Because the areas of Italy with anti -fascist tradition resist better for the advance of the extreme right

In recent years, Europe has witnessed a surprising and worrying increased consent to far -right parties. These movements, often characterized by nationalist and authoritarian rhetorics, are conquering political spaces at local and national level, threatening democratic institutions laboriously built after decades of struggles against totalitarian regimes.

But what explain that some communities manage to resist better than others to this advance? To provide an answer is a search conducted by Juan MasulloAssistant Professor at the Institute of Political Science of Leiden University, and Simone Cremaschipost-dictate researcher at the Department of Social and Political Sciences of the Bocconi University. Through a detailed study on thousands of Italian municipalities, they highlighted A strong and lasting link between the history of the partisan resistance and the political present.

The analysis revealed that in the territories where during the Second World War the partisan struggle was particularly active, today support for far -right parties is much weaker than other areas of the country. This difference does not seem random, but the result of an intergenerational transmission of democratic values, rooted in a collective memory held alive from years of civil commitment.

One of the most significant examples of this continuity emerged during the recent popular campaign to introduce one to Parliament Law of popular initiative against propaganda and the spread of messages praising fascism and Nazism. Despite the difficult climate due to the pandemic, over 240,000 signatures were collected in a few months, with a particularly high participation in the municipalities with a strong partisan tradition: In these areas there were about 40% more signatures than the national average. This data confirms that the memory of the resistance continues to translate into concrete actions in defense of democracy.

But the search for Masullo and Cremaschi goes beyond numbers and goes into the practices that keep this memory alive. In the territories of the Resistance, such as In the areas of Cuneo, in the hills around Bologna or in the countries of Stazzema and Marzabottoremembering is not just a formal or celebratory act. It is a way of living and educating. Local schools promote initiatives such as Memory Gardens where students come into contact with the history of their ancestors through narratives, art and direct testimonies. THE partisan pathsoften restored by cultural and sporting associations, they become places of walking not only physical but also symbolic, in which history is intertwined with civic commitment.

At a time when anti -fascism itself is often exploited or attacked by those who want to cancel its historical meaning, These communities demonstrate how fundamental memory is to defend democracy. Remembering resistance in Italy today is not only a tribute to the sacrifices of those who fought against Nazi -fascism, but an essential political and civil act for preserving the values of justice, freedom and inclusion that are the basis of the democratic republic, against authoritarian drifts.

The value of historical memory in the contrast to the extreme right is not an Italian exclusive. Throughout Europe, similar initiatives are helping to shape civic consciousness. In Germany, the Stolpersteine (the “stumbling blocks”), brass plates positioned in the sidewalks in memory of the victims of Nazism, have a measurable impact: in the neighborhoods where they are present, The vote for the far -right AFD party is lower than almost a percentage point compared to others. In Hungary, activists create “living memorials” To remember the victims of the Holocaust, thus opposing the government efforts of historical revisionism.

These active memory practices are not limited to remembering the past, but contribute to forging a collective consciousness that is reflected in today’s political choices. I am an antidote against authoritarian temptation, a form of resistance that is renewed over time and generations.