Blackshirts Dictatorship - Armed Squads, Political Violence, Consolidation of Mussolinis Regime

On October 1922 Mussolini became head of the Italian government, a situation that would last for twenty years. That power was obtained was largely due to the widespread violence perpetrated by blackshirts throughout Italy (squadristi). Violence however did not end. Old and new blackshirts played a major role in making Italy a fascist country. Contrary to the claims of many scholars that have depicted blackshirts after the March on Rome only as troublemakers for Mussolini, the book shows that they played a crucial role in establishing a full and totalitarian dictatorship. Squadristi carried out processes of fascistisation, crushed opponents and convinced bystanders and dubious people, consolidating fascist power in many aspects of social, political and even intimate life. By resorting to new archives, a long chronology and a focus on individual perspectives, this book gives voice to the perpetrators of fascist violence and offers new insights into the lives of squadristi throughout the dictatorship, outlining their beliefs, outlooks and expectations. The book shows that post-1922 squadrismo was not a side effect of Fascism's twenty-year history. On the contrary, violence represents one of the essential components of any definition of Italian Fascism.

List of contents

Introduction 1. A Fascist "Revolution"? 2. The Phenomenology of Post-March Violence 3. New Expeditions 4. Controlling the Territory 5. The Fall of the Gods 6. Squadristi at the Confino 7. Long-Standing Squadristi. Conclusion

About the author

Matteo Millan is Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Padua, Italy.

Summary

Based on new documents and innovative methods, the book investigates the long and controversial trajectory of the Blackshirts throughout the lifetime of the fascist regime.

Product details

• Authors: Matteo Millan, Matteo (University of Padova Millan
• Assisted by: Sergio Knipe (Translation), Knipe Sergio (Translation)
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.03.2022
• EAN: 9781032224466
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3222446-6
• No. of pages: 248
• Series: Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; European History, HISTORY / General, 20th Century, Nationalism, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, HISTORY / Jewish, HISTORY / Europe / Italy, Italy, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, Colonialism & imperialism, Fascism & Nazism, Second World War, Colonialism and imperialism, Far-right political ideologies and movements, Modern warfare, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / Holocaust