Dodecanese Nostalgia for Mussolini’s Rule

When rogue public figures assert the merits of dictatorship or colonialism, their views are widely regarded as morally irresponsible, indefensible and certainly out of step with common opinion. Occasionally, however, the former victims of dictatorship or colonialism intimate regret at the passing of their former oppressors. The implications are potentially embarrassing: do some people prefer to be ruled by foreigners, or dictators who deny them basic human rights?

As a review of the Italian-occupied Dodecanese islands reveals, nostalgia for reprehensible regimes of the past need not be interpreted as an argument for dictatorial systems. Rather, such nostalgia can widen our understanding of infamous regimes which, as in the case of the Nazis in Germany, sought to legitimise their position through appealing to the public with such sweeteners as grand ritual, public works programmes and welfare policies. Normally, nostalgia is only related to particular features of life under such regimes.