ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 outlines the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological starting points of the study. The chapter is divided into four sections: the first contextualizes CasaPound with respect to existing literature on far-right politics, accounting for the scientific contribution of this book to ongoing debates within political science, sociology, and contemporary history. The second section presents the main argument and research question of the book. Combining both electoral and non-electoral perspectives on the impact of the far right on representative democracy, the chapter argues that the high profile currently enjoyed by CPI in the Italian public debate is explained by its strategy of hybridization. The notion of hybridization informs the five crucial aspects of CasaPound politics, which are at the core of the empirical analysis: the group’s ideology, its internal structure, activism, mobilization and communication. The third section outlines the research design, empirical base, and mixed-methods employed in the study. The fourth section provides an outline of the book.
