"Tomorrow belongs to us": Pathways to activism in Italian far-right youth communities

Author(s)

Agnieszka Pasieka

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.

Organisation(s)

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Journal

Comparative Studies in Society and History: an international quarterly

Volume

64

Pages

150-178

No. of pages

29

ISSN

0010-4175

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0010417521000426

Publication date

01-2022

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

504017 Cultural anthropology

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

History, Sociology and Political Science

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/4dbc6695-ad0b-42c1-8d13-a11c19af74ad