Italy in the Cold War

International Framework and Internal Politics from Confrontation to Détente (1943-1978)

Series: 

Author:
Guido Formigoni
From the breakup of the anti-fascist alliance, through centrism and the center-left alliance, to the (politically fraught and only partially realized) “national solidarity” between the DC and PCI in the 1970s, the politics of the Italian Republic largely reflected international Cold War bipolarism.
This volume uses previously unpublished documentation to furnish an extraordinary picture of events, showing how two dimensions – the risks of civil war on the one hand and a tormented constitutional coexistence on the other – went hand in hand, detailing the influence and the limits of the actions of the superpowers on the country, not to mention the internal uses made of the conflict by national actors.
Copyright Year:
2026
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978-90-04-75562-8
Publication:
17 Mar 2026
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ISBN:
978-90-04-75561-1
Publication:
16 Apr 2026
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Guido Formigoni is full professor of Contemporary History at the IULM University of Milan. His latest books are: Aldo Moro. Lo statista e il suo dramma (Il Mulino, 2023); Italy and the Shock of the Global during the 1970s (Palgrave, 2025).
Acknowledgements
Sources and Related Abbreviations

Introduction: Italy in the Cold War: a Total and Pervasive Conflict
 1 Total Cold War as a Culmination of 20th Century Processes
 2 Centrality of the International Structure and Specificities of the Nation States
 3 Structures and Events: a Word on Chronology

1 Legacies of the World War and Transition to Democracy 1943–1946
 1 A New National Question: Crisis and Continuity of the State
 2 Antifascist Convergence and the Sense of Nation
 3 Italy Finds Itself in the West: the Economic and Politics of the “Spheres of Influence”
 4 Monarchy, CLN, Resistance
 5 “National Politics” and Emerging American Primacy
 6 Insurrection, Liberation and Violence: Emergency Reconstruction
 7 The De Gasperi Government and the Republic

2 A Double “Constituent Phase”: the Republican Political System and the Global Cold War 1947–1949
 1 The Trauma of the Peace Talks
 2 The Antifascist Alliance under Strain: Inflation and Social Tensions
 3 The May 1947 Crisis and the Marshall Plan
 4 The Left in Opposition and the Birth of Centrism
 5 The 1948 Elections: Arms, Propaganda and Politics
 6 A Democracy between Two Worlds: the ERP, the Attempt on Togliatti’s Life and the Western Union
 7 The Atlantic Alliance Brings the Double Constituent Phase to a Close

3 Shadows of War and Opposing Social Camps 1950–1955
 1 The Economic Policy Debate and Tension on the Streets
 2 Consequences of the Korean War
 3 The DC, the Centrists and Social and Ideological Conflict: Uses and Limitations
 4 The Communist “Social Redoubt” and the Frontiers between the Camps
 5 De Gasperi, the Right and the Americans: a “Protected Democracy”?
 6 Ambassador Luce and the Elections of 1953: Hardening Stances and Misunderstandings
 7 The Scelba Government and the Communist Question
 8 New-Found Italian Stability and Possibilities for Reform
 9 Sirens of the Thaw: Gronchi, Fanfani and the First Détente

4 Stormy Relations between the Blocs and the Decline of Centrism 1956–1961
 1 Destalinization and Anticommunism
 2 November 1956: the Dual Trauma of Budapest and Suez
 3 The Crisis of Centrism and the Debate over the “Opening to the Left”
 4 The Neo-Atlanticist Project and Its Enemies
 5 The Anti-Fanfani Revolt: Moro and Segni
 6 The Tambroni Government: Riding a Wave of Uncertainty
 7 Convergences and Divergences: Socialists, Communists and Neofascists
 8 The Kennedy Presidency and the Berlin Wall

5 Peaceful Coexistence and the Centre-Left Governments 1962–1968
 1 Moro’s Successful Turn Opens the Way to Fanfani’s Reformism
 2 The Cuban Crisis and the 1963 Elections: a Troubled Beginning
 3 The Negative Economic “Conjuncture”: the Bank of Italy, the EEC and the Government
 4 Segni and De Lorenzo: Blocking the Evolution of the System
 5 The Moro Governments and the Challenge of Vietnam War
 6 Bipolar Détente and Hardening Blocs: Greece and the Middle East
 7 Students and Workers: the Search for Alternative Paradigms
 8 From Rome to Prague and Washington: Signs of Weakening of the Opposing “Worlds”

6 A Crisis in the West as in Italy Rightist Shadows Loom 1969–1973
 1 The Government in Turmoil as Tension Grips the System
 2 An Italian Road to Détente? Moro as Foreign Minister
 3 The “Strategy of Tension”: a Reactionary Gambit
 4 Reforms in Parliament, Radicalization in the Country
 5 American Difficulties and Italian Fragilities: the Crisis of the US Dollar
 6 An Illusion of Stabilization: Andreotti’s Centre-Right
 7 Palazzo Giustiniani: Return to the Centre-Left
 8 Berlinguer’s Initiative and the October 1973 War

7 Thwarted Global Détente and Italian “National Solidarity” 1974–1978
 1 Fanfani Bids to Restore DC Centrality, in a Changing Europe
 2 The Reactionary Option is Defeated, as Leftist Terrorism Grows
 3 US Attitudes Harden as Moro Returns to Government
 4 1975: an Electoral Earthquake and the Birth of a “Christian Democratic Question”
 5 The End of the Centre-Left and a New Electoral Campaign
 6 “National Solidarity” Begins under the Watchful Eyes of US and USSR
 7 Programmatic Agreements and Diplomatic Difficulties
 8 1978: the New Year Opens with a Delicate Government Crisis
 9 The Kidnapping, Imprisonment and Murder of Aldo Moro: a Decisive Turning Point

Conclusions

Bibliography
Name Index
The book is scholarly, but it is not intended only for scholars. The carefully described story of the events is also useful for university students who want to understand Italian history, and interested readers.
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