Phd in POLITICAL STUDIES

Thesis title: Costruire e governare la propaganda. Strutture amministrative e pratiche politiche del Ministero per la Stampa e la propaganda e del Minculpop dalle origini della dittatura alla Seconda guerra mondiale

The doctoral project aimed to reconstruct and analyze the administrative structures of the Fascist propaganda apparatus, from its origins through the years of the Second World War. The various transformations of the “consensus factory” were therefore studied: the Press Office of the Head of Government, the Undersecretariat for Press and Propaganda, the Ministry of Press and Propaganda, and finally the Ministry of Popular Culture. Through consultation of multiple unpublished archival sources, the research focused on the administrative practices and the concrete functioning of the regime’s institutional bodies, which produced propaganda messages aimed at shaping public opinion. The study also investigated the role of the various protagonists of propaganda, including officials, senior administrators, and ministers. Finally, part of the research was devoted to the role that the propaganda apparatus played in the Ethiopian war, in the alliance with Nazi Germany, and in the Second World War.