This analysis examines anti-communism's role in normalising far-right discourse in Albania, suggesting historical memories influence perceptions of fascist ideologies.
Although anti-communism has long been central to far-right ideology, its role in normalising far-right discourse within post-communist societies remains underexplored. This article examines how anti-communist memory politics in Albania enables such normalisation even in the absence of a consolidated far-right party. It identifies two key mechanisms: the relativisation of historical knowledge about communism and anti-fascist resistance, and the naturalisation of wartime and Cold War-era anti-communist stereotypes. Together, these dynamics delegitimise leftist alternatives and rehabilitate fascist collaborators, reflecting broader mnemonic trends across CEE. Combining process-tracing with critical realist discourse analysis, the study conceptualises anti-communism as a normalising mechanism across structural and discursive domains.
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Kolasi et al. (2025) studied this question.
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