Nation and nationalism from the Risorgimento to the First World War

This chapter traces the evolution of the idea of nation in 19th-century Italy. Despite the existence of various political views, the author highlights a strong continuity of themes and goals from the Risorgimento to World War I—a continuity that remained intact even during the age of imperialism, when the concepts of primacy and mission began to become intertwined with racist theories and ideologies. The idea of the nation and Italian nationalism thus remained closely intertwined with the concepts of freedom, reason, and humanity. Through Italian unification and the construction of the liberal state, the author highlights how a broader national vision was realized—one that, despite its elitist implementation, was intended to encompass all European peoples. However, this idea of the nation began to be replaced in the 20th century by an aggressive, authoritarian, and radical view. The chapter thus highlights how the emergence of a new, modernist, and radical nationalism profoundly transformed the Risorgimento-era and liberal idea of the nation, which shifted toward an ideologized vision oriented toward expansionism and the imposition of its will by force on the rest of the world.