ – an often‐invoked but notoriously slippery category that tends to evade rigorous definition.…”

Out of the ordinary: Everyday life and the “carnival of Mussolini”

“…Third‐millennium fascism is lived as a prerational experience, described as a style of life capable of grasping people's inner reason and meeting their need for identity. (98; see also Pasieka, 2022)…”

“…Third-millennium fascism is lived as a prerational experience, described as a style of life capable of grasping people's inner reason and meeting their need for identity. (98; see also Pasieka, 2022) Meanwhile, marchers in Predappio on October 28, 2022, celebrated not just the centenary of Mussolini's march on Rome but also the accession to government of a direct descendant of his Fascist party for the first time in postwar Italian history. This achievement on the part of the Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia) comes, as many commentators have noted, at least in part as a result of a successful campaign to recast policies that would have once looked extremist-if not Fascist-as simple common sense, espoused by "ordinary Italians" (Newth, 2022).…”