1 ‘Cinderella status’
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Jonathan Dunnage
Abstract
This chapter analyses the relationship which developed between the Italian police and fascism, first as a movement, later as a government. Consequently, the Italian Public Security Law of 1865 gave the police the power to impose limits on the rights of free speech, association and public assembly granted by the liberal constitution of 1848. Widespread backing of Benito Mussolini's fascist movement among policemen reflected a culmination in long-term professional malaise which coincided with the acceleration in social tensions characterising the years immediately following the First World War. Police support for the fascist movement was largely a consequence of the institutional crisis faced after the war. Emilio Saracini would subsequently declare that he had experienced Mussolini's ascendancy as a form of liberation, in the belief that it would fulfil his desires for reform.
Abstract
This chapter analyses the relationship which developed between the Italian police and fascism, first as a movement, later as a government. Consequently, the Italian Public Security Law of 1865 gave the police the power to impose limits on the rights of free speech, association and public assembly granted by the liberal constitution of 1848. Widespread backing of Benito Mussolini's fascist movement among policemen reflected a culmination in long-term professional malaise which coincided with the acceleration in social tensions characterising the years immediately following the First World War. Police support for the fascist movement was largely a consequence of the institutional crisis faced after the war. Emilio Saracini would subsequently declare that he had experienced Mussolini's ascendancy as a form of liberation, in the belief that it would fulfil his desires for reform.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- Preface and acknowledgements ix
- Introduction 1
- 1 ‘Cinderella status’ 8
- 2 The ‘fascistisation’ of police culture 37
- 3 Oppression and consensus-building 78
- 4 The performance of Mussolini’s policemen 104
- 5 Personal profiles 135
- 6 Facing the demise of fascism 166
- 7 Conclusion 206
- Select bibliography 223
- Index 229
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- Preface and acknowledgements ix
- Introduction 1
- 1 ‘Cinderella status’ 8
- 2 The ‘fascistisation’ of police culture 37
- 3 Oppression and consensus-building 78
- 4 The performance of Mussolini’s policemen 104
- 5 Personal profiles 135
- 6 Facing the demise of fascism 166
- 7 Conclusion 206
- Select bibliography 223
- Index 229
