“This is not mal d’Afrique”. The Italian African Office and the Propaganda Efforts about the Italian Former Colonies (1946-1953)

The essay explores several initiatives and events through which post-war gov-ernments tried to mould the public discourse about the loss of the Italian colonies and the efforts for a “return” of Italy in those territories. Specific attention will be paid to the analysis of diverse sources, stored in several archives, through which the African Office prompted and influenced textual and audiovisual products of various kinds (newspapers, publications, newsreels and documentaries) dealing with the diplomatic efforts to maintain a hegemonic role in the soon-to-be former colonies, the beginning of the Trusteeship Administration of Somalia, and with other events concerning the former dominions. The analysis of such a multifacet-ed corpus will reveal either continuities or discontinuities not merely in propaganda contents, yet also in the personnel and in the management of the (colonial) politi-cal communication. Therefore, the historical analysis of production and circula-tion mechanisms will be revealing both of the tortuous transition from dictatorial to democratic institutions, and of the equally convoluted passage from the coloni-al to the post-colonial setting.

Keywords: Propaganda, decolonization, Italian African Office, Political communication, Ma-gazines, Non-fiction film

Gianmarco Mancosu, “Non per il mal d’Africa”. Il Ministero dell’Africa italiana e la propaganda sulle ex colonie italiane (1946-1953) in "MONDO CONTEMPORANEO" 1/2023, pp 77-108, DOI: 10.3280/MON2023-001004