Mussolini's Coming to Power in Italy

Paper Summary:

This paper presents some of the conditions that allowed Mussolini to come to power in Italy - originating at its unification. It discusses the complex interplay of different factors that Mussolini was able to gain power. These factors include the First World War and its aftermath and the nature of "fascism" as a set of beliefs. It explains why Mussolini's personal character and his personal and political background are also very important in understanding how he was able to come to power. The complex relationships between the different social and political groups in Italy before Mussolini came to power are also discussed.

From the Paper:

"Nationalization of Italy failed to create a truly unified state. There was little sense of national identity and many people more readily identified with their historic local region than the central government. This was obviously a big weakness in the new Italian state. Among those who did develop a sense of national identity there were immediate expectations of power and greatness. There was also a strong desire to compete with the fellow emerging "new" European country, Germany. This led to a high level of dissatisfaction with the government and the weak monarchy. There was also a big divide economically and socially between the north and south of Italy. A large economic and political gap between the relatively advanced north and the rural south weakened Italy as a cohesive, unified state. "

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