War veterans and the transnational origins of Italian fascism (1917-1919)

Abstract

This article explores the origins of the historical relationship between war veterans and Fascism. Transcending the predominant paradigm of the controversial brutalization' thesis (George L. Mosse), the article relies on a transnational perspective that focuses on the interconnections between historical events and on processes of political communication and symbolic appropriation. Examining historical processes taking place in different European countries, as well as their effects on Mussolini and the Italian interventionists, the article argues that a transnational process of symbolic appropriation of the notion of the veteran', taking place between 1917 and 1919, is crucial to understand how the Fascist ideology and movement were born.