
Dictating Demography
The Problem of Population in Fascist Italy
Carl Ipsen(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 17. October 1996
Book
Hardback
302 pages
978-0-521-55452-7 (ISBN)
Description
Mussolini believed that numbers were the key to strength. Between 1922 and 1945 the Fascists attempted to translate that belief into policy by introducing a structured programme to increase the population in Italy. This included campaigns to increase the birth rate, the establishment of demographic colonies, and a battle against urbanisation. This book is a detailed examination of the demographic policy of Mussolini's Fascist regime. Based on archival research, it shows how the Fascists used statistics to mould public opinion, as well as to form policy, and demonstrates the ways in which population theory at the time both reflected and informed policy. Carl Ipsen argues that Mussolini's demographic policy can tell us a great deal about the contradictory nature of Fascism itself, and describes the Fascist efforts to mould the Italian population as one of the most telling examples of the failed attempt to create a totalitarian Fascist utopia.
Reviews / Votes
"Ipsen presents a fascinating analysis of Mussolini's use of statistics in propagandizing policies to increase birth rates and promote demographic colonization....The text abounds with informed charts and includes an invaluable bibliography." M.S. Miller, Choice "From the standpoint of someone who is first ane foremost concerned with the history of modern political thought, I strongly advise those who share this interest to examine these two book." Jean-Guy Prevost, Can Jrnl of Pol SciMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
13 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
644 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-55452-7 (9780521554527)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Content
Introduction; 1. The background: fascism, European population policy, European demography, and the problem of population in liberal Italy; 2. The organization of totalitarian demography; 3. The realization of totalitarian demography I: spatial population movement; 4. The realization of totalitarian demography II: quantitative and qualitative population management; 5. The measurement of totalitarian demography; Conclusion.