‘Post-fascism’, or how the far right talks about itself: The 2022 Italian election campaign as a case study

Katy Brown, George Newth

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (SciVal)

Abstract

While the mainstreaming of the far right is attracting growing scholarly interest based on its contemporary relevance, the role that far-right self-representation strategies play in this process has seen limited engagement. In this article, we argue that far-right actors employ a post-fascist logic to bring their ideas closer to the mainstream. This logic rests on a dual message, whereby they attempt to outwardly distance themselves from fascism while at the same time recontextualising fascist ideas. To explore these dynamics, we use a mixed-methods approach to discourse analysis to examine far-right social media posts during the 2022 Italian general election. Taking all Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts during the official campaigning period from the party and leader accounts of Lega per Salvini Premier and Fratelli d’Italia, we explored articulations of the post-fascist dyad within this context. Our findings underscore how both far-right parties ridiculed accusations of fascism and depicted themselves as ‘centre-right’, yet they commonly used fascist dog-whistles and violent anti-immigration discourse to construct a broader conspiracy narrative and portray themselves as Italy's saviour. While Italy proves a paradigmatic case, this research has wider implications for the need to explore the relationship between self-representation and mainstreaming.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCritical Discourse Studies
Early online date15 Apr 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 15 Apr 2024

Keywords

  • Italy
  • Post-fascism
  • discourse
  • far right
  • social media

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Social Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of '‘Post-fascism’, or how the far right talks about itself: The 2022 Italian election campaign as a case study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this