Abstract

This article studies the Italian Government’s legal and political attempts to disarm the civilian population in the long aftermath of the Second World War. It will do so by focusing on two sides of the disarmament campaign: on the one hand, its theoretical-normative developments, through analysis of the parliamentary debates that accompanied drafting of a special legislation on firearms control; on the other hand, the practical implementation of the restrictive regulations promulgated by the Italian Parliament against the backdrop of a fierce political battle and emerging Cold War policing strategies.