The Seizure of Power: Fascism in Italy, 1919-1929

by Lyttelton; ADRIAN

• ISBN13: 9780714654737
• ISBN10: 0714654736
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-07-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The Seizure of Power is a study of Fascism in the country of its origin, Italy. Adrian Lyttelton examines the origins and growth of the fascist movement, explaining the contribution made by different social groups to its ideology and actions. The stages by which Mussolini achieved his position of absolute power are analyzed in detail, and Professor Lyttelton traces the evolution of the Fascist party after 1922. He shows how, despite Fascist aspirations to totalitarianism - a term Mussolini virtually invented - that power, even at its greatest, was limited, although a system of controls created by the Fascists in many ways anticipated that set up in Nazi Germany. This is a revised and updated third edition of this classic work of wide-ranging scholarship. Republished and with a new preface by the author, it will be essential reading for all students of Fascism and international history.

Author Biography

Adrian Lyttelton is currently Adjunct Professor of History, John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Bologna Center.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Back to the Future?: Coming to Terms with Italy's Fascist Past	ix
Series Editor's Preface	xv
Introduction	1	(14)
The Crisis of the Liberal State	15	(27)
The Rise of the Fascist Movement	42	(35)
The March on Rome	77	(17)
Mussolini and his Allies	94	(27)
Normalization	121	(28)
The Party and the State (I)	149	(30)
The Party and the State (II)	179	(23)
Employers and Unions	202	(35)
The Matteotti Crisis	237	(32)
The Defeat of the Party	269	(39)
The Origins of the Corporate State	308	(25)
The Fascist Economy	333	(31)
Ideology and Culture	364	(30)
Propaganda and Education	394	(22)
The Regime	416	(19)
Afterword	435	(9)
Map: the Fascist takeover of local power	444	(3)
Abbreviations	447	(2)
Notes	449	(76)
Bibliography	525	(18)
Index	543