Introduction

The Italian Left and Ben Bella’s Authoritarianism in Algeria, between Unconditional Support and Faint Criticism (1962–1965)

“…Moreover, Italy’s defeat in war had deprived it of its colonies without these having to go through the wars of liberation. ‘The lack of colonies allowed Italy, in the post-war period, to express such strong support for anti-colonialism and Third-Worldism: this was the democratic and socialist left that had opposed colonialism as a manifestation of fascist tendencies of the state’ (Srivastava, 2018: 206). The connection between anti-colonialism and anti-fascism lay at the basis of the development of that variegated ‘Third-Worldism’ trend that had been developing since the end of the Second World War and which saw politicians and intellectuals among its ranks.…”

“…The connection between anti-colonialism and anti-fascism lay at the basis of the development of that variegated ‘Third-Worldism’ trend that had been developing since the end of the Second World War and which saw politicians and intellectuals among its ranks. Solidarity with the Algerian war of liberation ran throughout the entire Italian anti-fascist political spectrum: ranging from the Christian Democrats of the ruling party who pursued a general pro-Arab policy, rediscovering and exploiting Italy’s Mediterranean vocation, to the communists but also to the socialists and to those intellectuals who had in turn participated in the Italian Resistance against Nazi-Fascism less than 20 years earlier (Srivastava, 2018: 204–211). Solidarity with Algerians was shown by some key Italian figures such as Enrico Mattei and Giorgio La Pira (Bagnato, 2012).…”

“…Solidarity with Algerians was shown by some key Italian figures such as Enrico Mattei and Giorgio La Pira (Bagnato, 2012). 1 Furthermore, it was an Italian director, Gillo Pontecorvo, who made the first highly successful film on the Algerian war, 2 and numerous collections of testimonies and memoirs on the Algerian war of liberation were published in Italy (Cahen and Pouteau, 1964; Kessel, 1963; Srivastava, 2018: 233–262). Italian Communist Party ( Partito Comunista Italiano , PCI), the most important communist party in West Europe, played a leading role in promoting this trend, and at a European level proved to be the most active of all the communist parties in supporting the Algerians’ struggle for independence.…”

“…The external relations of Algeria in the period after the liberation from colonialism are analysed in a few works (Bousselham, 2005; Byrne, 2006; Cheikh, 1980; Grimaud, 1984; Lakhdar Ghettas, 2018; Lassassi, 1988). In recent years, there has been research on international relations of the PCI, including those with Algeria (Borruso, 2009; Galeazzi, 2011; Pons, 2020; Srivastava, 2018).…”