Stalinization and the Communist Party of Italy

Abstract

Any comparative study of Communist Party of Italy (Partito Comunista d’Italia; PCD’I)1 history must take into account the party’s particular circumstances. At the time of its foundation, the PCD’I was — to a greater extent than most other European communist parties — rooted in its own society, and enjoyed reasonably wide and expanding grassroots support. Appropriate comparison can, therefore, be made only with parties that originated from majority secession from an established social democratic organization, such as the French, German, Czech and, possibly, Norwegian parties. Such parties were not only legal, but also had a solid organizational base, a significant presence in parliament, a considerable influence in ‘parallel’ mass organizations and their own press and campaigning offices.KeywordsTrade UnionCommunist PartySocialist PartyAgent ProvocateurItalian SituationThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.