Background:
Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the
peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King
Victor EMMANUEL. An era of parliamentary government came to a close
in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist
dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to
Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the
monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter
member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has
been at the forefront of European economic and political
unification, joining the European Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent
problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption,
high unemployment, and the low incomes and technical standards of
southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.