Davide Angelo Grippa (Università Degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale, lecturer and associate researcher at the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities) analyzes and comments on one of the most famous speeches by the Italian lawyer, editor, journalist, thinker and representative Giacomo Matteotti. The speech “against every form of violence” was delivered at a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies on 31 January 1921. It would possibly have been the most notable institutional intervention by the deputy Matteotti (spokesperson for the United Socialist Party) if he had not given his speech on the modification of the electoral regulations of 30 May 1924 (with tragic consequences a few days later). Taking advantage of the inertia of the anti-war rhetoric of the 1910s, the multi-talented Matteotti gave a speech at the congress warning of the danger of the advancement of the fascist movement. This kind of transformation has been explained by many historians as a transfer of the militaristic violence of the First World War to the daily life of post-war Italy. Professor Davide Grippa, in his comments as editor, considers mythical speech to be an essential intellectual element for understanding fascist violence. This editorial project is also inspired by other texts that analyze violence from different angles in order to try to clarify the most blurred aspects of its ideological nature and its dynamics of action, taking as case studies the brutality of squadrism in Polesine and the fascist obsession with undermining the institutions of the liberal State from within.

From Matteotti's theoretical positions on the promotion of a culture of peace and democratic values, an attempt is made to shed light on the methodology of fascist behavior and the logic of the exercise of violence by its "squadrist" groups, as well as to outline the belief system of moderate socialism of those years. In May 2024, Professor Davide Grippa published an analytical edition on the occasion of the commemorations of the centenary of the state crime, extolling the full depth of Matteotti's ideological legacy, highlighting the peaceful and democratic model of progressive circles in the 1920s. The editorial comments pay special attention to the theoretical debates of historians and jurists on Matteotti's speeches and how the reformist vocation of that generation of left-wing parties tried to put a stop to the institutional abuses of fascism in a context of the decomposition of the liberal monarchy of Victor Emmanuel III.

Contro ogni forma di violenza is composed of an editorial note as an introduction and four sections: “Socialist Motion Against Every Form of Violence,” “Violence in Polesine,” “Relationships between the Powers” and “Matteotti and Davide Grippa’s Non-Violence.” The text contains Giacomo Matteotti’s arguments in favour of legal reform and the strengthening of democratic instruments for the organisation and management of the State. In a transversal manner, all the sections of the book highlight the historical significance of Matteotti’s theoretical concepts on democracy and dictatorship. The book reflects on the action of propaganda in a dictatorial context; on how shortcomings and inefficiencies are hidden from the whole of the citizenry while an alternative reality is being constructed. On the contrary, a democratic system always reveals the weaknesses of the State since pluralistic thinking and freedom of expression often reveal the things that do not work in public administration and the contradictions of political representatives. In this sense, it is clear that the story of the great communicative, economic and social achievements of a dictatorship is often a rhetorical device to modify the citizens' perception of reality.

The rise of the fascist movement in the early 1920s was the result of the exploitation of economic fears and cultural prejudices in post-war Italy in which, after a nationalist paroxysm, a great collective trauma and an institutional situation of uncertainty began a historical process in which the simplification of political reality propelled fascism as a massive ideological phenomenon. From the first months of Benito Mussolini's great popularity among conservative circles, Giacomo Matteotti warned of the danger posed by the rise to power of the “blackshirts” and of the devastating potential of a system of beliefs that dehumanized political adversaries and extolled the use of violence to achieve their goals. Professor Grippa, grouping together the great historiographical consensuses on leadership in the Italian nation during the first half of the twentieth century, contextualizes the relationship between Matteotti's philosophical-legal interpretation of non-violence and Mussolini's ideas of institutional power, national identity and social order.

Without any doubt, Matteotti's speech — “against all forms of violence” on January 31, 1921 — broadly defined the methodology and logic of the fascist phenomenon. In this mythical speech, the general climate of violence that had broken out in all regions of the country was denounced, while warning of the devastating consequences of Duce's coming to power would have. Hypothetically, the model of reformist socialism defended by the Italian deputy considered that an executive action that systematically glorified violence would destroy all the democratic foundations of the country. The electoral potential of fascist messages clothed in patriotic sentiments and national symbols was also noted as well as the many possibilities that the fascist movement had to become consolidated in the police, judicial and governmental structures of the Kingdom of Italy. With the perspective that the passage of time provides, the speech in question seems to have “prophetic” elements since at the time of its delivery, the march on Rome (27-29 October 1922) and the institutional spread of the National Fascist Party had not yet taken place.

It is important to determine the context in which this editorial project took shape. Coinciding with the anniversary of Mussolini's rise to power and the construction of the fascist State, both within and outside of Italy, analogies are being raised with the current political drift since the strength of the ultra-right and ultra-nationalist movements affects all regions of the globe. Professor Davide Grippa, like many other researchers of the social sciences and communication professionals, seems to have the aim of warning of the danger represented by the spread of fascist ideology. As in the 1920s and 1930s, the new manifestations of authoritarian governance and referential hate speech are becoming the intellectual beacon of the new generations of authoritarian political representatives since banal and irrational violence continues to be trivialized, justified and glorified. In turn, this methodology of internal violence ends up feeding into militaristic positions and warmongering sentiments. At the level of psychosocial impact, media dysfunctions can unintentionally contribute to the systematic dissemination of neo-fascist ideology.