Pedro Pablo Garcés Palacios is a predoctoral fellow at the Department of History at the University of Zaragoza. His research focuses on the history of social movements, the cultural history of politics, and transnational history, with particular attention to the study of neofascism and the far right during the Cold War. He is currently pursuing a doctoral dissertation on the political organization Fuerza Nueva from a transnational perspective.
- Pedro Pablo Garcés Palacios: La extrema derecha frente a la cultura durante la Transición: violencia política contra las librerías en Aragón. In Miguel Ángel Ruiz Carnicer and Carlos Domper Lasús (Eds.), Un solo mundo: Actas del XII Congreso de Historia Contemporánea de Aragón, Zaragoza, Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses, 2023, pp. 255–278.
- Pedro Pablo Garcés Palacios: El recuerdo a los nuevos «Caídos por Dios y por España»: Fuerza Nueva y los usos de la muerte. Forthcoming in a collective volumen entitled “La Muerte en la Historia” published by Dykinson.
- Pedro Pablo Garcés Palacios: «Europa está en nuestras manos»: Fuerza Nueva ante Europa y el proceso de integración comunitaria. In Rubén Cabal, Antonio Moreno and Carlos Sanz (Eds.), La prensa española ante el proceso de integración europeo (1975-1996), Comares, Granada, in press.
Transnational Networks and Political Alliances: The Relationship Between the Movimento Sociale Italiano and Fuerza Nueva Through Giorgio Almirante and Blas Piñar.
Neofascism has been defined by its pronounced transnational dimension, weaving intricate networks of cooperation and dissemination through which numerous actors circulated, carrying ideas, narratives, and strategies that helped shape a shared political project and ideological community. Within this global constellation, the Spanish-Italian connection held a prominent place, due to both its continuity and its capacity for adaptation, as highlighted by M. Albanese and P. del Hierro. One of the most significant turning points in this nexus occurred during Spain’s transition, when the collapse of the regime altered internal dynamics and reshaped the logic of its main organizations. In this new scenario, where Spain emerged as a battleground for the survival of neofascism in Europe, the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI) strengthened its ties with groups that had until then remained secondary to the long-standing tradition of the Falange, most notably Fuerza Nueva (FN).
Founded in 1966 as a publishing house aimed at safeguarding the ideological principles that had led to the Civil War, FN operated during the dictatorship as a genuine “clandestine political association,” visible in the organization of rallies and in its wide network of delegations. Its accentuated Falangist stance and ultracatholic mysticism largely stemmed from the imprint of its leader, Blas Piñar, a singular figure within Francoism for remaining on the margins of its political class while criticizing from within what he regarded as distortions of the regime. Although he presided over the Institute of Hispanic Culture and was repeatedly appointed as “National Councillor”, he never reached positions of greater significance, maintaining at the same time an ambivalent relationship with certain sectors of power. These limitations, however, did not prevent him and his movement from being shaped by a web of transnational contacts ranging from Horia Sima to Léon Degrelle.
Thus, in contrast to the fragmentation that characterized other groups, FN’s stronger organizational capacity and its connection with such figures established it as the main reference of the Spanish far right, fostering a rapprochement with the MSI shaped, ultimately, by the active intervention of their leaders, Giorgio Almirante and Blas Piñar, who played a decisive role in consolidating the bond. While the first contacts dated back to the early 1970s, it was from February 1978, with Almirante’s arrival in Madrid to formalize the Eurodestra, that their relationship acquired greater depth. From then on, a close friendship developed, built on mutual admiration and reciprocal interest in each other’s activities, which translated into a steady exchange of support and cooperation.
The relationship must be understood within a context of mutual need, for while FN sought greater international visibility and some degree of protection after Franco’s death, the MSI in turn aimed to consolidate its European leadership. Within this framework, both leaders developed tangible interdependencies, as their decisions, contacts, and discourses tended to reinforce each other. They shared meeting spaces and common projects —such as the Eurodestra— that consolidated the link, while also exerting a mutual influence, more discernible perhaps in Piñar and his conception of Europe. Despite occasional strategic divergences, all of this rested on the shared conviction of belonging to “a single universal army,” united by “the same enemies, the same dangers, and the same values.”
To illuminate this process, decisive sources have been, alongside memoirs and the press, the correspondence and documentation exchanged between Almirante and Piñar, preserved by the latter’s family. In this way, the research highlights the role of both as organizers and promoters of the transnational neofascist network, while also enabling an analysis of the logic of the alliances forged and the meetings held, in order to grasp their impact on the European far right.