Theft of Gramsci

Author(s)

Agnieszka Pasieka

Abstract

Drawing on ethnographic research with radical right-wing activists in Italy and Poland, my article reflects on the ways in which the Gramscian framework may enhance our understanding of the present-day political landscape. Gramsci’s role in the article is threefold. First, since he was a keen observer of fascist developments, I relate his observations on fascism and inquire into their relevance for understanding the rise of the far right today. Second, I explore the agendas of the movements I studied through the Gramscian lens. Inspired by the special issue’s editors, I examine the extent to which Gramsci’s concept of “common sense” is helpful for analyzing contemporary far-right activism. Third, I relate my own ethnographic observation to analyses of a broader terrain of far-right politics to shed light on the phenomenon of “far-right Gramscianism.” Bringing together all these observations on the radical right, “common sense” and Gramsci’s legacy, I reflect on the complex interrelationship between the radical right and the radical left.

Organisation(s)

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Journal

Dialectical Anthropology

Volume

46

Pages

417–436

No. of pages

20

ISSN

1573-0786

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10624-022-09681-6

Publication date

2021

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

504009 Ethnology

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Anthropology, Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous), Sociology and Political Science

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/fd84093b-07d5-4cfa-990f-cbc110842a07