Mussolini

Description

Benito Mussolini was a brilliant Socialist journalist who in 1914 declared war, put himself at the head if the anti-Socialist movement in Italy, manoeuvred himself into power by 1933 and ruled the country until overthrown in 1943. He was a dynamic but insecure personality, who appeared dictatorial but always had to share power with the military and bureaucratic establishment. Mussolini founded an Empire in Africa and tried to 'make Italians' in his own heroic, war like image, but in fact failed to even control his own family! In June 1940, when France fell, he could not resist joining in the Second World War on the German side, although Italy was not equipped for serious fighting. His rule ended in Military disaster and personal humiliation. This new biography focuses both on Mussolini's personality and on the way he exercised power, and regards these two issues as closely linked. It sees him as a man with all the talents needed to attain power but few of those needed to exercise it well. This book primarily focuses on how Mussolini had absolutely the wrong personality for a successful political leader. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgements Glossary and Abbreviations Introduction Mussolini: Personality and Power 1 Early Years and the Great War 1883-1918 The Rise to Fame The Duce of Socialism A Voice Prophesying War A Good War 2 Manoeuvres to Power 1918-22 Peace and Adversity Vigilantes and Violence A Man of Peace The March on Rome 3 Precarious Tenure 1922-4 The Honeymoon Period Creating a Majority The Matteotti Crisis 4 Making the Fascist State 1925-9 The Uses of Assassination Taming the Fascists Innovation at Last The Great 'Reconciliation' Conclusion 5 Targets and 'Battles' 1925-35 'The Battle for the Lira' 'The Battle Against the Mafia' 'The Battle for Wheat' 'The Battle for Births' Marching in Rome Summary 6 At the Height of his Power? The Regime and the Duce 1929-35 Family and Personality Government and Colleagues Party Matters Coping with Depression Workers' Playtime The Ideological Front: Myths and Image Conclusion: Consensus or Repression? 7 The Duce Abroad: Propaganda, Peacemaking and War 1922-36 From Lausanne to Locarno 1922-5 From Locarno to Rome 1926-35 From Rome to Addis Ababa, via Stresa 1935-6 The Triumph of the Duce? 8 Electing a New People 1936-40 The Duce's Cultural Revolution Economic Problems Race and Religion The Ciano Cabinet A Warrior Race? 9 The Approach of War 1936-40 The Spanish Civil War and the Axis 1938: The Anschluss and Easter From Munich to the Pact of Steel 1938-9 Keeping Out of War: Summer 1939 Joining After All: Spring 1940 Conclusion 10 The Duce at War 1940-3 Italy's Campaigns The Duce as War Leader Arms and the Man Morale and the Home Front Decline and Fall of a Roman Empire 11 The Years of Captivity 1943-5 From Ponza to the Gran Sasso A Republic at Salò The Trial of Verona Disillusion and Disorder The Last Months at Salò 1944-5 From Milan to Dongo, and Back Conclusion: Debates Among Historians Chronology Index