The Political Legacy of Nazi Annexation

War violence, nationalism, and party support: Evidence from Italy

“…This result expands the existing empirical literature, which has often focused on cases in which there was some continuity between conflicting factions and post-conflict parties (Balcells 2012;Rozenas et al 2017;Tur-Prats and Valencia Caicedo 2020;Martínez 2021). It also expands the empirical literature on war legacies in post-war politics in Italy, which have demonstrated the consequences of Nazi occupation on the stable success of parties that embody the Resistance movement Ruggeri 2015, 2019;Fontana et al 2018;Cannella et al 2021). Finally, we contribute to the scholarship on the social roots of support for radical anti-immigration parties in contemporary Europe: by focusing on the conditional legacies of World War II violence, we highlight that historical experiences of war may shape the voting predisposition of local communities, although in possibly unexpected ways.…”

“…When victimization affects entire social groups or communities, the shared experience of adverse circumstances can also bond people to their group, fostering the development of a collective identity. Thus, violence with an ethnic component can leave a legacy of ethnic parochialism and mistrust towards outgroup members (Nunn and Wantchekon 2011;Besley and Reynal-Querol 2014;Lupu and Peisakhin 2017;Hadzic et al 2020;Hiers et al 2017;Soehl and Karim 2021), and distinct patterns of political behaviour (Rozenas et al 2017;Fontana et al 2018;Cannella et al 2021;Martínez 2021).…”

Collective Memories of Violence and Political Attitudes: Evidence from a World War II Frontline

“…The share of respondents reporting knowledge of those events reaches 75%, among those who were born or residents in municipalities directly affected by CEF violence (Appendix Figure A.6). 10 Moreover, 20% of respondents in the full sample and 29% of those from CEF towns reported knowing of someone who was victimized in their extended network (family, community, or families of known people).…”