Mussolini/Italy

Benito Mussolini and Fascist Italy

Introductory Essay with JSTOR Articles

With the introduction of the new syllabus for 2010 exams, Mussolini drops from the SPS list of leaders studied. Consequently, there is less to cover for Mussolini as a subset of Topic 8 in the European Option, which is of interest to HL students.

We can make some generalizations about the upcoming topic... eventhough he isn't included in the SPS roster anymore, Mussolini's rise and subsequent rule was set as an archetype for other rulers to follow, thus he is of importance throughout the SPS (Single Party States) topic. As Mussolini consolidated power, he had to deal with more powerful states in foreign relations, a very powerful Roman Catholic Church, domestic unease and economic challenges due to the Great Depression, the League of Nations and the position Italy would take in a dividing and increasingly hostile 1930s environment.

JSTOR

The following professional journal articles provide depth coverage for most topics listed by the IB syllabus. They are not meant to be read from start to finish but to be used as a resource to examine a topic in further depth. Each article is linked as a PDF document.

The Five Stages of Fascism

Robert O. Paxton

The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 70, No. 1. (Mar., 1998), pp. 1-23.

Introduction: The Genesis of Fascism

George L. Mosse

Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 1, No. 1. (1966), pp. 14-26.

Conquest, Foreign and Domestic, in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany

MacGregor Knox

The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 56, No. 1. (Mar., 1984), pp. 1-57.

I redentori della vittoria: On Fiume's Place in the Genealogy of Fascism

Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht

Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 31, No. 2, Special Issue: The Aesthetics of Fascism. (Apr., 1996), pp. 253-272.