Comparisons of the histories of France and Italy

 

The history of France and Italy is one that can be considered to run parallel to one another. This is especially the case when one considers that they have a shared history based on the Roman Empire, of which they were both a part for centuries (Hopkins, 1980). Furthermore, both of these nations have long histories of not only friendship, but also conflict, especially after the fall of the Roman Empire. The significance of these nations history is that they have both become extremely influential over the history of the rest of Europe, as seen in the manner through which they are not only important members of the European Union, but they have also come to have centuries of cultural influence that can still be felt on the continent today. France, for example, was one of the most powerful and wealthiest countries in Europe and because of this; its culture was dominant on the continent, as seen through the widespread use of French as a diplomatic language throughout continental Europe until it was supplanted by English. Italy, on the other hand, was also influential because it is the birthplace of the Renaissance and the cultural awakening of Europe following the medieval period. A comparison of France and Italy is pertinent, especially from a historical, economic, and civilian victimization perspective.

France is one of the most powerful countries in the world as well as being a leader among the nations of Europe. It has a long history of being a nation beginning with the Carolingian dynasty, and its identity as a nation has been maintained into the modern world. Its role within Europe has become even more prominent following the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Faure, 2019). Furthermore, France is a nation that is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, which allows it considerable influence over other nations in the world. it is also a member of other prominent multilateral organizations, including the G7 and NATO. Because of this, France has maintained the considerable influence that it has wielded across the world for centuries, and has allowed this country to make sure that it maintains its cultural influence not only in Europe, but also in the rest of the world. The importance of this situation can be seen through the way that France continues to become involved in a diversity of conflicts either as a participant or mediator, especially in its former colonies like Mali and the Central African Republic (Glawion & De Vries, 2018). In recent decades, France has pursued a policy of reconciliation and cooperation with Germany, a nation that it had been rivals with for many centuries. This cooperation has proven pivotal because it has ensured that there is the promotion of a scenario where they not only work together to ensure that economic integration of Europe, but also the use of a common currency within the European Union. France also includes overseas entities such as Guadeloupe, Mayotte, Reunion, Martinique, and French Guiana, which are considered an integral part of the state since they were made a part of France proper. In this way, France continues to be an influential nation in a diversity of regions across the world, which has ensured that it maintains a prominent position in global politics.

Italy is another prominent state in Europe and this has been mainly because it is from the peninsula that the Roman state arose. Since the time of the Roman Empire, Italy has played an important role in European affairs to such an extent that it was often at the center of conflicts between outside European states such as Spain, France, and Austria to gain control over it (Davis, 2000). The legacy of the Roman Empire has therefore played an important role in its history to such an extent that it has become possible for the nation to not only leave a permanent imprint on the culture, but also politics of Europe. Italy officially took on its modern version in 1861 following its unification under King Victor Emmanuel II. This nation has since then become one of the most important in Europe not only because of its becoming one of the most influential because of its involvement in European imperialism, when it colonized parts of Somalia and Libya, and later Ethiopia, but also because of the way that it rose to even greater prominence with the rise of a fascist government under Benito Mussolini (Melograni, 1976). However, following its defeat in the Second World War, Italy has become a democratic republic that has been at the forefront of the promotion of European integration and its political and economic unification. However, unlike France, which has promoted considerable unity within its boundaries, Italy has witnessed problems based on the manner that its north has become more developed and prosperous than its south, which has essentially been neglected. The prominence of these problems has created problems within this country as it has become divided politically. Moreover, unlike France, whose influence over its former colonies has remained significant, Italy, because of the wrong choices of its government, especially the Fascists, ended up losing much of its influence, with the result being that Italian influence, especially in the form of language, is only felt in a small part of the world.

The economic development of modern Italy began when it joined the Marshall Plan of the United States. This plan allowed Italy to recover from the devastation of the Second World War and the civil war that took place within the latter. A consequence of the Marshall Plan was that by 1950, Italy was able to ensure that its economy recovered enough to not only be stable, but also begin booming (Ellwood, 2003). As an integral part of the nations of Western Europe during the Cold War, Italy was able to make sure that it promoted its interests through its becoming a founding member of the European Economic Community which would eventually transform into the European Union. Therefore, the Italian economy was able to modernize and grow considerably quickly during the Cold War and this ensured that it was able to utilize the Marshall Plan to develop the mechanisms that would ensure that it not only adapted, but also domesticated the economy in subsequent decades. Thus, following the failure of fascism, Italy undertook to ensure that it followed the American model of economic development, which allowed it to not only enhance its economic standing, but also to internationalize in a manner that greatly enhanced growth. There was the operationalization of the economic growth of the nation in such a way that Italy was able to overcome the previous perspective of its industrial and developmental prospects being rooted in the ideas of craftsmanship, thrift, and frugality, and instead came to adopt an economic model which allowed for free trade and internationalism based on the expansion of trade with other countries. Also, Italy let of the protectionist policies that it pursued during the fascist era and has over the decades taken advantage of the globalized trade relationships to ensure that it prospers at an economic level.

France also took part in the Marshall Plan and it did so following an initial attempt not to become a part of it. The devastation of the Second World War on France forced the country to seek the aid of the United States mainly because it was the main basis upon which its economic recovery could be attained (Esposito, 1994). The significance of this situation can be seen through the way that it not only allowed for the economic recovery of France, but it was also used as a means of funding its economic efforts in Indochina. In addition to low interest loans, the United States ensured that it provided France with grants that it did not have to pay back. A consequence is that France was not only able to rearm itself and enhance its war effort in Indochina, but it was also able to develop an effective means through which it allowed itself to expand its development process while at the same time allowing for the attainment of the goal of recovery. Thus, within a few years following the Second World War, France was able to ensure that it attained the goal of economic recovery as well as the expansion of its influence as it reestablished itself in its colonies. The massive change that took place in France can be considered quite significant because it led to a reduction of nationalist feeling and the acceptance of aid when otherwise it would not have done so. Furthermore, France was able to regain normal growth by the 1950s to such an extent that the government was able to provide support to critical firms, a majority of which carried on normally. However, there was little change in the way that industrial managers in France ran their firms because there was no change in the content of their training. Like Italy, France was also able to take advantage of the global markets in order to enhance its growth and to spread its influence.

The case of civilian victimization can be seen in both the histories of France and Italy, especially when one considers the manner through which these states acted as colonial powers. Both France and Italy undertook the process of making sure that there was the promotion of a scenario where there was the enhancement of the prestige and authority of their European populations in the colonies. In this way, it became possible to make sure that there was the promotion of the national interests of the Italians or French as the situation demanded. Italy was able, in its efforts to ensure that it gained control over Albania, with the result being that it undertook the beginning of the process of assimilation for the Albanians (Bakić, 2014). The assimilation process involved the encouragement of Italian colonists to settle and own land in occupied Albania with the aim of making sure that the country was eventually made more Italian. A direct consequence was the victimization of the civilian population because Italy essentially forced them to seek to abandon their culture and nationality in favor of becoming Italian in their way of life. It is noteworthy that because of the manner through which Albania was taken over, there was considerable resistance from the local population, led by the communist party, which ensured that there was the prevention of the total Italicization of the country. However, Italy took on a highly negative attitude towards those that resisted its efforts to such an extent that it resulted in a situation where those who were believed to resist Italian rule were often dealt with in brutal ways, especially by the members of the Albanian fascist party.

France also undertook policies which resulted in the victimization of civilians within their colonies. Like Italy in Albania, France also adopted policies which were aimed at making sure that there population of their colonies became assimilated to such an extent that they not only adopted French as a language, but also French culture. This is a practice that was made use of in the colonies, as seen in nations such as Algeria, where there was the rapid promotion of a scenario that advanced the idea that French culture was superior and was therefore the ideal for adoption by the native populations of the colony (Betts, 2005). Because of the considerable effort to settle Algeria with French colonists, this population was able to advance the agenda of France in such a way that it considered itself French while at the same time making sure that there was the promotion of a situation where they fought for the identity of Algeria as a French province. Those individuals that sought to enhance the independence of the country or promoted the idea of the Muslim identity of the territory were therefore considered enemies of the state and were often arrested and treated in inhuman ways. This shows that despite its advancement of the idea that its culture was highly advanced, France undertook actions that were essentially inhumane and made it possible for their actions to be viewed as being oppressive to the populations of their colonies that did not support its efforts of assimilation. Thus, France ended up rewarding loyalists while at the same time undertook efforts aimed at suppressing the part of the population that did not wish to assimilate to its culture.

In conclusion, this paper has sought to ensure that there is the comparison of France and Italy from a historical, economic, and civilian victimization perspective. It has shown that the histories of the countries is quite complex, as seen through the way that France was able to develop earlier as a nation state while Italy only became a nation state in 1861 following centuries of being a pawn or victim in great European power politics. Furthermore, it considers the way that the economies of France and Italy were able to advance following the destruction of the Second World War and the manner that the Marshall Plan played a pertinent role in bringing about the attainment of economic recovery. Finally, there is a consideration of the victimization of civilians by both countries, especially due to the assimilation policies of Italy in Albania and France in Algeria.