The Movement of 1990 in Italy: Prelude to a New Radical Left?

Known as la Pantera, the Italian movement of 1990 has been an attempt to reshape identity, goals, and militant practices of the radical left. The experiment largely failed, but represents a fascinating laboratory for the reconfiguration of contentious politics after the global crisis of 1989 and the trauma of the years of terrorism in Italy. This short essay explains how a generation of student rebels made it through those difficult times for the Left and succeeded in putting forth a set of radical and innovative issues.