Italy — Fascist regime (1922–1943)

Italy

Basis for the estimate: Mussolini dictatorship, corporatist state, Lateran Treaty, imperial wars.

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Official system and how it worked in practice

Official system	Constitutional monarchy (Kingdom of Italy) in which the National Fascist Party became the only legal party by 1928
In practice, 1922–1923	Electoral autocracy multiparty elections, but without sufficient freedom, fairness or protection of basic freedoms
In practice, 1924–1943	Closed autocracy no multiparty elections for the chief executive

“In practice” is V-Dem’s Regimes of the World classification for Italy, 1922–1943, from expert-coded data (V-Dem Regimes of the World (v2x_regime), V-Dem dataset v16, March 2026). V-Dem codes each country as it stood at the end of each year, so the first and last years can reflect the previous or next government. The official system is the constitutional form during the period.

Political placement

Map dimension	Score (0–100)	Reading
Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market	36	near the center
Social Progressive ↔ Traditional	85	strongly toward traditional
Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian	92	strongly toward authoritarian
National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist	100	strongly toward nationalist
Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention	94	strongly toward intervention

All nine underlying dimensions

Dimension	Score	Reading
Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership	45	near the center
Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions	84	toward state restrictions
National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist	100	strongly toward nationalist
Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist	91	strongly toward traditionalist
Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic	100	strongly toward autocratic
Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical	82	toward hierarchical
Economic management Free market ↔ State planning	78	toward state planning
Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention	94	strongly toward intervention
Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority	73	toward religious authority

Country and government scores interpret the policies of a specific government or period; they are not an authoritative ranking of countries, and official constitutional structures can differ from how power is exercised in practice. How scores are made.

Key positions (estimated)

Statement	Position	Basis
A naturalized citizen can belong to the nation as fully as someone born there.	Strongly disagrees	estimated
A single ruling party can govern more effectively than a competitive multiparty system.	Strongly agrees	estimated
Foreign wars should be avoided unless national territory is directly threatened.	Strongly disagrees	estimated
National security can justify restrictions on what journalists publish.	Strongly agrees	estimated
A national religious authority should have the power to veto legislation.	Disagrees	estimated
Traditional values should guide what society considers right and wrong.	Strongly agrees	estimated
The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively.	Disagrees	estimated
Class distinctions should gradually disappear.	Strongly disagrees	estimated
Markets generally distribute goods more effectively than government planners.	Disagrees	estimated
A more equal distribution of social power is desirable.	Strongly disagrees	estimated

Closest ideologies

Italian Fascism94% similar position Fascism94% similar position National Socialism93% similar position Bonapartism91% similar position Caesarism88% similar position

Most similar governments

Germany — Nazi government (1933–1945)94% similar Russia — Putin governments (2000–present)91% similar Iran — Islamic Republic (1979–present)88% similar Turkey — Erdoğan government (2014–present)88% similar North Korea — Kim Jong Un administration (2011–present)81% similar

Sources

Wikipedia: Fascist Italy (Wikipedia search)

Last reviewed October 11, 2026.