Mykhailenko M. Mykhailenko M.Y. The state policy of national consolidation in the Kingdom of Italy (1861-1896).

This research is based on the study of a wide range of sources and historiographical works and analyses the experience of the young Kingdom of Italy in creation and consolidation of the nation state. To this end, the paper outlines key priorities and challenges of the state-building in this country in the period of 1861-1896. In particular, the author researched in detail the formation of the state bodies and common administrative-territorial system of the Kingdom with a strong institution of prefects, which secured the institutional and administrative consolidation of the newly created state. The so-called "Problem of the South"– massive acts of defiance by the local population in the southern provinces of the Kingdom in the period 1861-1870 – was also examined. In addition, the researcher defined the reasons and factors leading to the so-called “Roman issue” as well as the ways of addressing this problem and its impact on the further development of the Kingdom. The paper looks into large-scale socio-economic reforms carried out at the state level in order to consolidate the newly established state. It also described the evolution of the country's economic development from the liberal model of the "historical right" governments to the protectionism of the "historical left" governments as well as reasons and consequences of this policy. The research shed light at key tools used by the first governments of the Kingdom of Italy aimed at "creating" the Italian nation. In this context, the author examined the evolution of electoral legislation as a main instrument of peoples’ access to power and ensuring its influence on the formation and implementation of the key priorities of national development. The reform of the education system during the first decades after the reunification of the Kingdom, including the introduction of compulsory education among young people and the expansion of the school network as one of the key tools for spreading the values of a nation state and patriotism, was covered in detail. The key role of the united Royal Army in the unification of the state was also reflected.