Abstract

The chapter focuses on the overlooked debate within the anarchist movement on the monopoly of violence during the Italian civil war (1919-1922). It contributes to the historiographical debate on the brutalization of politics and the emergence of Fascism in Italy after the First World War. In front of the unstoppable spread of indiscriminate Fascist violence, the anarchists interrogate themselves on the ethical question of the use of force as a mean of social transformation. The anarchists attributed to the maintenance and defence of their principles, and above all to a consistent pursuit of these principles in their activities and behaviours, a fundamental aspect of the fight against fascism.