The Seizure of Power is a study of Fascism in the country of its origin, Italy. Adrian Lyttelton examines the origins and growth of the fascist movement, explaining the contribution made by different social groups to its ideology and actions. The stages by which Mussolini achieved his position of absolute power are analysed in detail, and Professor Lyttelton traces the evolution of the Fascist party after 1922. He shows how, despite Fascist aspirations to totalitarianism - a term Mussolini virtually invented - that power, even at its greatest, was limited, although a system of controls created by the Fascists in many ways anticipated that set up in Nazi Germany.

This is a revised and updated third edition of this classic work of wide-ranging scholarship. Republished and with a new preface by the author, it will be essential reading for all students of Fascism and international history.