Final answer:
Benito Mussolini rose to power in Italy by capitalizing on post-WWI economic troubles and nationalistic sentiment, creating and using the Blackshirts for intimidation, manipulating political institutions, and promoting a strong fascist ideology through spectacles and propaganda, eventually establishing a totalitarian regime.
Step-by-step explanation:
Benito Mussolini used various tactics to rise to power in Italy during the 1920s. Initially, Mussolini captured the Italian imagination by denouncing the Treaty of Versailles. He perceived it as unfair to Italy, fostering a sense of nationalism. His ascent began in earnest in 1919, at a time when Italy was economically disadvantaged, with high unemployment and inflation, causing a general dissatisfaction with the ineffective postwar governments. Mussolini capitalized on these conditions, transforming his early revolutionary socialism into fervent nationalism, which attracted a large following.
The foundation of Mussolini's power was the Blackshirts, his private militia that used intimidation and violence against political opponents. In the political sphere, Mussolini's Fascist Party capitalized on the fear of communism after the Russian Revolution, which allowed him to gain support from various social classes and the industrial/agricultural elite. By promising order and stability, and through a well-staged March on Rome in 1922, Mussolini pressured the King to appoint him as Prime Minister.
Once in power, he systematically dismantled Italy's democracy, manipulating the parliament, intimidating or assassinating political opponents, and establishing a police state. The Fascist party was made the only legal party, and Mussolini took on the title of Il Duce, seeking to create an authoritarian regime under the principle of "All within the state, none outside the state, none against the state."
His rule was characterized by fascist spectacles and propaganda, which presented Mussolini as a charismatic and ever-youthful leader. He took control of the media, projecting a cult of personality that effectively masked his totalitarian control of the state. Mussolini's regime lasted until 1943, after which he became a puppet ruler under Nazi Germany's influence until the end of World War II.