Elite change in Italy in the 20th and 21st centuries

PD Dr. Lutz Klinkhammer

Since the 19th century, deep-seated conservative forces have dominated the Italian state and its political life. Under the liberal national monarchy, the transformation of the elites was a limited phenomenon, as is already reflected in the extremely restricted right to vote. During the fascist period, the nobility and the high bourgeoisie began to face pressure, without however being completely disempowered by the regime. The fall of Mussolini in 1943, brought about from within and with the support of the monarchy, underscores the resilience of the old elites. In the Italian Republic since 1946, it was the two major people's parties, the Christian Democrats and the Communists, that proclaimed and shaped internal social change until the fall of the Berlin Wall. How did the social elite, represented chiefly by the propertied bourgeoisie after the abolition of the monarchy and aristocratic titles, transform itself? What processes of social opening and expansion of the ruling classes characterised post-war democracy? What role was played by "trasformismo," a mechanism often considered the true constant in Italian politics, which is centred less on a change of power than on the broadening of the dominant political spectrum? The research project forms part of a tradition of contemporary historical studies carried out at the Institute and offers networking and follow-up opportunities for external projects. Based on Mussolini's audiences from 1922 to 1945 and state and political leadership after 1945, it aims to undertake a group-biographical study of social change in Italy in the 20th century, which should enable an analysis of present-day Italy that moves beyond the events of daily politics.

PD Dr. Lutz Klinkhammer
Deputy Director, Responsible for Contemporary History
Biography
Publications
+39 06 66049271
klinkhammer[at]dhi-roma.it

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