Mussolini believed that numbers were the key to strength. Between 1922 and 1945 the Fascists attempted to translate that belief into policy by introducing a structured programme to increase the population in Italy. This included campaigns to increase the birth rate, the establishment of demographic colonies, and a battle against urbanisation. This book is a detailed examination of the demographic policy of Mussolini's Fascist regime. Based on archival research, it shows how the Fascists used statistics to mould public opinion, as well as to form policy, and demonstrates the ways in which population theory at the time both reflected and informed policy. Carl Ipsen argues that Mussolini's demographic policy can tell us a great deal about the contradictory nature of Fascism itself, and describes the Fascist efforts to mould the Italian population as one of the most telling examples of the failed attempt to create a totalitarian Fascist utopia.

"Ipsen presents a fascinating analysis of Mussolini's use of statistics in propagandizing policies to increase birth rates and promote demographic colonization....The text abounds with informed charts and includes an invaluable bibliography." M.S. Miller, Choice

"From the standpoint of someone who is first ane foremost concerned with the history of modern political thought, I strongly advise those who share this interest to examine these two book." Jean-Guy Prévost, Can Jrnl of Pol Sci