Shore, Cris. 2023. Creating a Communist Counterculture? The Successes and Failures of the PCI in Anthropological Perspective. La Ricerca Folklorica(78), pp. 121-127. ISSN 0391-9099 [Article]

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Abstract or Description

Between 1981-1986 I carried out ethnographic research on the PCI in the ‘red-belt’ region of Umbria, focusing on the relationship between party organisation, political ideology and social identity. In that period the PCI was then the largest, and most successful and arguably most innovative communist party in the Western world and Italy’s main opposition party. It had also developed a deep capillary network that extended the party’s cultural influence throughout civil society. The PCI seemed to be pioneering a new model of communism based around the creation of vibrant and attractive communist sub-culture which, in many respects, epitomised Gramsci’s idea of hegemony. The questions that drove my PhD research was ‘what had made the PCI so successful? How had it managed to achieve such an extraordinary level of influence over Italian society? And what lessons could Italian Communism offer to other European socialist parties?’ Today, perhaps the more pertinent question for historians and anthropologists is why did the PCI fail and what drove the party to dissolve itself? Drawing on ethnographic research, I argue that Bourdieu’s (1977) ‘Theory of Practice’ combined with anthropological work on boundary maintenance and ethnicity (Barth 1969, Cohen 1974a; Cohen 1978) provide a useful lens for understanding the PCI’s approach to identity construction, and how some political parties can become successful social movements, at least for a limited time. I also reflect on the PCI’s legacy and consider some of the lessons to be gleaned for anthropology and the study of political parties.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Italian Communist Party; Anthropology of political parties; Eurocommunism; Identity formation; Ethnicity; Habitus; Boundary maintenance
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Anthropology
Dates:	Date Event 2023 Published
Item ID:	37241
Date Deposited:	08 Jul 2024 12:46
Last Modified:	08 Jul 2024 12:46
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/37241

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