R. J. B. Bosworth | |
---|---|
Born | 7 December 1943 81) Australia | (age
Spouse | Michal Gwyn Newell |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Sydney (BA, MA) University of Cambridge (PhD) |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Oxford (2012–) University of Reading (2007-2011) University of Western Australia (1987–2011) University of Sydney (1969–86) |
Main interests | Italy Italian Fascism |
Notable works | Mussolini (2002) Mussolini's Italy (2005) |
Richard James Boon Bosworth FAHA , FASSA (7 December 1943) is an Australian historian and author,and a leading expert on Benito Mussolini and Fascist Italy,having written extensively on both topics. [1] [2]
Bosworth received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Sydney,before going on to doctoral study at St John's College,Cambridge. He held various teaching positions at the University of Sydney,the University of Western Australia and the University of Reading. He has also held various fellowships,including fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia,fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities,research fellow in the Humanities Research Centre of Australian National University and senior research fellow in history at Jesus College,Oxford.
Richard James Boon Bosworth was born to Richard C.L. Bosworth –himself a professor of Chemistry –and Thelma H.E. Bosworth on 7 December 1943 in Sydney,New South Wales. Bosworth married Michal Gwyn Newell on 23 September 1965. They have two children:Edmund and Mary,the latter a professor of criminology at St. Cross College,Oxford. In the same year,Bosworth completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney,graduating with first-class honours. [3] In 1971,Bosworth earned a PhD at the University of Cambridge. [3]
Bosworth began his lecturing career in 1969 at the University of Sydney. He became a senior lecturer in 1974 and associate professor of history from 1981 to 1986. [4]
Promoted to professor of history at the University of Western Australia in 1987,Bosworth was head of department from 1988 to 1990. [3] In 2007,he began working part-time there and part-time at the University of Reading. [4] In 2012,Bosworth became a senior research fellow in history at Jesus College,Oxford. [3] He is known as an "eminent scholar of Italian Fascism". [1]
Bosworth was deputy or acting director of the Frederick May Foundation for Italian Studies from 1981 to 1986. He also worked as a research fellow in the Humanities Research Centre of Australian National University in 1991,visiting overseas scholar at St John's College,Cambridge and visiting professor at various institutions. [4] He is a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia [5] and of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. [6]
Bosworth wrote his first book as part of a series –Topics in Modern History –seeking to assist high school and university teachers and students,providing a "guiding and stimulating" overview of Fascist Italy,rather than in-depth historical analysis. [7] Noting that Fascist Italy has not garnered the attention of Nazi Germany,Bosworth makes clear his anti-Fascist tone from the beginning,aiming for "a more serious study of Italian Fascism than is usually given" by Anglo-Saxons 'misinterpreting and misunderstanding' Italian history. [8] He presents Italy up to 1945 as pretending to be a Great Power in Europe,despite poor geography and resources,and argues that this pretence has taken its toll. [8]
As the title implies,Bosworth argues that Italy was largely ignored by the other major world powers at the beginning of the First World War. [9] The book constitutes a "severely critical analysis of Italian diplomatic aims and methods." [10] Stemming from Bosworth's Cambridge PhD thesis,Italy:The Least of the Great Powers has been said to possess an extraordinarily 'rich and complete' bibliography. [10] Here again,Bosworth presents Italy as possessing the numbers and history of a great power,but really being closer to a small state or colony in identity. [10] It is this book in which Bosworth argues that the Italian king,Victor Emmanuel III,was merely a figurehead. [11] [12]
Bosworth discusses the various influence in Italy preceding the country's entrance into the First World War. He argues that Italian Foreign Minister Antonio di San Giuliano single-handedly controlled Italian foreign policy and rejected Italian responsibility to honour the Triple Alliance. [13] Accordingly,Bosworth presents the Italian king,Victor Emmanuel III,as a figurehead,delegating power and rarely making positive foreign interventions. [11] [12] Bosworth portrays decision makers largely uninfluenced by external pressures,including an Italian public who wanted peace. [14]
In this book,Bosworth aims to "pursue the question of the 'comfortable' or 'mad' ways in which societies went through the Second World War have historicised and thus comprehended that experience," emphasising that historicization over time. [15] He particularly examines the historiographical controversies which occur when a society's account of the war seems inadequate. [15]
Bosworth seeks to organise a collection of "contradictory images from Italy's past and Italy's present,[which] jostles for attention",both for Italian self-understanding and for the understanding of outsiders,such that "there are many Italies to be pondered,both in the scholarship of historian or of other experts and in the popular mind." [16] Bosworth agrees with Antonio Gramsci and others that commentators must acknowledge the intricacies of Italian history,such as Italy's differing histories between the North and South,country and rural,or government and population. [16] [17] Bosworth emphasises the discrepancy in vision of 'legal' (bureaucracy) and 'real' (population) Italy,especially concerning 'dreams of empire'. [18] Bosworth uses the notion of paese,an Italian word for both country and village,to illustrate the complexities of Italian nationhood,stating that each paese can be seen as "a world-ranging 'community'" or simply a village. [18]
In this 'personally inflected' book Bosworth analyses changing interpretations of Italian Fascism over time and their impact on Italian society,emphasising how these interpretations have been shaped by their environments. [19] Bosworth opposes the work of Emilio Gentile and Renzo De Felice. He accuses both of being 'anti-anti-Fascist' (p23),failing to adequately condemn Italian Fascism,although this stance has been criticised as 'politicising scholarly activity'. [20] [21] [22] Bosworth argues that recent scholarship has "deflected the field away from its moral and political purpose,which is to be vigilant against renewed fascism and protective of anti-fascism," attributing this failure to cultural relativism and postmodernism. [19]
The book has been accused of being 'unnecessarily polemical',dismissing much of the work done in the last twenty years,which has focused on more specific elements of Italian Fascism,like "ideology,cultural products,government policy,gender relations,sexuality,and public and private space." [19]
In this biography,Bosworth concentrates less on Mussolini's personality than his political actions,leading to an "avowedly anti-Fascist study of the Duce." [23] The book begins with Mussolini's final two years,then explains how he got there. Bosworth presents Mussolini as a "bully,coward,and a failure",who could not effectively modernise Italy,and who represented the Italy of his time. [24] [23] Bosworth particularly criticised Mussolini's leadership in the late 1930s and portrays him as more of a people-pleaser than an ideologue. [25] He even controversially contends that Mussolini "might have entered history as a figure of some light and some darkness",had he retired in 1932. [26]
Referred to as a "well-received biography of Mussolini",Mussolini won Bosworth the $20,000 Premier's Prize at the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards,the most prestigious book prize in Western Australia. [27] [28] At the same Awards,Mussolini also won an award in the non-fiction category. [27] Although one scholar notes an "occasionally rambling and disjointed narrative structure",he also calls it,"arguably the most complete biography of the Fascist dictator currently available in any language." [23]
Bosworth's characterisation as a weak dictator,focused on short-term consolidation of power and prestige,differs from other scholars' portrayals. The book opposes the view of contemporaries that Mussolini had determined radically new foreign policy by the mid-1920s,instead depicting him as "an impatient and impulsive but continually oscillating opportunist in international affairs," who maintained the foreign policy of his predecessors. [25] By portraying Mussolini not within revolutionary traditions but as a man without strict ideological beliefs,Bosworth disagrees with MacGregor Knox –a leader scholar on Italy –and Renzo De Felice –a "central and controversial" scholar on Italian Fascism. [29] [30] [25]
Here,Bosworth examines the rise and fall of Fascist Italy. He combines various perspectives,including the mocking comments of Italian civilians under Mussolini. [2] Mussolini's Italy was awarded a 2005 West Australian Premier's non-fiction prize and the 2006 New South Wales Premier's general history prize. [2] It has been referred to as "a powerful work of scholarship,beautifully written,which should be read by anyone interested in 20th-century Europe,or indeed the antecedents of modern-day Italy." [31]
Bosworth's book joined a quickly growing body of literature on nationalism. [32] [33] Bosworth primarily argues that nationalism is flawed,tempting us to lose sight of the goal of humankind's flourishing. [32] The book is "certainly not written for beginners,requiring knowledge of the history of Europe and of nationalism generally. [32] The book is written in Bosworth's signature playful tone and is "much closer to polemic than a thesis." [32]
In this book,Bosworth connects ancient and modern Rome into an account of the city through the centuries,examining its architecture and culture. [27] He begins with Napoleonic occupation of Rome at the beginning of the 19th century,although at times he refers to history preceding the Napoleonic occupation. [27] [34] Bosworth contrasts the resulting Enlightenment ideals with competing worldviews and describes their continuing conflict. [27] Thus,Bosworth incorporates examination of different periods into study of modern Rome. [27] [34] He also regularly includes maps and concentrates on different zones of the city,painting a picture of the city as it now stands. [27]
Bosworth argues that study of Rome has typically been occupied with an historical narrative,driven off course by politics and power. [35] The book particularly highlights the role of the Roman Catholic Church in such power struggles. [36]
Bosworth sets out to provide a fresh description of Venice,knowing that the task has been declared impossible. [37] Most commentators focus on the Republic from its foundation in 421 to its destruction by Napoleon in 1979. [38] Bosworth explores the sentiment surrounding Venice as "the most beautiful city in the world,but...also one of the saddest." [39] [40] He focuses on her 'modern histories',especially how Venice reacted to Italian ownership and how it in turn impacted the city. [41] In chapter 3,he describes the devastating impact of the First World War on Venice,going on to consider "what Fascism did to Venice and what Venice did to Fascism." [41]
In his most recent biography,Bosworth recounts the affair between Claretta Petacci and Benito Mussolini which began in 1936,when Petacci was separated from her husband. [1] Bosworth portrays her as an 'unremarkable' "airhead",who was "neither charismatic nor clever nor cultured",despite belonging to a "respectable,ambitious and deeply Catholic Roman bourgeois family." [42] [1] [43] According to Bosworth,Petacci was supported in the affair by her family,who hoped to manipulate her for their own benefit. [1]
Bosworth's work on Italian Fascism fits into a topic of scholarship "as controversial and congested today as in the past." [44] Bosworth fits into the orthodox Anglo-Saxon scholarly tradition on Italian Fascism:his biography focuses on Mussolini's politics,rather than his personality. [23] When he does discuss Mussolini's personality,Bosworth portrays him uniquely:
"Bosworth's Duce was a cynical misanthrope,a crude Darwinist,and an ideological agnostic,a man who viewed politics not as a means to realize any long-held vision but rather as an area of opportunistic compromises and deals designed to achieve short-term tactical advantages that bolstered his own power and prestige." [23]
Similarly,Bosworth's examination of Mussolini's politics differs from contemporaries. He has significant 'interpretive disagreements' with MacGregor Knox and Renzo De Felice. He disagrees with the assertion of Knox and De Felice that Mussolini fundamentally took Italy into war. [23] He argues that Mussolini simply represented the Italy of his time,particularly their "feelings of inferiority and resentment after World War I",rather than swaying or deceiving his population. [25]
Bosworth does agree with De Felice that the regime was generally accepted by the Italian people. [25] He opposes recent scholars,who attribute Mussolini's power to the 'mythical and symbol universe of fascism',and above all Bosworth denies that Mussolini himself revolutionised and transformed Italy. [45]
The most notable interaction between Bosworth and his contemporaries on the topic of Italian Fascism concerns the nature and purpose of the scholarship itself. Especially in his book The Italian Dictatorship,Bosworth condemns contemporary scholarship for what he sees as a failure to fulfil its moral and political duty. [19] [20] [21] [22] He particularly criticises Renzo De Felice as allegedly fitting into a group of 'anti-anti-Fascists',who fail to adequately condemn Italian Fascism. [19] [20] [21] [22] In this,Bosworth has been criticised as 'politicising scholarly activity' in a way which has caused him to neglect important advancements in the decades preceding his work. [19] [20] [21] [22]
Bosworth also critiques scholarly distinction between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany,emphasising instead their similarities. [23] He calls for scholarship to approach Fascism similarly to scholars of Nazism,applying similar historiographical questions. [19] However,he acknowledges significant differences between foreign policies of Mussolini and German dictator Adolf Hitler. [23]
Clara "Claretta" Petacci was a mistress of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. She was killed by Italian partisans during Mussolini's summary execution.
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to anarchism, democracy, pluralism, egalitarianism, liberalism, socialism, and Marxism, fascism is at the far right of the traditional left–right spectrum.
The Italian Social Republic, known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy, but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò, was a German puppet state and fascist rump state with limited diplomatic recognition that was created during the latter part of World War II. It existed from the beginning of the German occupation of Italy in September 1943 until the surrender of Axis troops in Italy in May 1945. The German occupation triggered widespread national resistance against it and the Italian Social Republic, leading to the Italian Civil War.
Giacomo Matteotti was an Italian socialist politician and secretary of the Unitary Socialist Party (PSU). He was elected deputy of the Chamber of Deputies three times, in 1919, 1921 and in 1924. On 30 May 1924, he openly spoke in the Italian Parliament alleging the fascists committed fraud in the 1924 general election, and denounced the violence they used to gain votes. Eleven days later, he was kidnapped and killed by the secret political police of Benito Mussolini.
"The Doctrine of Fascism" is an essay attributed to Benito Mussolini. In truth, the first part of the essay, entitled "Idee Fondamentali", was written by the Italian philosopher Giovanni Gentile, while only the second part "Dottrina politica e sociale" is the work of Mussolini himself.
Edda Ciano, Countess of Cortellazzo and Buccari was the daughter of Benito Mussolini, fascist Prime Minister of Italy from 1922 to 1943. Her husband, the fascist propagandist and Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano, was executed in January 1944 for his role in Mussolini's ouster. She strongly denied her involvement in the National Fascist Party regime after her father's execution by the Italian partisans in April 1945.
Renzo De Felice was an Italian historian, who specialized in the Fascist era, writing, among other works, a 6000-page biography of Mussolini. He argued that Mussolini was a revolutionary modernizer in domestic issues but a pragmatist in foreign policy who continued the Realpolitik policies of Italy from 1861 to 1922. Historian of Italy Philip Morgan has called De Felice's biography of Mussolini "a very controversial, influential and at the same time problematic re-reading of Mussolini and Fascism" and rejected the contention that his work rose above politics to "scientific objectivity", as claimed by the author and his defenders.
Giovanni Amendola was an Italian journalist, professor, and politician. He is noted as an opponent of Italian fascism.
The "Manifesto of Race", otherwise referred to as the Charter of Race or the Racial Manifesto, was an Italian manifesto promulgated by the government of Benito Mussolini on 14 July 1938. Its promulgation was followed by the enactment, in October 1938, of the Racial Laws in Fascist Italy and the Italian Empire.
Italian fascism, also classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian Fascism is associated with a series of political parties led by Mussolini: the National Fascist Party (PNF), which governed the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, and the Republican Fascist Party (PFR), which governed the Italian Social Republic from 1943 to 1945. Italian fascism also is associated with the post–war Italian Social Movement (MSI) and later Italian neo-fascist political organisations.
The National Fascist Party was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian fascism and as a reorganisation of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The party ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 when Fascists took power with the March on Rome until the fall of the Fascist regime in 1943, when Mussolini was deposed by the Grand Council of Fascism. The National Fascist Party was succeeded by the Republican Fascist Party in the territories under the control of the Italian Social Republic, and it was ultimately dissolved at the end of World War II.
Denis Mack Smith was an English historian who specialized in the history of Italy from the Risorgimento onwards. He is best known for his biographies of Garibaldi, Cavour and Mussolini, and for his single-volume Modern Italy: A Political History. He was named Grand Official of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1996.
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who was the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922, until his overthrow in 1943. He was also Duce of Italian fascism from the establishment of the Italian Fasces of Combat in 1919, until his summary execution in 1945. He founded and led the National Fascist Party (PNF). As a dictator and founder of fascism, Mussolini inspired the international spread of fascist movements during the interwar period.
Renato Ricci was an Italian fascist politician active during the Mussolini government.
Giovanni Preziosi was an Italian fascist politician noted for his contributions to Fascist Italy.
Paolo Orano was an Italian psychologist, politician and writer. Orano began his political career as a revolutionary syndicalist in Italian Socialist Party. He later became a leading figure within the National Fascist Party, in part through his legitimization of antisemitism.
Emilio Gentile is an Italian historian and professor, specializing in the history, ideology, and culture of Italian fascism. Born in Bojano, Gentile is considered one of Italy's foremost cultural historians of Fascist Italy and its ideology. He studied under the renowned Italian historian Renzo De Felice and wrote a book about him.
The Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy, also known in Italy as 25 Luglio, came as a result of parallel plots led respectively by Count Dino Grandi and King Victor Emmanuel III during the spring and summer of 1943, culminating with a successful vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister Benito Mussolini at the meeting of the Grand Council of Fascism on 24–25 July 1943. The vote, although significant, had no de jure value, since by law in a constitutional monarchy the prime minister was responsible for his actions only to the king, who was the only one who could dismiss him. As a result, a new government was established, putting an end to the 21 years of Fascist rule in the Kingdom of Italy, and Mussolini was placed under arrest.
The Pact of Pacification or Pacification Pact was a peace agreement officially signed by Benito Mussolini, who would later become dictator of Italy, and other leaders of the Fasci with the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) and the General Confederation of Labor (CGL) in Rome on August 2 or 3, 1921. The Pact called for “immediate action to put an end to the threats, assaults, reprisals, acts of vengeance, and personal violence of any description,” by either side for the “mutual respect” of “all economic organizations.” The Italian Futurists, Syndicalists and others favored Mussolini’s peace pact as an attempt at “reconciliation with the Socialists.” Others saw it as a means to form a "grand coalition of new mass parties" to "overthrow the liberal systems" via Parliament or civil society.
Fascist Italy is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy when it was governed by the National Fascist Party from 1922 to 1943 with Benito Mussolini as prime minister and dictator. The Italian Fascists imposed totalitarian rule and crushed political opposition, while simultaneously promoting economic modernization, traditional social values and a rapprochement with the Roman Catholic Church.