'Pump!': The Construction of Fascist Personalities in the Italian Armed Forces

Through ethnographic analysis of a paratrooper brigade in Italy, we contribute to the study of cultural transmission from the military to the police. In doing so, we recuperate a classic but controversial theory of the authoritarian personality (Adorno et al. 1950). The specific attention to fascism here is necessitated by fascist self- representation in the military and police, and its historical roots in the Fascist regime. Though, owing to its multifaceted and protean nature, no comprehensive definition of fascism is possible (Eco 1995, 5; Payne 1983), fascism can be understood relative to esthetics, political affinity, and racialization. In contemporary Italian armed forces, fascist symbolism and folklore (salutes, marches, songs, tattoos, etc.) are widespread. This accords with a typically fascist esthetic based on romantic symbolism, a positive view of violence, and the promotion of masculinity and charismatic leadership (Renton 1999). In terms of political affiliation, 23.4% of soldiers define themselves as far right and 39.6% as right-wingers (Caforio and Nuciari 2011). The struggle for nation and race supremacy is fundamental to fascists (Ebenstein 1964). The military and police, still overwhelmingly comprised of white nationals, are thereby loci within which a cult of nation and race can be practiced.