Modern Italy's Founding Fathers: The Making of a Postwar Republic

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Modern Italy's Founding Fathers offers a fresh perspective on the genesis of the Italian republic as viewed through the efforts of its three most influential leaders: Christian Democrat Alcide De Gasperi, Socialist Pietro Nenni and Communist Palmiro Togliatti. In concise, accessible prose, this work demonstrates how De Gasperi the Republics inaugural prime minister from 1945 to 1953 and his fellow statesmens shared experience of Fascist oppression, belief in popular sovereignty, and ability to compromise despite deep ideological differences, enabled the creation of Italys post-war republic. This path-breaking collective biography traces the genesis of the Italian republic, commencing with the overthrow of Mussolini in 1943 and concluding with the death of De Gasperi in 1954. Drawing on the speeches, writings and personal papers of the three protagonists, on Italian and U.S. archives, on contemporary memoirs and on secondary scholarship, Steven F. White demonstrates how these leaders forged political practices and customs which continue to define Italian parliamentary life to the present day. Examining the interplay of personalities, leadership styles, ideas and political context, this study is a vital text for any student of modern Italy and, more broadly, of Cold War Europe.

Reviews

Modern Italy's Founding Fathers reads the rebirth of Italian Democracy through the three major figures acting in the postwar rebuilding: De Gasperi, Nenni, and Togliatti. In doing so, White investigates this melting pot of a political system with a comprehensive and detailed interpretation that goes beyond the old ideological approaches of partisan historiography. * Paolo Pombeni, Emeritus Professor of the History of Political Systems, University of Bologna, Italy *
Steven F. White offers a valuable new contribution to the scholarship on Modern Italy by refocusing attention on individual historical actors in shaping the course of events. His book, in particular, illuminates the decisive role played by a trio of ideologically diverse political leaders in guiding their country during the extremely difficult transition from Fascist dictatorship, military defeat, and insipient civil war to Italys current democratic republic in the first years after World War II. * Anthony L. Cardoza, Professor of Modern European History, Loyola University Chicago, USA *
In an unusual group biography, Steven F. White analyzes the thinking and compromises of three ideological antagonists who fashioned Italy into a democratic republic following twenty years of Fascist dictatorship and wartime defeat. A detailed description of Italian postwar development, Whites book will appeal to academics and students unfamiliar with this period in the countrys history. * Spencer M. Di Scala, Professor of History Emeritus, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA *
More than a collective biography of the Italian Republics key figures, Whites book illuminates the political friendships, and rivalries, that shaped the recreation of democracy in this formerly Fascist country. Deftly balancing the interplay between individual choices and larger historical forces, Whites portrayal of the Republics early years as a personal-political drama will captivate students and specialists alike. * Rhiannon Evangelista, Assistant Professor of History, Georgia State University Perimeter College, USA *

Author Bio

Steven F. White is an independent historian. The recipient of two Fulbright awards and a research fellowship at European University Institute, he has taught at the University of Virginia, Averett University, the University of Perugia, Mount St. Mary's University and the U.S. State Department's Foreign Service Institute. He has published widely on modern Italian history, including Progressive Renaissance: America and the Reconstruction of Italian Education, 1943-1962 (1991).