Duce: The Contradictions of Power

Abstract Eighty years after the fall of Benito Mussolini, controversy remains about what his dictatorship represented. This reflects the different sides to the Duce’s leadership: while adept at nurturing and enforcing his personal political power, Mussolini’s lack of insight into the requirements of governance prevented him from converting this power into influence to achieve his aims. His efforts to maintain the support of Italy’s conservative elites—economic, social, and political—also created tensions with his radical Fascist ambitions, diminishing the momentum behind his regime. Mussolini is frequently portrayed as a charismatic leader, but his rule was secured principally by repressive means of coercion, violence and a “spoils system.” Nonetheless, his personality cult had significant popular appeal, even if based upon a political myth. This enabled him to consolidate his position and to dominate his Fascist colleagues—but at a price of over-centralized, dysfunctional decision-making. Mussolini’s Fascist rule saw the establishment of a political, economic, and social order in Italy that was distinctly conservative in character and protective of the existing social order. Beyond that, the regime struggled to successfully pursue Mussolini’s radical nationalist-Fascist aims, particularly that of social engineering the character of Italians and achieving territorial expansion. Many of the regime’s economic and social policies in support of these aims significantly failed to deliver the expected results as the regime pursued stability over serious radical change.