In the Society of Fascists: Acclamation, Acquiescence, and Agency in Mussolini’s Italy (Italian and Italian American Studies)

This work seeks to take a fresh look at the contentious question of the longevity and popularity of Mussolini's regime in Italy. In particular, it draws upon new research to challenge what has been the most influential paradigm over the last couple of decades, namely, the interpretation of Italian fascism as a consensual dictatorship. It has been a commonplace in Italian scholarship that Fascism enjoyed its long tenure not through terror but because of widespread popular consensus. By contrast a recent wave of research has reintroduced the notion of 'totalitarianism' to discussions of Mussolini's regime-yet often without testing the degree of active participation or opposition. So what was the relationship between Fascists and followers, party and people? Bringing together young Italian scholars-many appearing for the first time in English-engaged in new research on both elites and ordinary people, this volume offers a wide-ranging, in-depth analysis of Italian society's involvement in Fascism It has been a commonplace in Italian scholarship that Fascism enjoyed its long tenure not through terror but because of widespread popular consensus. By contrast a recent wave of research has reintroduced the notion of 'totalitarianism' to discussions of Mussolini's regime - yet often without testing the degree of active participation or opposition. So what was the relationship between Fascists and followers, party and people? Bringing together young Italian scholars - many appearing for the first time in English - engaged in new research on both elites and ordinary people, this volume offers a wide-ranging, in-depth analysis of Italian society's involvement in Fascism Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-28 Borghesi in Uniform....Pages 29-48 Violence and Political Participation during the Rise of Fascism (1919–1926)....Pages 49-68 Consent, Mobilization, and Participation....Pages 69-85 Neither Bluff nor Revolution....Pages 87-107 The Entrepreneurial Bourgeoisie and Fascism....Pages 109-129 The Allure of the Welfare State....Pages 131-148 The “New Racist Man”....Pages 149-168 The Consent of Memory....Pages 169-188 The Royal Army’s Betrayal?....Pages 189-209 Clio among the Camicie Nere....Pages 211-231 Back Matter....Pages 233-252