Date of Award

Spring 2022

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Historical & Political Studies; College of Arts & Sciences

First Advisor

Jennifer Riggan

Abstract

This thesis will discuss the divide between the Northern and Southern regions of Italy in order to show the negative side effects of insufficient nationalization. This paper primarily used secondary source documents to compile a historical case study of Italian Unification and the fascist period. Using literature on nationalism, this thesis found commonality with the theory of modernism. The Italian state worked to create nationalism alongside their efforts to industrialize. I argue that Italy's divided macro-regions resulted from the lack of nationalization during Unification. The failure by the nation's leaders and Northern elites to form national unity in 1861 created the long lasting tension between Italy’s Northern and Southern regions. Another attempt to nationalize Italy occurred in 1922 during Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. His effort to unify the Italian people backfired leaving them more distrusting of one another.

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Insufficient Nationalism: The Case of the Macro-regional Divide Between Northern and Southern Italy

This thesis will discuss the divide between the Northern and Southern regions of Italy in order to show the negative side effects of insufficient nationalization. This paper primarily used secondary source documents to compile a historical case study of Italian Unification and the fascist period. Using literature on nationalism, this thesis found commonality with the theory of modernism. The Italian state worked to create nationalism alongside their efforts to industrialize. I argue that Italy's divided macro-regions resulted from the lack of nationalization during Unification. The failure by the nation's leaders and Northern elites to form national unity in 1861 created the long lasting tension between Italy’s Northern and Southern regions. Another attempt to nationalize Italy occurred in 1922 during Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. His effort to unify the Italian people backfired leaving them more distrusting of one another.