![]() | Threats to Democracy: The Radical Right in Italy after the War Subjects: Italy -- Politics and government -- 1945–1976; Fascism -- Italy -- 1945–; Conservativism -- Italy -- History -- 20th century; Movimento sociale italiano; This book represents the first systematic research by a social scientist on the radical right-wing movements in Italy since 1945. During the heyday of right-wing violence between 1969 and 1980, street aggressions, attacks, and murders were commonplace. These bloody episodes were assumed to be the work of fanatical bands of "political soldiers" and urban warriors loosely controlled by secret services and other covert groups, which used them as part of a "strategy of tension" pursued in domestic and international circles. Franco Ferraresi here acknowledges that these rightist groups were in fact permitted a certain amount of freedom, and even in some cases actually aided, in the hope that revulsion at terrorist tactics would have the effect of mobilizing public opinion in favor of existing political arrangements. However, he also studies the extent to which they operated as autonomous units, while he carefully considers the political heritage, the doctrines, and the ideology that motivated them. Franco Ferraresi is Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Turin. For many years he was a consultant with the inquiry committee of the Italian Parliament on political massacres. He has been a visitor and guest lecturer in many universities in the United States, Europe, and Australia. Much of the research for this book was carried out at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. |
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