A far-right social centre is a space inspired by neo-fascist and Third Position ideas, typically in the 21st century.
A far-right social centre is a space inspired by neo-fascist and Third Position ideas, typically in the 21st century.
In Italy, a social centre called Il Bartolo was squatted in Rome, and was burnt down after one year. [1] In 1998, Italian neo-fascists squatted in another building in Rome at Castrense 48 and called it PortAperta. [1] In 2002 neo-fascists squatted in a building and created social centre called CasaMontag. [2] In 2003 Italian neo-fascists squatted in a building in Rome and created the Foro 753 non-conforming centre. [3] [4] [5] In 2017 members of the far-right Forza Nuova squatted commercial premises in Rome [6] and created a food kitchen only for Italian nationals, in breach of the Constitution of Italy. [7]
In 2003, Italian neo-fascists squatted in a building on Via Napoleone III on the Esquiline Hill and founded the CasaPound (the Ezra Pound's home) social centre. [8] In June 2008 CasaPound constituted an "association of social promotion" and assumed the name CasaPound Italia. [9] [10] [11] Other CasaPound squats are in Latina (Lazio region) (legalised) [12] [13] and Area 19 at via dei Monti della Farnesina 80 in Rome (evicted 2015). [14]
Social Bastion was a French neo-fascist political movement that used squatting as a tactic before being banned as a far-right organization in 2019 by the French Government. [15] Members of the student association GUD, squatted a building at 18 rue Port-du-Temps in Lyon, in May 2017. They planned it to help only poor French nationals. [16] The mayor of Lyon Gérard Collomb immediately condemned the occupation and pledged to evict it. [17] It was evicted by 100 police officers after two weeks. [18]
In 2018 local identitarians squatted house in Angers [19] and created social centre L’Alvarium. [20] In 2020 court ordered to evict it. [21] [22]
In 1990 in the territories of former GDR there were located some far-right social centres. One of them was Weilingstraße 122. The centre played the role as a political HQ, a living community and party space for young nationalists. [23] In the 21st century german nationalists, inspired by CasaPound trying again to create their own social centres. [24] In 2019 political party The Third Path owned the building in Plauen [25] and created legal social centre P130. [26] [27]
In Spain, Hogar Social Madrid, also known as Hogar Social Ramiro Ledesma (the Ramiro Ledesma Social Home) was squatted in the Tetuán district in Madrid in August 2014. [28] It was quickly evicted the next month and the group then occupied a building in Chamberí. [29] Some members of the group then split off and attacked the second building, which was also evicted. [30] [31]
In Kyiv, the far-right nationalist Azov movement established the Cossack House (Ukrainian : Козацький Дім), a social centre where they host far-right events, in a building owned by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. [32]
Far-right social centres are often connected to right-wing squats or can be seen as a sub-category or a result of right-wing squatting. Squatting is the practice of occupying empty buildings. The occupied spaces are used for different purposes like communal living and organizing actions. [33] Squatting is often practised by left-wing groups, but there are also cases of right-wing squatting. In these squats, the spaces are occupied by right-wing groups or organisations. [34]
Right-wing squats seem to be inspired by left-wing squats in their formation, appearance and practice but differ from them in other aspects. The phenomenon of right-wing squatting is mostly prevalent in countries with big left wing squatting movements. [34]
In 2000 a building in Eindhoven was squatted by neo-Nazis from the right-wing organisation Voorpost. They initiated a squatted social centre, which was used as a place for organisation of the group. In 2008 a right-wing movement squatted a building in Monster near Den Haag in the wake of protests against a squatting ban. [34]
Italian right-wing groups have been trying to establish squatted right-wing social centres since the 1980s. Since 2003 CasaPound Italia has been upholding a right-wing squat in Rome. They want to spread their activities and squats all over Italy and name housing needs as their main reason for squatting. [35]
In 2014 the Movement ‘Hogar Social’ initiated a squatting in Madrid. Linking social issues with xenophobic ideas they named the housing shortage for ‘native families’ as their motivation for squatting. The campaign behind this was initiated by the neo-Nazi Republican Social Movement. [34]
In 2017 right-wing youth organisation 'Bastion Social' squatted in Lyon. They claimed that there would be too little housing for non-immigrants and emphasized the fear of 'colonisation' by mass-immigration. [34]
After the Fall of the Berlin Wall neo-Nazis became more visible again in Berlin. From December 1989 on new groups joined from the West and in January 1990 a new neo-Nazi Party 'Nationale Alternative' (NA) was founded. In the wake of GDR collapsing there was a power vacuum and many empty buildings at that time. Because of these exceptional conditions the Berlin districts Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg became places for many left-wing squats. In need of a place for organising the party-affairs, NA squatted a house in Lichtenberg, the district right next to Friedrichshain, in February 1990. Because the house they first occupied was not owned by the state they were offered alternatives. They chose Weitlingstraße 22 and founded ‘Bürgerinitiative Wohnraumsanierung e.V.’, making the squatting seem like a project for common good. [34]
The occupied building served as a headquarter, a space for communal living, planning actions, partying, propaganda production, a meeting point for (international) neo-Nazi groups, a place to stay for leading figures in neo-Nazi parties and terrorist groups. To the media it was communicated that the goal was to realise communal living and include right-wing practices in everyday life. Activities from the squatters of Weitlingstraße 22 also extended the occupied space and influenced the neighbourhood. The group committed acts of violence against asylum homes and left-wing squats in the area. There were similarities to left-wing squatting. Having bars in front of the windows, political claims on banners visible on the outside of the building, wearing military uniforms and motorcycle helmets and threatening the political opponent were common both in Weitlingstraße 22 as well as in other left-wing squats in Berlin. Another similarity was a solidarity-centred practice of shared income and expenses in the household. In other areas the squatters differed significantly from their left-wing counterparts. The clothing style was cleaner and more disciplined, the facades of the house plainer. They emphasized traditional values like order and tidiness in their communal living, which can also be interpreted as a façade of discipline presented to the outside. Hierarchies, traditional gender roles and exclusive – racist and xenophobic - forms of equality were promoted. [34]
In April 1990 the police carried out a raid in Weitlingstraße 22 and arrested the NA leaders. The squatting declined further after an Antifa-Demo against the squat in June 1990. In July 1990 the lease agreement was terminated. Disagreements between members of NA and Gesinnungsgemeinschaft der Neuen Front (GdNF) as well as the lack of NA's success in the elections lead to the dissolution of the squatting and the house being empty at the end of 1990. Today the conditions for right-wing squatting have changed. Police repression and the housing situation make the practice of squatting harder. [34]
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there were one billion slum residents and squatters globally. Squatting occurs worldwide and tends to occur when people find empty buildings or land to occupy for housing. It has a long history, broken down by country below.
Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sentiment, sometimes with economic liberal issues, as well as opposition to social democracy, parliamentarianism, Marxism, capitalism, communism, and socialism. As with classical fascism, it occasionally proposes a Third Position as an alternative to market capitalism.
Groupe Union Défense, better known as GUD, was a French far-right students' union formed in the 1960s. After a period of inactivity it relaunched in 2022.
The Social Movement Tricolour Flame, commonly known as Tricolour Flame, is a neo-fascist political party in Italy.
New Force is an Italian neo-fascist political party. It was founded by Roberto Fiore and Massimo Morsello. The party is a member of the Alliance for Peace and Freedom and was a part of the Social Alternative from 2003 to 2006. The party has often been strongly criticized for its radical positions and for acts of violence involving some militants. It was also the protagonist of political campaigns opposed to same-sex marriage and immigration to Italy.
The Third Position is a set of neo-fascist political ideologies that were first described in Western Europe following the Second World War. Developed in the context of the Cold War, it developed its name through the claim that it represented a third position between the capitalism of the Western Bloc and the communism of the Eastern Bloc.
The Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus (EKH) is a self-managed social centre in Vienna's 10th district, Favoriten. It was squatted in 1990 and legalised in 2008. The project is named after Ernst Kirchweger.
The Battle of Valle Giulia is the conventional name for a clash between Italian militants and the Italian police in Valle Giulia, Rome, on 1 March 1968. It is still frequently remembered as one of the first violent clashes in Italy's student unrest during the protests of 1968 or "Sessantotto".
Self-managed social centres in Italy exist in many cities. They are part of different left-wing political networks including anarchist, communist, socialist, and autonomist. The centres tend to be squatted and provide self-organised, self-financing spaces for alternative and noncommercial activities such as concerts, exhibitions, farmers' markets, infoshops, and migrant initiatives. Over time, some but not all projects have opted to legalize their status.
The Italian Social Movement was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national conservatism. In 1972, the Italian Democratic Party of Monarchist Unity was merged into the MSI and the party's official name was changed to Italian Social Movement – National Right.
CasaPound Italia is an Italian neo-fascist movement. It was formerly a political party, born as a network of far-right social centres arising from the occupation of a state-owned building by squatters in the neighborhood of Esquilino in Rome on 26 December 2003. Subsequently, CasaPound spread with other instances of squatting, demonstrations and various initiatives, becoming a political movement.
Brothers of Italy is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy, that is currently the country's ruling party. It became the largest party after the 2022 Italian general election. The party is led by Giorgia Meloni, the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy. Meloni's tenure has been described as the "most right-wing" republican government in Italy since World War II, whilst her time in government is frequently described as a shift towards the far-right in Italian politics.
Bloomsbury Social Centre was an impromptu squat and social centre in Bloomsbury, London, which was squatted as a self-managed social centre by students in affiliation with Occupy London, and the global Occupy movement. It was formed on 23 November 2011, and evicted on 22 December, lasting a total of 30 days. It occupied 53 Gordon Square, a historic six-storey Georgian Grade II-listed building, the former home of the Percival David Collection, renovated by famous British architect, Charles Holden, the principal architect of nearby Senate House. 53 Gordon Square is now part of the Doctoral School.
Sovereignty, was a nationalist political party in Italy. It is a part of the neo-fascist organization CasaPound.
Far-right subcultures refers to the symbolism, ideology and traits that hold relevance to various politically extreme right-wing groups and organisations. There are three kinds of subcultures within far-right movements to distinguish: subcultural parasitism, subcultural creation around ideology and subcultures that are networking with far-right movements.
Italexit for Italy, usually referred to simply as Italexit, is a populist, sovereignist, and hard Eurosceptic political party in Italy, which advocates the country's exit from the eurozone and the European Union. Its founder is Gianluigi Paragone, a former member of the Senate of the Republic and TV journalist. Paragone and Italexit oppose Italy's membership in NATO. Although the party rejects a classification on the political spectrum and includes some left-wing positions, it is considered right-wing due to Paragone's profile. Italexit was founded in 2020 after Paragone was expelled from the Five Star Movement (M5S). Between 2020 and 2022, Italexit was joined by several members of the Italian Parliament, mainly from the M5S and the League (Lega). Paragone had been a supporter of the M5S–Lega government, which was known as the Government of Change, and opposed the M5S government with the Democratic Party (PD).
Squatting became a political phenomenon in the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Squats in Prague included Sochora, Stary Střešovice and Ladronka. Milada was occupied in 1998 and following its final eviction in 2009, there was a lull in squatting actions. In the 2010s a new social movement squatted houses to highlight the number of derelict properties in Prague and the social centre Klinika was founded in 2014.
In the First Italian Republic, after the Second World War, several armed, paramilitary, far-right organizations were active, as well as far-left ones, especially during the Years of Lead.
Silvio Meier (1965–1992) was an East German activist and squatter who was killed by neo-Nazis in Berlin on 21 November 1992. After moving to East Berlin in 1986, Meier became involved in oppositional politics with the Church from Below. His death has been commemorated with an annual memorial march and the renaming of a street in the Berlin district of Friedrichshain.
Nazi-Maoism was a political movement and ideology that emerged in Italy around 1968 with the formation of a group known as "Struggle of the People". This group of students from the Sapienza University of Rome took heavy inspiration from the writings and theory of Franco Freda and advocated for a combination of ideas from both the far-left and far-right. According to the Neo-Fascist group "Third Position", Nazi-Maoism had a stance of "neither capitalism nor communism, neither reds nor reactionary". Nazi-Maoists such as Freda wanted to form a "Fascist dictatorship of the proletariat" by using the Maoist guerrilla strategy of people's war to overthrow the government and the bourgeoisie.
Le gouvernement dissout le Bastion social et six de ses antennes