Democracy in Italy: From egalitarian republicanism to plebiscitarian monarchy

Abstract

In the Italian peninsula, support for ‘democracy’ came relatively early, and it engaged some notable enthusiasts. Italy’s republican past encouraged interest in experiments with new forms of republicanism, first in the United States from the 1770s, then in France in the 1790s. The Thermidorian ideal of ‘representative democracy’ received at least as much support in Italy as in France. Democratic politics in practice though were often plebiscitarian: setting a template that would retain power for generations. With the advent of Napoleon, the rhetoric lost salience, and, under the Restoration, critics of autocratic regimes tended to call themselves liberals. In 1848, following (but again if anything radicalizing) French example, some Italian political actors once more vigorously championed ‘democratic’ versions of republicanism. Yet nationalists proved most effective at harnessing the rhetoric. Democratic aspirations were realised chiefly inasmuch as they were fulfilled by a plebiscitarian national monarchy.