In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

4 the liberal italian state and mass emigration, 1860–1914 Caroline Douki Translated from the French by Amy Jacobs When emigration from the Italian peninsula became massive, an image of crowds of emigrants, abandoned to face the adversity and dangers of exile, began to appear in print, ranging from novels to polemic debates. The new liberal state was accused of grossly neglecting its migrant nationals . Whether humanist or nationalist, these writings revealed the disarray of migrants struggling to cope with the material difficulties of the trip and subjected, once abroad, to multiple forms of economic exploitation, xenophobia , and social rejection. The texts were perhaps, above all, expressions of the elites’ concern at seeing the departure of an ever-increasing number of workers. Some historiographic studies of the phenomenon subscribe to this general image, offering various explanations for the regime’s inaction: the state was cut off from the masses, disengaged and inattentive from the outset to the impoverished part of the population; the state was attached to its liberal principals, and out of either pragmatism or cynicism allowed emigration to function as a safety valve and necessary evil; the state was ineffective, hamstrung by a congenital lack of administrative and financial means. More recently, rediscovery of the specific legislation with which the Italian state tried to surround emigration in the early twentieth century has led to the idea of a utilitarian state acting with regard to emigrants as if they were a kind of “export merchandise.”1 These varying interpretations raise a crucial question for historians of European states at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: what ways of apprehending and handling major social problems are available to a liberal state? And if such a state implements a policy for action, namely with regard to migration, should that policy necessarily be interpreted as a means of taking control or instrumentalizing the phenomenon? To begin to answer these questions for the case at hand, it seems necessary to set discourse aside and examine the state’s real practices. For though in the first decades following unification emigrants were not much mentioned in political speeches, administrative practices indicate concern at a completely different level. Also, chronological breaks should be noted; the era of the liberal state in Italy was not continuous. Though in its first actions the Italian state was feeling its way, uncertain as to both principles and means, it would be mistaken to call it disinterested. The state’s will to know, and its concern to assert its sovereignty over migrant nationals, are clear. Moreover, the first decade of the twentieth century marked the beginning of a period in which the state displayed a true concern to intervene and protect . It was in this period that clear policy aims were developed, along with institutional tools for effecting them—indications of a full-fledged emigration policy. defining the place of emigrants in the nation-state In the years immediately following Italian unification, at precisely the moment the new state was working to assert its control over its nationals and the territory as a whole, the departure of an increasing number of persons constituted a real challenge. Recent historiography has underlined the extent to which strong scholarly and administrative efforts at the time aimed to produce a coherent, all-encompassing image of the Italian nation.2 The purpose was first and foremost practical. Consistent with the positivist convictions of the liberal ruling class, the idea was to obtain better knowledge of the geographical, social, and economic realities of the national territory and thereby provide the government with means to practice effective and modern administration.3 But the issue was also symbolic. To describe the nation—present its geographical, social, demographic, and economic substance , establish clearly how far it extended, be able to reduce it to maps and statistics—was to make it exist as a legitimate representation, validated by state science. These views implied forging an overall, organic image of the Italian population ,and it very soon became clear that emigrants had to be included,for three reasons. First, if the government wanted to acquire knowledge of the country’s demographic and socioeconomic realities, it had no choice but to assess migration flows. Second, in the interests of civic pedagogy, it was important to give all Italians, both migrants and not, an image of themselves as a unit, a representation susceptible of developing their consciousness of 92 caroline douki [3.15.221.136] Project MUSE (2024-04-24 23:58...

Share