The scholar who passed away at the age of 80 in his home in Rome. He had concentrated his research in particular on fascism and everything that had distanced our country from the establishment of a solid European-style liberal democracy
The Italian anomaly, in its various aspects, had always been the main subject of study of the historian Giovanni Sabbatucci, who passed away on 2 December at the age of 80 in his home in Rome. He had analysed the phenomenon of transformism, the lack of a strong reformist left, the pathological weakness of a liberal ruling class which had bowed to fascism, obviously the dictatorship itself and its lasting consequences. Everything that, from the Risorgimento era onwards, had distanced our country from the path towards the establishment of a solid European-style liberal democracy.
Collaborator of various press outlets and frequent guest on television programmes, Sabbatucci, professor of contemporary history at the Sapienza University of Rome, he was also known to the general public for the school manual he had created in 1988 for the Laterza publishing house with colleagues Andrea Giardina and Vittorio Vidotto. A text of exemplary clarity which, considering its various updated editions, has managed to sell two million copies, despite some criticisms that have been directed at it in the past, due to alleged bias, by politicians in search of easy and unfounded polemics .
Sabbatucci subsequently directed his investigations towards the turbulence experienced by the Italian political system in the aftermath of the First World War, with the impetuous irruption of the masses onto the public scene. He published the essay in 1974 The fighters in the post-war period (Laterza), but more generally sI focused on the climate of general delegitimization of the State which had first favored the rise of the Socialist Party, then placed on positions of revolutionary radicalism, and then favored the violent reaction of fascism, up to the establishment of a liberticidal regime.
regarding the moves made by Mussolini, who came to government in 1922, to ensure absolute power, Sabbatucci ahad focused his attention on the electoral reform of 1923, which provided for an abnormal majority bonus for the list that came first in the proportional ranking. The approval of that text – which went down in history as the ”Acerbo law” from the name of the member of the government who had drafted it – was defined by Sabbatucci as “the suicide of the liberal ruling class”: a demonstration of timidity all the more serious given that it was then fascism had a limited number of deputies in Montecitorio, who were also elected in 1921 within the national blocs promoted by the moderate Giovanni Giolitti.
Subsequently Sabbatucci had turned his gaze to the left, analyzing the various failures of Italian socialism, its inability to offer a concrete outlet for the egalitarian demands of the humblest classes. in an essay entitled Impossible reformism (Laterza, 1991) had focused on the reasons why the maximalist currents had ended up clearly prevailing in the PSI, in particular due to the affect of the “symbolic anchoring” provided to them by the success of the soviet revolution, and the communists had achieved a hegemony stable within the Italian progressive camp.
Perhaps the work of greatest interpretative commitment However, by the Umbrian historian it is a subsequent volume from 2003, Transformism as a system (Later). Here the practice of co-opting opposition pieces into government majorities,inaugurated in the nineteenth century by Prime Minister Agostino Depretis,is considered not an expression of political malpractice,to be condemned on the level of ethical judgment,but a structural need due to the weakness basis of Italian national construction. To guarantee stability to the system, in a context of strong ideological differences and deep social fractures, it had become necessary to enlarge the parliamentary majorities on the basis of possible convergences, sacrificing programmatic coherence to the imperatives of governability.
A method that had proven functional in the first decades of life of the unitary state, but had precluded the possibility of open competition between opposing sides for the leadership of the country. This model was in some ways proposed again, according to Sabbatucci, in the aftermath of the Second World War, albeit in a context dominated by organized political forces which instead had a much lower weight, initially zero, in liberal Italy. even the post-war democratic season, until the advent of the majoritarian electoral system in the early nineties, was structured around conflicting but immovable majorities, belonging to the Christian Democracy, through a complex game of party and current mediation that had several points in common with transformative experience.
Still in reference to the Republic born in 1946, it is worth mentioning the reasoned criticism that Sabbatucci had made of the conspiratorial visions of its events, for example in two essays contained in the multi-voiced volume Myths and history of united Italy (il Mulino, 1999). He found untenable the hypothesis of a great conspiracy hatched in the shadows to influence the political balance in a conservative sense. Rather,he believed that terrorism,mafias and subversive plots should be investigated by dissecting the peculiarities of the different episodes,without claiming to bring everything back to a single thread. Shis considerations on the Moro case are also meaningful, a crime which, on the basis of the trial findings, attributed the exclusive duty of the Red Brigades, criticizing the idea that someone had been able to direct them or in any case manipulate their actions from the outside.
december 2, 2024 (changed December 2, 2024 | 10:01 pm)
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How did Giovanni Sabbatucci’s work influence contemporary political debate and education in Italy?
Title: remembering Giovanni Sabbatucci: An Interview with Political Historian Dr. Clara Monti
Editor (Time.news): good day, and thank you for joining us, dr. Monti. We’re here to reflect on the significant contributions of the late Giovanni sabbatucci, whose work on Italy’s political history has left an indelible mark.
Dr. Clara Monti: Good day! Thank you for having me. Giovanni’s work was truly pivotal in understanding the complexities of Italian political history.
Editor: He passed away recently at the age of 80. From your perspective as a historian, what made Sabbatucci’s analysis of fascism and Italian political systems so influential?
Dr. Monti: giovanni had a remarkable ability to dissect Italy’s political anomalies with clarity and depth. His examination of the “transformism” phenomenon and the weakness of the liberal ruling class, which capitulated to fascism, shed light on why Italy struggled to establish a solid liberal democracy akin to other European nations.
Editor: It seems his work was not just academic but also engaged with contemporary political debates. How did his ideas resonate in the broader public sphere?
Dr. Monti: Absolutely. Giovanni was not just a professor; he was a public intellectual. His widely used textbook, created with colleagues in 1988, didn’t just serve as a reference but became a vital part of the educational landscape, selling over two million copies. His engagement with the public through lectures and media appearances brought his critical views to the forefront, challenging political norms and misconceptions.
Editor: His discussions often turned toward the implications of Mussolini’s rise to power, particularly his focus on the electoral reform of 1923, known as the Acerbo Law. What were the key takeaways from his analysis regarding this reform?
Dr. Monti: Giovanni called the approval of the Acerbo Law “the suicide of the liberal ruling class,” highlighting their failure to recognize the threat fascism posed despite its limited parliamentary presence at the time. This law effectively disenfranchised the electorate and allowed Mussolini to consolidate power—essentially providing a blueprint for how fragility in democratic systems can lead to authoritarian regimes.
Editor: He also directed his attention to the left and Italian socialism. What were his insights regarding the failures of Italian socialism to address the needs of the working class?
Dr. Monti: Giovanni pointed out that Italian socialism struggled to articulate a cohesive response to the egalitarian demands of the lower classes. his work revealed that, instead of fostering unity and revolution, the socialist movement became fragmented and radicalized, which in turn created a political vacuum that fascism exploited. By analyzing these failures, Giovanni underscored the importance of robust political discourse in safeguarding democracy.
Editor: It’s clear he had profound insights into Italy’s political fabric. How do you think his legacy will influence future generations of historians and political activists?
dr. Monti: Giovanni’s legacy lies in his relentless pursuit of truth and his courage to confront uncomfortable historical realities. Future historians will undoubtedly draw from his methodologies and learn to scrutinize political dynamics with the same rigor. Moreover, political activists can learn from his advocacy for a strong, accountable infrastructure that prioritizes democratic values over complacency.
Editor: Thank you, Dr. Monti, for sharing your insights into Giovanni Sabbatucci’s substantial contributions. His work remains crucial, especially in today’s political climate.
Dr.Monti: Thank you for having me. Giovanni Sabbatucci’s commitment to understanding our past will continue to inspire critical engagement with our present.