Brothers of Italy and the Rise of the Italian National Conservative Right under Giorgia Meloni

This book is an in-depth study of Fratelli d’Italia, the party led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. After providing a concise history of the neo-fascist and post-fascist parties to which Fratelli d’Italia is heir, the book examines its founding, statutory rules and internal organisation. The authors explore Meloni’s communication style and the national conservative ideology she has embraced, Fratelli d’Italia’s international network of alliances and its place in EU politics, and the composition of the electorate that led to the success of her and the party in the 2022 parliamentary elections. Through well-documented, rigorous and impartial analysis, the book offers insights into the path Fratelli d’Italia has taken and the identity it has built in its first ten years – explaining why a political tradition that seemed destined for extinction has come to power and is nowattempting to change coalition politics in the EU. In doing so, the authors challenge several entrenched assumptions about populist and radical right-wing parties. The Italian edition of the book was reviewed in national newspapers and other media, garnering praise from a wide range of political perspectives. Salvatore Vassallo is Director of the Cattaneo Institute and Professor of Comparative Politics and Public Opinion Analysis at the University of Bologna, Italy. He is Author of Liberiamo la politica (2014, Il Mulino, Bologna), Editor of Sistemi politici comparati (2016, Il Mulino, Bologna), and Co-editor of Il bipolarismo asimmetrico (2023, Il Mulino, Bologna) and “From Mario Draghi to Giorgia Meloni: Domestic Political Change and Management of International Crises” (Contemporary Italian Politics, 2023). Rinaldo Vignati is Research Fellow at the University of Bologna and collaborates with the Research Foundation Carlo Cattaneo Institute, Italy. He has published on politics and film history. He is Co-editor of La prova del No. Il sistema politico italiano dopo il referendum costituzionale (2017, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli) and Il vicolo cieco. Le elezioni del 4 marzo 2018 (2018, Il Mulino, Bologna) and Author of Indro Montanelli e il cinema (2019, Mimesis, Milano-Udine).