Italian universities,Fascism and the promotion of corporative studies

This article deals with a specific aspect of the development of corporativism as ‘unofficial’ doctrine of Fascist Italy: its presence in Italian universities. It argues that corporatist schools followed the fortune of the ideals they were called to represent, which were definitely eclipsed by the mid-1930s, when the economic crisis called for more direct and effective forms of state intervention in economic life. In the universities, the rise of corporativism as a specific field of study, and the broader project of creating an ideologically educated future ruling class, challenged the domination exercised by the powerful faculties of law in particular, which traditionally were the key paths for access to the legal profession and the civil service. The resistance of the conservative university establishment meant that the plans to promote corporatist curricula had failed well before the fall of the regime, but many of those appointed to teach Corporative Studies under Fascism maintained their academic positions in Italy's ‘de-Fascistized’ post-war law faculties, and made innovative contributions to Italian social and economic thought.     

Italian Fascism and the Portuguese Estado Novo: international claims and national resistance

ABSTRACT

Taking into consideration the transnational dimension of Fascism that had its epicentre in Italy ? as Mussolini’s purpose of “marching throughout the streets of Europe and the World” plainly illustrates ? this article explores the connections between the Italian Fascist regime and the Portuguese Estado Novo during the interwar period. From the moment Fascism became attractive for Portuguese intellectuals, state officers, and politicians, until it became a colonial threat to the Portuguese empire, the cultural diplomacy apparatuses of the two countries will be analysed from a balanced, bi-lateral perspective, encompassing actors, transferences, and resistances.     

Avant-garde modernism and Italian Fascism: cultural politics in the era of Mussolini

The article explores the efforts of Marinetti's futurists, Sarfatti's Novecento movement, and the Tuscan circle that propounded strapaese to shape a cultural basis for Italian Fascism. The first two movements sought to become an official art for Fascism, while the third sought to produce a culture that would remain true to Fascism's origins in 1919, but all were in different ways 'modernist' movements and they are therefore contextualized both in terms of the challenge presented by Fascism and those faced by their modernist counterparts elsewhere in Europe. It is argued that the three movements enjoyed some success in the 1920s but were effectively shut down by the rise of the intransigent Right in the 1930s. Yet it is also argued that they needed the regime because they were too weak by themselves to assert the principle of artistic autonomy in the face of an internationally ascendant commodity culture. L'articolo esplora i tentativi dei futuristi facenti capo a Marinetti, del movimento Novecento di Sarfatti, così come del circolo toscano detto di Strapaese, nel costruire e definire le basi culturali del fascismo italiano. I primi due movimenti cercarono di costituire un'arte ufficiale del fascismo, mentre la terza si protese a far nascere una cultura che rimanesse legata alle origini del movimento fascista del 1919; ma tutti erano, in maniera diversa, movimenti 'modernisti' e sono qui tra l'altro posti sia nel contesto del cambiamento, nel clima politico e culturale, rappresentato dal fascismo che in quello degli altri movimenti modernisti europei. Viene messo in evidenza che i tre movimenti ottennero un discreto successo negli anni venti, ma furono censurati da una destra intransigente che emergeva negli anni trenta. Tuttavia, è possibile affermare che tutti e tre i movimenti avevano bisogno del Regime perché troppo deboli ed incapaci di consolidare un principio di autonomia artistica nei confronti di una emergente cultura consumista nel contesto internazionale.     

Parties,Participation and Outcomes: The 2008 Victorian Local Government Elections

In November 2008, voters in Victoria participated in local government elections under a system that has been subject to significant reform since the 1980s. This paper seeks to discern trends from the outcomes and identify significant structural features of the reformed system. With regards to outcomes, the paper highlights the high success rate amongst incumbent councillors and the strong sense of successful candidates being independent of political parties. The paper argues that these outcomes have been particularly influenced by the proliferation of electoral districts with relatively small voting populations or by the use of multimember electoral systems in larger districts. The variety of systems used underpins a localised and ‘clientelist’ politics that militates against the dominance of political parties over the contest. The paper also draws attention to the comparatively low rate of voter participation in an election in which compulsory voting applies. It argues that voter absenteeism was particularly noticeable in municipalities with large numbers of residents renting properties and might be explained as a form of ‘renters’ illusion’ impacting on voting behaviour.     

试论中间内阁与法西斯主义

“所谓中间内阁,是在要求变革或维持现状这两种相反的主张与行动中,倾向于维持现状,并想使两者妥协而产生的。”1932年的“5．15”事件,为战前日本的政党内阁划上了休止符,此后到1936年“2．26”事件后建立的完全听命于军部的广田内阁止,共有斋藤实和冈田启介两届中间内阁。…………     

意大利与20世纪的法西斯主义

法西斯主义于20世纪初渊源于意大利。墨索里尼作为开山鼻祖,对法西斯主义思潮、运动和体制在国际范围的滋生与泛滥起了先导作用,他于1922年10月率先在意大利建立人类历史上第一个法西斯政权。     

两战间的日本法西斯主义及其对外扩张理论

两次世界大战之间的二三十年代,法西斯主义在日本兴起。法西斯主义不仅改变了日本的社会政治,更提出了一系列扩张理论,强化了近代军国主义确立以来的对外侵略政策,为发动第二次世界大战从多方面作了社会动员与理论准备。由近代军国主义体制的制约,新兴法西斯主义可以区分为民间(即不穿军装的)法西斯与军队法西斯两大类别。借对外战争实现其大陆侵略政策,同时反击民主派势力,这是军部法西斯与民间法西斯势力的主要契合点。日本法西斯扩张理论的基本特点在于,为论证对外战争的必要性,最大限度动员民众投入战争,它们遍及思想文化各领域,花样繁多、内容庞杂。既有对于传统武士道、日本主义、天皇中心论等思想的兼收并蓄,更主要是一批现代法西斯理论家、活动家针对时局提出各种论述,以及军部各决策机构制定策案纲要所确认的指导思想,表述形式五花八门,极富于诡辩性、多样性、独特性、应用性与丰富性。     

The Signing of the Sino-Iranian Treaty of 1920

This article looks at the efforts China and Iran made towards strengthening themselves and their search for independence and integrity after the First World War. Since the nineteenth century, the two countries had been in a similar situation, under pressure from treaties and rivalries with European powers. The change of the world order brought about by the 1914–18 war created an opportunity for China and Iran to claim back their rights, such as ending extra-territoriality. After the war, the Fourteen Points drawn up by the American president, Woodrow Wilson, gave hope for China and Iran to maintain their independence and integrity. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, China and Iran made both gains and losses. China was unable to solve the Shandong Problem but became one of the founding members of the League of Nations, while Iran did not get access to the Peace Conference but obtained Britain’s assurance of independence and integrity by signing the Anglo-Iranian Treaty of 1919, and then joined the League of Nations. China and Iran attempted to bring about cooperation between Asian countries, and therefore signed a treaty in 1920. The significance of the treaty was that the two countries agreed not to grant extra-territoriality to each other, which was what both countries were seeking to achieve at that time.     

By‐Elections and Political Change in a Local Context: The Case of the 1973 Dundee East By‐Election and the SNP

With their unpredictability and occurrence in between nationwide elections, by‐elections have attracted a degree of scholarly interest. However, this has focused almost exclusively on how the contests have affected, or failed to affect, the direction of national politics. This article seeks to, instead, explore their influence upon the locality in which they are fought. It will achieve this through an analysis of the 1973 Dundee East by‐election and its consequences for the development of the local Scottish National Party (SNP). Prior to the by‐election, the party had not been particularly strong in Dundee. Yet the contest provided a setting in which it was able to transform itself into one of the most effective Nationalist organisations in Scotland, capable of cementing an SNP MP in the constituency from 1974 until 1987, holding firm against the collapse in the party's support across the country in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The article will examine the extent to which this resistance to the national swing was facilitated by the legacies of the by‐election and the extent to which its wider footprint contributed towards the development of an enduring party tradition that has persisted for decades.