Italian Fascism and Spanish Falangism in Comparison: Constructing the Nation

249 Pages·2020·5.145 MB·English

by  Giorgia Priorelli

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN POLITICAL HISTORY
Italian Fascism
and Spanish
Falangism
in Comparison
Constructing the Nation
Giorgia Priorelli
Palgrave Studies in Political History
Series Editors
Henk te Velde
Leiden University
Leiden, The Netherlands
Maartje Janse
Leiden University
Leiden, The Netherlands
Hagen Schulz-Forberg
Aarhus University
Aarhus, Denmark
The contested nature of legitimacy lies at the heart of modern politics.
A continuous tension can be found between the public, demanding to
be properly represented, and their representatives, who have their own
responsibilities along with their own rules and culture. Political history
needs to address this contestation by looking at politics as a broad and
yet entangled field rather than as something confined to institutions
and politicians only. As political history thus widens into a more inte-
grated study of politics in general, historians are investigating democ-
racy, ideology, civil society, the welfare state, the diverse expressions of
opposition, and many other key elements of modern political legitimacy
from fresh perspectives. Parliamentary history has begun to study the
way rhetoric, culture and media shape representation, while a new social
history of politics is uncovering the strategies of popular meetings and
political organizations to influence the political system.
Palgrave Studies in Political History analyzes the changing forms and
functions of political institutions, movements and actors, as well as the
normative orders within which they navigate. Its ambition is to publish
monographs, edited volumes and Pivots exploring both political institu-
tions and political life at large, and the interaction between the two. The
premise of the series is that the two mutually define each other on local,
national, transnational, and even global levels.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15603
Giorgia Priorelli
Italian Fascism
and Spanish Falangism
in Comparison
Constructing the Nation
Giorgia Priorelli
LUISS Guido Carli
Rome, Italy
Palgrave Studies in Political History
ISBN 978-3-030-46055-6 ISBN 978-3-030-46056-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46056-3
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To my parents
Acknowledgements
This book is the result of three stimulating and intense years of doctoral
researchatLUISSGuidoCarliinRome.Itwouldnothavebeenpossible
without the support of my supervisor, Prof. Giovanni Orsina, who
believed in me and my research. His dedication and intellectual honesty
inspiredme,andhisadvicecontinuestoguidemeinmyacademiccareer.
My gratitude also goes to my co-supervisor, Prof. Loreto Di Nucci, who
made me fall in love with contemporary history when I was an under-
graduate student and followed the development of my Ph.D. thesis step
by step. At certain stages, I sought suggestions from a number of other
scholars. In this regard, I am indebted to Prof. Ismael Saz who was my
mentorduringfieldworkinSpain.SincerethanksalsogotoProf.LucaLa
Rovere, Prof. Zira Box, Dr. Matthew Kerry and Dr. Claudia Mantovani
for the time they devoted to reading my work and for their constructive
feedback.
My research could not have happened without the librarians and
archivists who spared me their time and shared their knowledge. Thanks
to the staff of the Archivio Centrale dello Stato in Rome, the Biblioteca
Nazionale Centrale in Rome, the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in
Florence, the Library of LUISS Guido Carli, and the Library of the
European Univesity Institute. I wish to express my appreciation also to
thestaffoftheBibliotecaNacionaldeEspaña,theHemerotecaMunicipal
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
de Madrid, the Biblioteca de Ciencia Política y Sociología of the Univer-
sidad Complutense de Madrid, as well as to the Hemeroteca Munic-
ipal de Valencia and the Biblioteca d’Humanitats of the Universitat de
València. Among my most heartfelt thanks are those to the staff of the
Library of Historical and Political Studies at the Università degli Studi
of Perugia. Thanks especially to Milena Magni, Giovanna Cricchi and
Simona Ricci who were always helpful and accommodating to my often
excessivedemands.Notleast,IamverygratefultomyeditorsatPalgrave
Macmillan, Molly Beck and Maeve Sinnott, who have embraced this
project with enthusiasm and great professionalism.
Ialsooweagreatdebtofgratitudetotheverymanypeopledeartome
in different ways who supported me throughout this journey. In partic-
ular, I want to thank my colleague Carlos Lasús Domper for the contin-
uousencouragementhegavemeintimesoftrouble.ThankstoAlice,who
hasbeenaconstantandfundamentalpresenceforthesethreeyears,asshe
has been during much of the last thirty. This book is proof that all the
hours on the phone from Tunis have not been in vain. Special thanks go
to Andrea for his infinite understanding and patience and for reminding
me that there is life beyond academia. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes
tomyparents,whohavealwayssustainedmychoicesunconditionallyand
believed in me even when I did not do so myself. This work is dedicated
to them.
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 The Ideology of the Nation in Fascism and Falangism 19
ALookatthePast:TheRootsoftheFascistandtheFalangist
Nations 19
Crushing the ‘Anti-nation:’ The Pars Destruens of Fascist
Nationalism 38
From Theory to Facts: Implementing the Fascist
and Falangist Nations 48
3 The Imperial Destiny of the Nation 77
A Natural Evolution 77
The Routes of Empire 89
The Transmission of Imperial Values 101
4 On Race and Nation: Certainties and Changing
Definitions 125
The Issue of Race 125
Race, Empire and the ‘Construction’ of the Jewish Problem 130
ix
x CONTENTS
5 The Arbiters of Post-war Europe: Fascist and Falangist
Nations in the New Nazi Continental Order 169
The New Face of Europe 169
Fighting for the New Order 173
Conclusions 199
Bibliography 205
Index 235