A bridge across the Mediterranean: Italy’s Eurafrica movement in the democratic turn

The geopolitical concept of Eurafrica had its roots in the imperial geographies of the Fascist era, but gained traction during the process of European integration after the Second World War. This article traces the arc of support for a Eurafrican future during Italy's democratic turn. Though it found its most ardent proponents among former colonial officials and settlers, historical figures across the political spectrum seized on the Eurafrica concept as a compelling model to define Italy's position in Africa after the end of empire. Ever a malleable concept, people saw what they wanted to see in an imagined Eurafrican future. But all agreed that a post-Fascist and democratic Italy could serve as a bridge across the Mediterranean, imparting European labour, expertise, and culture to colonial and postcolonial nations in Africa.