Mazzini favored professional armies over popular insurrection to defend the Roman Republic
Evidence
In 1849 (see note 90 on p. 102 ) Mazzini headed the Roman Republic. His policy of entrusting the city’s defences to the regular army rather than attempting to mobilise the entire population was symbolised by his appointment of Rosselli, a regular army general, rather than Garibaldi to command the defence forces. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 2057
Categorization
- QUESTION: Mazzini’s choice of Rosselli over Garibaldi and regular troops over popular mobilisation seems to contradict his republican politics — worth checking how this episode was read by Gramsci and Mazzini’s later critics.
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 2057
- XREF: connects to: Mazzini-inspired insurrection failed because aristocrats withheld support