The Spectres of Bismarck and the Commune: State and Society in Italy from Sedan to Dogali

The essay explores the Italian political and intellectual debate in the last decades of the 19th century about the relationship between State, society, and the individual. The dual shadow cast by the spectres of Bismarck and the Paris Commune drove Italian liberal intellectuals to demand a stronger executive power against alleged parliamen- tarist degeneration. In particular, the aim was to promote economic growth and indus- trial production through tariffs and to prevent upheavals through (albeit insufficient) social legislation. As the colonial turn of the 1880s contributed to strengthening the State, the overall effect led to a modernization project run by an administration wary of social conflict and democratic participation.