The Crisis of Liberal Italy

An important interpretation of the crisis in Italian politics which led, eventually, to the rise of Italian fascism.

Douglas J. Forsyth (Author)

9780521891615, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 6 June 2002

384 pages, 3 b/w illus. 23 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.673 kg

'Forsyth's study is impressively researched, well organized and clearly written.' Christopher Duggan, The Times Literary Supplement

In this major interpretation of the crisis of democracy in Italy after World War I, Douglas Forsyth uses unpublished documents in Italy's central state archives, as well as private papers, diplomatic and bank archives in Italy, France, Britain and the United States, to analyse monetary and financial policy in Italy from the outbreak of war until the march on Rome. The study focuses on real and perceived conflicts and often painful choices between great power politics, economic growth, macroeconomic stabilisation and the preservation or strengthening of democratic consensus. The key issue explored is why governments in Italy after World War I, although headed by left-liberal reformers, were unable to press ahead with the democratic reformism which had characterised the so-called 'Giolittian era', 1901–1914. Their failure paved the way for parliamentary deadlock and Mussolini's seizure of power.

Part I. Giolittian Italy, 1901–1914: 1. The political economy of Giolittian Italy: the dilemmas of welfare, warfare and development
Part II. World War I, August 1914–November 1918: 2. The collapse of the Italian fiscal system
3. The limits of state borrowing capacity
4. Monetary policy and the banking system
5. International accounts: Italy's loss of financial independence
Part III. The Post-War Crisis, November 1918–October 1922: 6. A difficult readjustment: the political economy of the Orlando and Nitti governments, November 1918–June 1920
7. From Giolitti to Mussolini: monetary and financial stabilisation, and political collapse
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]