ABSTRACT: This article examines developments in the historiography of Italian Fascism through an appraisal of four major recent contributions to the field, addressing aspects such as theatre production, intervention in the Spanish Civil War, mass media and propaganda, imperialism, the exportation of Fascism, and anti-Fascism. Beyond the scholarly merits of each work, the article highlights the shift from a scholarship based on establishing Fascism’s intentions and assessing its success, towards one which probes the intertwining tensions and negotiations at play between Fascism and the chosen subject matter.