Constructing identity through conflict as a discursive strategy of the Italian Right

At present, we are witnessing another wave of expansion of right-wing sentiments in Europe and beyond, which has already influenced the outcomes of most national European elections in recent years and the 2024 European Parliament elections. The right-wing populists from the Brothers of Italy managed to maintain an unequivocal leadership position under objectively challenging circumstances two years after their triumph in the national parliamentary elections, which allowed them to form and lead the country's government. The author suggests that one of the factors behind their success is the skillfully implemented discursive strategies by this political force. The subject of this study is the strategy of constructing and maintaining conflict, which dominates the discourse of the party and its leader, Giorgia Meloni. The main results were obtained through qualitative discourse analysis of materials posted on the party's official social media pages, official speeches, and public interviews. The novelty of the research lies in the selection of current examples of right-wing discourse for critical analysis, and the results can be used in comparative studies of populist discourse and self-presentation strategies of European right-wing forces. In particular, it was found that the Brothers of Italy largely build their identity on conflicts that are consistently maintained in their discourse. The multiplicity of constructed conflicts and the subjects assigned the role of opponents are of fundamental importance. Special attention in the study was given to the politics of memory. For the first time in domestic literature, the structure and functions of the "martyrology" inherited by the Brothers of Italy from the post-fascist Italian Social Movement are described. According to the author, a consciously constructed conflict is also present in this sphere; however, the ultimate goal is not confrontation but the legitimization of the past of right-wing parties.

Italy, right-wing populism, far-right parties, Brothers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, conflict, political discourse, politics of memory, identity, ideology