ABSTRACT
Fascist violence after the March on Rome was not only brutal, savage and spectacular. It also took on more deceptive yet nevertheless effective forms, which proved crucial for consolidating Fascist power and preventing any opposition and protest. Many historians have argued that violence was essentially used by the Fascists to defeat and intimidate personal adversaries within the party. Questioning this one-side interpretation, the chapter shows how the use of violence against internal (i.e. Fascist) enemies and its use against external (anti- or a-fascist) enemies were not alternative but actually complementary. By focusing on multiple local cases, the chapter examines how provincial Fascist leaders used violence to defeat Fascist competitors while, at the same time, fostering resignation or even support of fascism among broad strata of Italian society. What fascism achieved in terms of solidity and power was largely the result of the effectiveness of the squadristi’s violence. Violence often led to more or less genuine consensus.
