“We Are the Future”: On the Rise of Europe's Far Right

The year 2016 opened up with the first congress in Italy of the Europe of Nations and Freedom political organization, notably the far-right group in the EU parliament, and then with a neo-fascist party entering in the Slovakian political system after elections in March. This led a prominent right-wing leader to claim, “get used to it: We are the future”. This talk reflects on the popularity of the heirs of fascism, along with some of the reactions to them. It also wonders if European elites, including the center-left, are culturally ready/willing to respond to this right-wing politics. This is especially relevant because of the decline of anti-fascism as a political culture and the embracing of neo-liberal austerity.

Andrea Mammone is a historian of Modern Europe at Royal Holloway, University of London. His main research interests include post-war and recent European far right parties, interwar fascism, and wider work on Italian history, politics and society. He has published extensively on such themes, and regularly contributes to the media and press. His Transnational Neofascism in France and Italy (CUP, 2015), highlights the patterns of extreme-right transfer of cultures, personnel and strategies from 1945 to the present day. He is presently writing a short book on recent nationalist Europe. He has also written for Al Jazeera, Foreign Affairs, Reuters, The Guardian, The Independent, The New York Times, and New Statesman.

This talk was cosponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute (IIC) of Los Angeles and the UCLA Center for Social Theory and Comparative History.

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Duration: 48:58

 Download Podcast

Duration: 48:58