It seems urgent to reflect on how democracies have responded to the presence of extreme rightwing movements, both in terms of political practices and rhetoric. Have democracies actively opposed the extreme right, or have they opted for strategies of containment and coexistence? Equally important is to examine the perspective of the extreme right: how has it interpreted and narrated the (supposed) coexistence with the democratic system? How has it dealt with the legacy of fascism and to what extent has it adapted to the culture of democracy? This conference will analyze the language and culture of the extreme right, paying special attention to its critiques of democracy, including its reaction of Enlightenment values and claims that democracy operates a double standard, tolerant in theory, but marginalizing and punishing the extreme right in practice. Giving historical depth to the extreme right’s relationship with democracy will allow for new insights into today’s public debates.

Program

20 MAY

Campus Condorcet, Room 0.010, Bâtiment de recherche nord

• 9:00-9:45 : Welcome
• 9:45-10:00 : Andrea Martini (Paris 8 University), Introduction and Contextualisation

10:00-12:45 : Italy, a Case Study?

Discussants : Graham Macklin (University of Oslo) and Guido Panvini (La Sapienza, University of Rome)

Chair : Suzy Toson (Paris 8 University)

The State’s Reaction to the Extreme Right

• Marco Bernardi (University of Turin), Apologia: Yes or No? Anti-Fascists, Fascists, and Italian Society Facing Regulations Against Apology of Fascism
• Emanuel Rota (University of Illinois), Outlawing Ordine Nuovo: The Failed Strategy to Contain Italy’s Radical Right

Renewals of the Extreme Right and Social Issues

• Valeria Galimi (University of Florence) , The Culture of Right-Wing Youth in Italy: Genealogies, Transformations, and Circulations. Editorial Experiences from the 1970s and 1980s
• Marco Rovinello (University of Calabria), “A Corrupt System”: Democracy and HIV/AIDS in the Political Strategies and Discourses of the Italian Social Movement (1980s-1990s)

14:00-16:45 : Extreme Right vs. Democratic Cultures

Discussants: Jean-Yves Camus (Jean Jaurès Foundation) and Pablo Del Hierro (Maastricht University)

Chair: Giordano Bottecchia (IFG Lab)

• Antoine Limare (Sorbonne Nouvelle), L’antidémocratisme comme héritage politique. Continuités et mutations du discours antidémocratique chez les fascistes et collaborateurs français. De la Libération aux années 1950
• Nicoletta Arena (University of Florence), Is the Defense of Europe a Gateway? Far-Right Narratives and Postwar Reintegration
• Carlos Domper Lasus (University of Zaragoza), An Anti-Liberal and Counter-Revolutionary Democracy: The Narrative of Democracy in the Iberian Dictatorships and French and Italian Conservatism in the European Postwar Period (1945–1960)
• Stefan Rindlisbacher (University of Fribourg), The Extreme Right in the Environmental Movements after 1945: Infiltration, Cooperation, and Emancipation

21 MAY

Campus Condorcet, Room 100, Centre de Colloque

9:00 : Welcome

9:15-11:15 : The Extreme Right and the Defence of the Rule of Law

Discussants : Florence Haegel (Sciences Po) and Andrea Martini (Paris 8University),

Chair : Elisa Pareo (University of Verona / Paris 8 University)

• Sarah Osman (University of Geneva), La pénalisation du négationnisme en Suisse(1945-2000)
• Jonathan Preda (IFG Lab), Un interdit désirable ? La démocratie face à la mémoiredu fascisme dans l’extrême droite française, 1945-1984
• Emmanuel Alcaraz (Science Po Aix), Les leçons à tirer pour le présent del’engagement de Madeleine Rebérioux (1920-2005) contre l’extrême-droite à la Liguedes droits de l’homme

11:30-13:00 : Extreme Right and Democracy in Europe: Coexistence, Contrasts, Contradictions Today

Round table coordinated by Marie-Anne Matard-Bonucci (Paris 8 University)

With the participation of:

• Valentin Behr (Centre européen de sociologie et de science politique) – Eastern Europe
• François-René Julliard (Centre d’Histoire “Espaces & Cultures”, Clermont-Ferrand) – United States
• Bénédicte Laumond (University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines) – Germany
• Nonna Mayer (Sciences Po) – France

13:00-13:15 : Concluding remarks