In God's country: State, society and democracy in the Italian election of 1948

This thesis examines the role of the Italian parliamentary election of 1948 in the origins of the postwar Italian Republic. It tells the story of the re-birth of democracy in Italy after some twenty years of Fascist dictatorship through the lens of this election, the first of the Republican era. The 1948 election was not so much about “issues” as it was about “ideology,” a clash between competing visions of Italian society—a conservative, Catholic, capitalist Italy envisioned by the governing Christian Democrats; and a revolutionary, secular, socialist Italy envisioned by the opposition Marxist Popular Front. This clash of visions left little room for any middle ground as each camp sought power through the ballot box.; Although this election is widely acknowledged as a decisive moment in contemporary Italian history, there is still no comprehensive study of this crucial event. Most scholarly studies focus on one aspect or another of this controversial episode, and are often article-length. More generally, the historical literature on the topic is highly descriptive in nature, ignoring the relevance of the election to broader questions of postwar Italian political culture and behaviour, and the functioning of Italian democracy after Fascism.; This thesis breaks new ground by providing a multi-layered analysis of a political event. It seeks to widen the conventional presentation of political history, weaving together the broad political and diplomatic narrative of 1948, with the social and psychological dimensions of the election at the grassroots.; A central concern of the thesis is the evolution of a democratic political culture and institutions in Italy after 1945. Examining the transition from dictatorship to democracy, the cultural and institutional legacy of Fascism in the democratic transition, it also considers the 1948 campaign as a formative moment in the political socialization of Italians to the democratic process after two decades of Fascist rule.; The thesis also documents the international context in which the vote took place. Italian events are placed in a broader European setting as the continent emerged from years of dictatorship and war. The wider Cold War context of the vote is also considered. Coming on the heels of the Truman Doctrine, and given Italy's strategic position in the middle of western Europe, and at the heart of the Mediterranean basin, the 1948 election can be seen as a prism through which the growing tensions of the nascent Cold War were refracted.