From Villains to Victims? The Self-narratives and Myth-making of Italian Neofascists after the Cold War

The research examines recent self-narratives by prominent Italian neo-fascists implicated in violent and terrorist acts during the 1960s and 1970s (the so-called 'strategy of tension'). Their narratives, as put forward in memoirs, interviews, court hearings and judicial trials, talk of lies, calumnies, fabrications, character assassination and betrayal. The research analyses the stories they tell, why they tell them and to whom they are addressed.
The project aims to demonstrate that their narratives use myths and self-victimisation as barriers to critical reassessment, in order to reaffirm the validity of a value system and to re-open a space for political activism.