Autocratic Legacies and Contemporary Extremism: Land Redistribution and the Origins of Neo-Fascism in Post-Transitional Italy

When can former autocratic regimes produce successful extremist parties associated with the previous dictatorship? While studies on autocratic legacies have predominantly focused on the role of ideology and repression in post-transitional politics, this article explores how material benefits can shape the landscape of political extremism in post-transitional societies. Focusing on the Italian case, it argues that the loss of material benefits can drive political extremism post-transition. Using original historical data, this article demonstrates that the MSI achieved its greatest electoral success in municipalities where the groups that were most materially benefited during the regime were concentrated — the agricultural landowning elites who helped to consolidate and stabilize the Fascist regime. A spatial regression discontinuity design centered on the 1950 Italian land reform further reveals that these elites, having lost their benefits and preferential treatment after Italy’s democratic transition, supported the MSI to regain their lost privileges and protect their estates.