REFAT is an international network of scholars from various countries (Brazil, Italy, Portugal, Spain) to promote scientific research on the history of 20th century dictatorships and the transitions to democracy, in a comparative perspective.
REFAT is the acronym for:
REsearch network for the study of Fascisms, Authoritarianisms, Totalitarianisms, and transitions to democracy
REte per lo studio di Fascismi, Autoritarismi, Totalitarismi e transizioni alla democrazia
Rede de Estudo dos Fascismos, Autoritarismos, Totalitarismos e transições para democracia
Red para el Estudio de los Fascismos, Autoritarismos, Totalitarismos y transiciones a la democracia
Our History
The date of birth of REFAT as association is 2016, when the Constitution of the network were approved. However, the origins date back to 2005, when Alberto De Bernardi (Università di Bologna), Luís Reis Torgal (Universidade de Coimbra) and Maria Luiza Tucci Carneiro (Universidade de São Paulo) organised a first international conference, involving a group of scholars interested in comparing the Right-Wing dictatorships of the 20th Century.
Afterwards, the three academic units (Brazilian, Italian and Portuguese) continued to organise a cycle of annual conferences, each held at different venues, expanding the participation to further scholars from various universities. Since 2011, thanks to the attendance of Alberto Pena Rodríguez (Universidade de Vigo), a Spanish unit has also joined the network.
At the meeting in Rio de Janeiro 2015, in order to promote the activities of the network, the four national units decided to formalise their partnership, establishing an international academic centre, which, in the following year, was named Research Network for the Study of Fascisms, Authoritarianisms, Totalitarianisms, and Transitions to Democracy (REFAT).
Our Aims
The main purpose of REFAT is to promote exchange of knowledge and to foster collaboration between scholars from different countries, interested in historical research on fascism, authoritarianism, totalitarianism and transitions to democracy. REFAT also aims to support research, teaching, and dissemination of historical knowledge about 20th century history and its dictatorial experiences. To this end, the proceedings of all REFAT’s conferences have been published since the first meeting and are available on this website in open access.
Our Topics
From the beginning, each conference focused on a specific topic related to the history of the Right-Wing dictatorships in the various countries of the network. In a comparative and transnational approach, REFAT deals with these main themes:
- institutions and policies
- violence and repression
- ideology and political culture
- propaganda and consensus
- social changes and mass culture
- heritage and memory
Organisation
Direction Board
Coordinator: Alberto De Bernardi
Vice-Coordinators: Luciano Aronne de Abreu, João Paulo Avelãs Nunes
Scientific Board
Gilvan Dockhorn, Mirco Dondi, Alessio Gagliardi, Álvaro Garrido, Emilio Grandío Seoane, Tatyana de Amaral Maia, Carme Molinero, Matteo Pasetti, Heloisa Paulo, Alberto Pena Rodríguez, Luís Reis Torgal, Marco Aurélio Vannucchi
Unit Coordinators
Brazil: Luciano Aronne de Abreu
Italy: Matteo Pasetti
Portugal: João Paulo Avelãs Nunes
Spain: Alberto Pena Rodríguez