The Evolution of a Radicalised Mainstream: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Far-Right Shift in Italy

This chapter investigates the significant rightward shift in Italy’s political mainstream. The rise to power of the Italian radical right is the result of a long-term process in which political, cultural, and social causes played a role: historical context, socio-political dynamics, and ideological shifts. Through an analysis of electoral data and public discourses, this study identifies key drivers of the radicalisation of the Italian mainstream. It will focus on three fundamental aspects: (a) the global economic crisis, which has increased competition for diminishing resources, including employment and the use of public services, thus widening old socioeconomic cleavages and generating new, more pertinent ones; (b) the role played by Silvio Berlusconi and the governments he led from 1994 onwards, enabled by a post-fascist right that has been normalised; (c) the normalisation of discourses and positions opposing migration processes in the name of a fictitious theory of ethnic substitution.