‘Fascism for Export’? The Rise and Eclipse of the Fasci Italiani all'Estero

Abstract

This article analyses the development of a fascist organization abroad in the 1920s. The National Fascist Party established the Fasci all'Estero hoping to extend its grip on the direction of foreign affairs: the Fasci's relentless war on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lasted until their incorporation in the New State in 1928, illustrating the dynamic balance between revolutionary and conservative forces that produced Mussolini's personal dictatorship. In 1925, the organization promoted the idea of a Fascist International, hoping to expand the fascist revolution beyond Italy's borders. Like the attempt to take over the direction of foreign policy, the campaign for a worldwide expansion of fascism ended in failure: by the end of the decade the Fasci were firmly subordinated to Mussolini's regime and had practically vanished from the political scene.