ABSTRACT
A.J.P.Taylor once described Mussolini as ‘a vain blundering boaster without either ideas or aims’, while the Fascism over which he presided had far less ‘drive’ than the Nazi movement.1 This view will provide the basic terms of reference for the examination in this chapter of the career of Italy’s dictator between 1922 and 1943. The first section will analyse his rise to power, focusing on his opportunism and the means by which he exploited the weaknesses of the establishment. The second will examine the methods by which he maintained his power, the extent to which he left the previous administrative structure standing, and the aura of the personality cult or ‘Mussolinianism’. The third will deal with his decline-the result of personal defects, growing weaknesses within the system, and the damaging effects of the close connection with Nazi Germany.
