Memoria collettiva e usi simbolici della Resistenza. Un'analisi sociologica tra fondazione ideologica e retorica identitaria

Abstract

This article offers a sociological reflection on the political uses of the memory of the Resistance, conceived both as a social construction and as a resource for legitimation in political conflict. The Resistance is framed as a category of thought that still helps to shape contemporary public discourse—for instance in electoral campaigns and collective mobilizations, but also in media entertainment products.

The analysis distinguishes between two logics through which the memory of the historical Resistance experience is mobilized: an ideological–foundational function in political modernity, and a rhetorical–strategic function in the postmodern phase, marked by storytelling, branding, and the fragmentation of the public sphere.

In conclusion, the article argues that Resistance memory progressively detaches from its historical anchoring to become a contested narrative asset within the “market of meanings,” crucial for understanding the contemporary dialectic between political identity, consensual recognition, and democratic conflict.