Post-fascism in Italy: How the alleanza nazionale moved beyond neo-fascism

This thesis examines how a previously extreme right neo-fascist Italian party, the alleanza nazionale, has distanced itself from fascist ideology. Generic fascist studies, led by Roger Griffin, Stanley Payne, and Roger Eatwell, provide a taxonomy of fascist ideology based on ultra-nationalism; anti-liberal/authoritarianism; third-way economics; and violence/militarism. By examining party authoritative outputs and electoral programs, this paper compares the AN's ideology with fascist ideology and argues that the alleanza nazionale is no longer fundamentally based on fascist ideology. Taking advantage of the Italian political upheavals in the early 1990s, the AN has embraced democracy, abandoned corporatist economics, repudiated all forms of racism, and publicly criticized Mussolini in its attempts to distance the party from its neo-fascist past and become a center-right party. Nevertheless, it is not yet clear how far the rank and file will continue towards the unfinished process driven by the party secretary, Gianfranco Fini, to move beyond fascism and become a liberal democratic party.