The discourse of the extreme right and its ideological implications: The case of the Alleanza nazionale on immigration

Patterns of Prejudice

Volumn 34, Issue 4, 2000, Pages 37-51

  Ter Wal, Jessika ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA   (Austria)

Author keywords

Alleanza nazionale; Discourse; Ethnic nationalism; Extreme right; Ideology; Immigration; New Right; Positive self presentation; Xenophobia

Indexed keywords

EID: 0034366355     PISSN: 0031322X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/003132200128810982     Document Type: Article

References (52)

1. This paper forms part of a research project, 'The discourse of the New Right and contemporary racism', the relevant parts of which are funded by the European Commission DGXII, contract no. ERBFMBICT983312, the Catharine van Tussenbroek Foundation, The Netherlands, and the EUSSIRF fund at the European University Institute Library, Florence. I would also like to thank Ruth Wodak for her comments on an earlier version.
2. H-G. Betz, Radical Right-wing Populism in Western Europe (New York: St Martin's Press 1994); M. Ebata, 'Right-wing extremism: in search of a definition', in A. Braun and S. Scheinberg, The Extreme Right. Freedom and Security at Risk (Boulder, CO: Westview 1997); J. W. Falter, H-G. Jaschke, and J. R. Winkler (eds), Rechtsextremismus. Ergebnisse und Perspektiven der Forschung (Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag 1996); P. Ignazi, The Reemergence of Extreme Right-wing Parties in Europe, Reihe Politikwissenschaft, no. 21 (Vienna: Institut für Höhere Studien 1995); H. Kitschelt, in collaboration with A. J. McGann, The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 1995); C. Mudde, 'The war of words: defining the extreme right party family', West European Politics, vol. 19, no. 2, 1996. These studies do not offer a specific analysis of the anti-immigrant positions of extreme-right parties; such positions are reported episodically or as part of a wider theoretical framework about mobilization and electoral strategy.
3. H-G. Betz, Radical Right-wing Populism in Western Europe (New York: St Martin's Press 1994); M. Ebata, 'Right-wing extremism: in search of a definition', in A. Braun and S. Scheinberg, The Extreme Right. Freedom and Security at Risk (Boulder, CO: Westview 1997); J. W. Falter, H-G. Jaschke, and J. R. Winkler (eds), Rechtsextremismus. Ergebnisse und Perspektiven der Forschung (Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag 1996); P. Ignazi, The Reemergence of Extreme Right-wing Parties in Europe, Reihe Politikwissenschaft, no. 21 (Vienna: Institut für Höhere Studien 1995); H. Kitschelt, in collaboration with A. J. McGann, The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 1995); C. Mudde, 'The war of words: defining the extreme right party family', West European Politics, vol. 19, no. 2, 1996. These studies do not offer a specific analysis of the anti-immigrant positions of extreme-right parties; such positions are reported episodically or as part of a wider theoretical framework about mobilization and electoral strategy.
4. H-G. Betz, Radical Right-wing Populism in Western Europe (New York: St Martin's Press 1994); M. Ebata, 'Right-wing extremism: in search of a definition', in A. Braun and S. Scheinberg, The Extreme Right. Freedom and Security at Risk (Boulder, CO: Westview 1997); J. W. Falter, H-G. Jaschke, and J. R. Winkler (eds), Rechtsextremismus. Ergebnisse und Perspektiven der Forschung (Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag 1996); P. Ignazi, The Reemergence of Extreme Right-wing Parties in Europe, Reihe Politikwissenschaft, no. 21 (Vienna: Institut für Höhere Studien 1995); H. Kitschelt, in collaboration with A. J. McGann, The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 1995); C. Mudde, 'The war of words: defining the extreme right party family', West European Politics, vol. 19, no. 2, 1996. These studies do not offer a specific analysis of the anti-immigrant positions of extreme-right parties; such positions are reported episodically or as part of a wider theoretical framework about mobilization and electoral strategy.
5. H-G. Betz, Radical Right-wing Populism in Western Europe (New York: St Martin's Press 1994); M. Ebata, 'Right-wing extremism: in search of a definition', in A. Braun and S. Scheinberg, The Extreme Right. Freedom and Security at Risk (Boulder, CO: Westview 1997); J. W. Falter, H-G. Jaschke, and J. R. Winkler (eds), Rechtsextremismus. Ergebnisse und Perspektiven der Forschung (Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag 1996); P. Ignazi, The Reemergence of Extreme Right-wing Parties in Europe, Reihe Politikwissenschaft, no. 21 (Vienna: Institut für Höhere Studien 1995); H. Kitschelt, in collaboration with A. J. McGann, The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 1995); C. Mudde, 'The war of words: defining the extreme right party family', West European Politics, vol. 19, no. 2, 1996. These studies do not offer a specific analysis of the anti-immigrant positions of extreme-right parties; such positions are reported episodically or as part of a wider theoretical framework about mobilization and electoral strategy.
6. H-G. Betz, Radical Right-wing Populism in Western Europe (New York: St Martin's Press 1994); M. Ebata, 'Right-wing extremism: in search of a definition', in A. Braun and S. Scheinberg, The Extreme Right. Freedom and Security at Risk (Boulder, CO: Westview 1997); J. W. Falter, H-G. Jaschke, and J. R. Winkler (eds), Rechtsextremismus. Ergebnisse und Perspektiven der Forschung (Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag 1996); P. Ignazi, The Reemergence of Extreme Right-wing Parties in Europe, Reihe Politikwissenschaft, no. 21 (Vienna: Institut für Höhere Studien 1995); H. Kitschelt, in collaboration with A. J. McGann, The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 1995); C. Mudde, 'The war of words: defining the extreme right party family', West European Politics, vol. 19, no. 2, 1996. These studies do not offer a specific analysis of the anti-immigrant positions of extreme-right parties; such positions are reported episodically or as part of a wider theoretical framework about mobilization and electoral strategy.
7. H-G. Betz, Radical Right-wing Populism in Western Europe (New York: St Martin's Press 1994); M. Ebata, 'Right-wing extremism: in search of a definition', in A. Braun and S. Scheinberg, The Extreme Right. Freedom and Security at Risk (Boulder, CO: Westview 1997); J. W. Falter, H-G. Jaschke, and J. R. Winkler (eds), Rechtsextremismus. Ergebnisse und Perspektiven der Forschung (Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag 1996); P. Ignazi, The Reemergence of Extreme Right-wing Parties in Europe, Reihe Politikwissenschaft, no. 21 (Vienna: Institut für Höhere Studien 1995); H. Kitschelt, in collaboration with A. J. McGann, The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 1995); C. Mudde, 'The war of words: defining the extreme right party family', West European Politics, vol. 19, no. 2, 1996. These studies do not offer a specific analysis of the anti-immigrant positions of extreme-right parties; such positions are reported episodically or as part of a wider theoretical framework about mobilization and electoral strategy.
8. A conceptual framework that attempts to grasp these changes is the one that distinguishes between 'old' and 'new' extreme-right parties, in P. Ignazi and C. Ysmal, 'New and old extreme right parties. The French Front National and the Italian Movimento Sociale', European Journal of Political Research, vol. 22, 1992. In this schema, the Movimento sociale italiano (MSI) is classified as an 'old' extreme-right party.
9. Ignazi has not proposed a distinct or new classification for the MSI following its transformation into the AN; he argues that its ideological identity has not fundamentally changed (P. Ignazi, 'Alleanza Nazionale? È il MSI riverniciato', Ideazione, no. 1, 1995, 64-8). The neo-Fascist or extreme-right hardliners and the destra sociale (anti-capitalists focusing especially on the problems of poverty), under the leadership of Pino Rauti, remained in the MSI, and founded the list of the MSI-Fiamma tricolore.
10. P. Ignazi, 'Lo strano trionfo di Alleanza Nazionale', Il Mulino, vol. 44, no. 357, 1995, 38-46.
11. A. Carioti, 'Dal ghetto al palazzo: l'ascesa di Alleanza Nazionale', Politica in Italia, 1995, 73-95; I. Damianti, 'La droite médiatique de Silvio Berlusconi', Politique internationale, vol. 65, 1994, 146-66. The MSI-AN has a traditional stronghold of voters in the South of Italy where, after the collapse of the Christian Democratic party, it could vie for votes with Berlusconi's party.
12. A. Carioti, 'Dal ghetto al palazzo: l'ascesa di Alleanza Nazionale', Politica in Italia, 1995, 73-95; I. Damianti, 'La droite médiatique de Silvio Berlusconi', Politique internationale, vol. 65, 1994, 146-66. The MSI-AN has a traditional stronghold of voters in the South of Italy where, after the collapse of the Christian Democratic party, it could vie for votes with Berlusconi's party.
13. R. Chiarini, 'Il MSI: il problema storico di una destra illegittima', Democrazia e Diritto, no. 1, 1994; and R. Chiarini, 'La protesta anti-immigrati nel mercato politico-elettorale', in J. Petersen (ed.), L'emigrazione tra Italia e Germania (Bari: Piero Lacaita 1993).
14. R. Chiarini, 'Il MSI: il problema storico di una destra illegittima', Democrazia e Diritto, no. 1, 1994; and R. Chiarini, 'La protesta anti-immigrati nel mercato politico-elettorale', in J. Petersen (ed.), L'emigrazione tra Italia e Germania (Bari: Piero Lacaita 1993).
15. R. Eatwell, 'The dynamics of right-wing electoral breakthrough', Patterns of Prejudice, vol. 32, no. 3, 1998, 3-31.
16. L. Cheles, 'The Italian far right: nationalist attitudes and views on ethnicity and immigration', in G. Hargreaves and J. Leaman, Racism, Ethnicity and Politics in Contemporary Europe (Cheltenham: Edwar Elgar 1995).
17. R. Griffin, 'Ce n'est pas Le Pen. The MSI's estrangement from the politics of xenophobia', in C. Westin, Racism, Ideology and Political Organization (Stockholm: CEIFO 1998).
18. P. Ignazi, Postfascisti? Dal Movimento Sociale Italiano ad Alleanza Nazionale (Bologna: Il Mulino 1995); P. Ignazi, New Challenges: Post Materialism and the Extreme Right, Working Papers, no. 91 (Madrid: Instituto Juan March de Estudios e Investigaciones 1996).
19. P. Ignazi, Postfascisti? Dal Movimento Sociale Italiano ad Alleanza Nazionale (Bologna: Il Mulino 1995); P. Ignazi, New Challenges: Post Materialism and the Extreme Right, Working Papers, no. 91 (Madrid: Instituto Juan March de Estudios e Investigaciones 1996).
20. M. Fennema, Some Theoretical Problems and Issues in Comparison of Anti-immigrant Parties in Western Europe, Working Papers, no. 115 (Barcelona: Instituto de Ciències Polítiques i Socials 1996), 9.
21. M. Revelli, Le due destre. Le derive del fostfordismo (Torino: Bollati Boringhieri 1995), 142.
22. P. Ignazi and C. Ysmal, 'Extreme right-wing parties in Europe. Introduction', European Journal of Political Research, vol. 22, no. 1-2, 1992, 12.
23. G. Baldini and R. Vignati, 'Dal MSI ad AN: una nuova cultura politica?', Polis, vol. 10, no. 1, 1996, 81-101. In the 'old' political culture of the MSI, the principles of the French Revolution were represented as the 'source of all evil', and included individualism, capitalism and materialism (Ignazi, 'Lo strano trionfo'). The higher number of congress delegates subscribing to these principles in 1995 indicates a shift in the party's political culture.
24. Baldini and Vignati, 94.
25. This bill replaced the first law regulating immigration, which was introduced in Italy in 1990 under a coalition government of socialists and Christian democrats, and known by the name of then deputy prime minister Claudio Martelli. The law proposed in 1997 was approved in 1998 (no. 46).
26. For a comparative analysis of the interventions by MPs from different parties, see J. ter Wal, 'Comparing argumentation and counter-argumentation in Italian parliamentary debates on immigration', in M. Reisigl and R. Wodak (eds), The Semiotics of Racism. Approaches in Critical Discourse Analysis (Vienna: Passagen 2000).
27. In the plenary debate on the Turco-Napolitano law, 16 AN MPs intervened, the highest number of speakers, as against 13 from Forza Italia, 11 from the Lega Nord, 9 from the PDS, and a further 17 from five other parties (see J. ter Wal, 'Italy: sicurezza e solidarietà', in R. Wodak and T. van Dijk (eds), Racism at the Top. Parliamentary Discourse on Ethnic Issues in Six European States (Klagenfurt: Drava 2000)).
28. F. Reeves, British Racial Discourse. A Study of British Political Discourse about Race and Race-Related Matters (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1983), 242.
29. For a well-argued analysis of the notion of 'population', see P. P. Chock, 'Ambiguity in policy discourse. Congressional talk about immigration', Policy Sciences, vol. 28, no. 2, 1995, 165-84.
30. In his critical discourse analysis of elite talk, Teun van Dijk finds a recurrent strategy - the 'denial of racism' - that, in his view, is enacted to allow for the positive self-presentation of the speaker, i.e. to 'disclaim' any expression of negative ethnic beliefs or prejudice uttered in subsequent statements. In van Dijk's approach, the denial of racism is thus perceived as only apparent, as long as the practices of and facts put forward by the speaker have racist implications (T. van Dijk, Elite Discourse and Racism (London: Sage 1993)). On the other hand, the social psychological approach by Michael Billig and colleagues insists that expressions of contrasting pairs of values and beliefs reveal a rational management of 'ideological dilemmas' (M. Billig et al., Ideological Dilemmas. A Social Psychology of Everyday Thinking (London: Sage 1988)).
31. In his critical discourse analysis of elite talk, Teun van Dijk finds a recurrent strategy - the 'denial of racism' - that, in his view, is enacted to allow for the positive self-presentation of the speaker, i.e. to 'disclaim' any expression of negative ethnic beliefs or prejudice uttered in subsequent statements. In van Dijk's approach, the denial of racism is thus perceived as only apparent, as long as the practices of and facts put forward by the speaker have racist implications (T. van Dijk, Elite Discourse and Racism (London: Sage 1993)). On the other hand, the social psychological approach by Michael Billig and colleagues insists that expressions of contrasting pairs of values and beliefs reveal a rational management of 'ideological dilemmas' (M. Billig et al., Ideological Dilemmas. A Social Psychology of Everyday Thinking (London: Sage 1988)).
32. An exception is the extreme right-wing discourse in France, about which many studies have been published, such as P. Breton, 'La "préférence manipulatoire" du président du Front National', Mots, vol. 58, March 1999, 101-25. For examples of a critical analysis of mainstream discourse, see L. Rojo and T. van Dijk, '"There was a problem and it was solved." Legitimating the expulsion of "illegal" migrants in Spanish parliamentary discourse', Discourse and Society, vol. 8, no. 4, 1997, 523-66. For analyses of parliamentary debates elsewhere, see, for example, N. Piper, Racism, Nationalism and Citizenship: Ethnic Minorities in Britain and Germany (Aldershot: Ashgate 1998), 134ff., and J. ter Wal, 'The Reproduction of Racism and Ethnic Prejudice through Policy and News Discourse. The Italian Case (1988-1992)', doctoral thesis, European University Institute, Florence, May 1997.
33. An exception is the extreme right-wing discourse in France, about which many studies have been published, such as P. Breton, 'La "préférence manipulatoire" du président du Front National', Mots, vol. 58, March 1999, 101-25. For examples of a critical analysis of mainstream discourse, see L. Rojo and T. van Dijk, '"There was a problem and it was solved." Legitimating the expulsion of "illegal" migrants in Spanish parliamentary discourse', Discourse and Society, vol. 8, no. 4, 1997, 523-66. For analyses of parliamentary debates elsewhere, see, for example, N. Piper, Racism, Nationalism and Citizenship: Ethnic Minorities in Britain and Germany (Aldershot: Ashgate 1998), 134ff., and J. ter Wal, 'The Reproduction of Racism and Ethnic Prejudice through Policy and News Discourse. The Italian Case (1988-1992)', doctoral thesis, European University Institute, Florence, May 1997.
34. An exception is the extreme right-wing discourse in France, about which many studies have been published, such as P. Breton, 'La "préférence manipulatoire" du président du Front National', Mots, vol. 58, March 1999, 101-25. For examples of a critical analysis of mainstream discourse, see L. Rojo and T. van Dijk, '"There was a problem and it was solved." Legitimating the expulsion of "illegal" migrants in Spanish parliamentary discourse', Discourse and Society, vol. 8, no. 4, 1997, 523-66. For analyses of parliamentary debates elsewhere, see, for example, N. Piper, Racism, Nationalism and Citizenship: Ethnic Minorities in Britain and Germany (Aldershot: Ashgate 1998), 134ff., and J. ter Wal, 'The Reproduction of Racism and Ethnic Prejudice through Policy and News Discourse. The Italian Case (1988-1992)', doctoral thesis, European University Institute, Florence, May 1997.
35. An exception is the extreme right-wing discourse in France, about which many studies have been published, such as P. Breton, 'La "préférence manipulatoire" du président du Front National', Mots, vol. 58, March 1999, 101-25. For examples of a critical analysis of mainstream discourse, see L. Rojo and T. van Dijk, '"There was a problem and it was solved." Legitimating the expulsion of "illegal" migrants in Spanish parliamentary discourse', Discourse and Society, vol. 8, no. 4, 1997, 523-66. For analyses of parliamentary debates elsewhere, see, for example, N. Piper, Racism, Nationalism and Citizenship: Ethnic Minorities in Britain and Germany (Aldershot: Ashgate 1998), 134ff., and J. ter Wal, 'The Reproduction of Racism and Ethnic Prejudice through Policy and News Discourse. The Italian Case (1988-1992)', doctoral thesis, European University Institute, Florence, May 1997.
36. In the Italian context, solidarietà signifies a set of values developed in the post-war period that mixes the Catholic notion of 'brotherhood' and the communist idea of solidarity with the poor and oppressed; both Catholic and left-wing organizations in Italy that assist immigrants and refugees use the term. In parliamentary debates, the pair of concepts supported by all parties is solidarietà e sicurezza, i.e. combining a commitment to help for the poor and needy with the demands of law and order.
37. A theoretical and analytical model for such an analysis is provided in C. Antaki, Explaining and Arguing (London: Sage 1994).
38. R. Hodge and G. Kress, Language as Ideology (London: Routledge 1993); D. Stone, 'Causal stories and the formation of policy agendas', Political Science Quarterly, vol. 104, no. 2, 1989, 281-300.
39. R. Hodge and G. Kress, Language as Ideology (London: Routledge 1993); D. Stone, 'Causal stories and the formation of policy agendas', Political Science Quarterly, vol. 104, no. 2, 1989, 281-300.
40. See, for example, J. Blommaert and J. Verschueren, Debating Diversity. Analysing the Discourse of Tolerance (London: Routledge 1998).
41. Revelli, 151.
42. T. van Dijk, 'Political discourse and racism: describing others in western parliaments', in S. H. Riggins (ed.), The Language and Politics of Exclusion. Others in Discourse (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage 1997), 31-64.
43. See note 24.
44. The AN also disapproves of measures to enhance immigrants' participation in public life, which reveals its fundamental ideological position on the need to regard migrants as a socioeconomically, culturally and politically distinct group.
45. Compare this with the demand formulated in a petition campaign against illegal immigration organized by the AN in 2000: 'we demand that legal immigrants be protected to avoid them becoming prey to criminality' (www.alleanza-nazionale.it/000307_petizione_immigrazione.htm).
46. 'Reasonable prejudice' refers to a theoretical position against former definitions of prejudice as necessarily irrational (M. Billig, Ideologies and Opinions. Studies in Rhetorical Psychology (London: Sage 1991)). According to this view, prejudice can be conspicuous in rational arguments based on humanitarian principles. For example, speakers do not recommend negative treatment or express a negative belief about immigrants, i.e. a blatant prejudice, but simply state that there are 'objective' reasons or common-sense facts, e.g. lack of housing or jobs, that make an acceptance of (more) immigrants impossible.
47. See note 24.
48. Until the mid-1990s issues of cultural identity and integration were hardly addressed in Italian political discourse. See J. ter Wal, 'The social representation of immigrants: the Pantanella issue in the pages of la Repubblica', New Community, vol. 22, no. 1, 1966, esp. 64-5 and D. Martucelli, 'L'expérience italienne', in M. Wievorka et al. (eds), Racisme et xénophobie en Europe: une comparaison internationale (Pans: la Découverte 1994).
49. Until the mid-1990s issues of cultural identity and integration were hardly addressed in Italian political discourse. See J. ter Wal, 'The social representation of immigrants: the Pantanella issue in the pages of la Repubblica', New Community, vol. 22, no. 1, 1966, esp. 64-5 and D. Martucelli, 'L'expérience italienne', in M. Wievorka et al. (eds), Racisme et xénophobie en Europe: une comparaison internationale (Pans: la Découverte 1994).
50. The priest Pierino Gelmini is reported to have said: 'Soon, Muslims in Italy will constitute 10-15 per cent of the population and put at risk the purity of our values. Once they came to attack our cities, today they have one set of marching orders: to marry Catholic women and convert them to Islam. This germ needs to be eradicated' (A. Panebianco, 'L'integrazione e le sue regole', Il Corriere della Sera, 6 March 2000); see also comments in Il Secolo d'Italia, the AN party newspaper.
51. The priest Pierino Gelmini is reported to have said: 'Soon, Muslims in Italy will constitute 10-15 per cent of the population and put at risk the purity of our values. Once they came to attack our cities, today they have one set of marching orders: to marry Catholic women and convert them to Islam. This germ needs to be eradicated' (A. Panebianco, 'L'integrazione e le sue regole', Il Corriere della Sera, 6 March 2000); see also comments in Il Secolo d'Italia, the AN party newspaper.
52. G. Dotto, 'Piccoli Haider crescono. Parlano i leader di Forza Nuova', L'Espresso, 17 February 2000, 48-51.