The nostalgic and political use of the past: Fascism in the Italian Social Movement

Fascism has been a persistent topic in Italian public discourse since the founding of the Republic. This essay provides an analysis of the ways in which the narratives of fascism have developed within the Italian Social Movement (MSI), a party established by veterans and those nostalgic for fascism. Whether revolutionary or conservative, imperialistic or nationalist, 'Manchesterian' or inclined towards socialization, the depiction of fascism celebrated and narrated by the MSI is far from unambiguous. Using local press and archival documentation, this analysis will focus on specific narrative canons at key historical moments: the party's birth and the subsequent development of a right-wing ideological profile between the 1950s and 1960s; the 1970s, scrutinized in light of the reception of the debates among professional historians' on the regime; and the 1980s, examined within the context of the weakening anti-fascist paradigm and the crisis of the bipolar global balance. The aim is to trace how this historical discourse addressed the need to consolidate a community through nostalgia or the pursuit of other political goals.