The British political press and Italian fascism

Abstract

Juxtaposing Mussolini’s Italy with Britain’s struggle to comprehend the chaos of the Interwar period lends readers a fresh understanding the interwar period. In particular, isolating the actions of fascist Italy against the British political press’ reaction unveils a unique perspective on the path to the Second World War. In addition, this grappling with fascism abroad reveals the confusion penetrating the political and social landscape at home. Furthermore, an exclusive investigation of the British political press and Italian fascism remains absent in the literature of this much-studied period. Many historians touch on this relationship in their work on British fascism and British foreign policy while others have investigated the relationship between Britain and German fascism of this same period. Though these works are an invaluable asset to this study in terms of consolidation, an exclusive look at the British responses to Mussolini’s Italy is essential in providing a fresh perspective. As the bewildered Brits waded through fascism’s improvised ideology, the political atmosphere of delusion surfaced. By summer of 1938, the press vocalized their apprehension about the British government’s management of the fascist dictators, particularly Mussolini. With the British press’ response as a backdrop, this chronological structure illustrates the evolution of confusion into a policy of appeasement. Amidst media protest, the British government practiced appeasement long before it ever had a name.