Protesting for Protest: Countering Illiberal Restrictions to Democracy in Italy

The right to protest in Italy has increasingly come under attack. This is the culmination of years of gradual limitations, unfolding alongside the growing influence of the far right. A series of so-called “security decrees” restricted the space for civil society. Most notably, the latest one, approved in 2025 by the government led by Giorgia Meloni and her far-right party, Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), represents the most consequential among them; it introduces harsher penalties for common protest practices, such as roadblocks, strengthens preventive policing and judicial measures, and expands police powers. Several NGOs have criticized the bill, describing it as “the largest and most threatening attack on protest freedoms in the history of the Italian Republic.” This legislation, part of a broader trajectory by far-right incumbents to criminalize dissent, has triggered a nationwide wave of contention. Mobilizations began in July 2024, intensifying in frequency and territorial scope during the autumn, and continuing to this day. These protests involve a heterogeneous array of collective actors - including institutional and non-institutional actors, confederal and independent unions, and radical and moderate groups - engaging in a diverse range of practices. This article investigates the dynamics of these responses to illiberal restrictions on the right to protest using a mixed-methods approach. It combines Protest Event Analysis with in-depth interviews with activists to map the actors, the repertoires, and the claims raised in the mobilizations, while also providing insider perspectives on protest dynamics. The study responds to a call in the literature to examine responses to autocratic pressures, offering insights into grassroots mobilizations against illiberal trends and decreasing spaces for civic space and civil society activity in Italy.