Giuseppe Mazzini (22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, lawyer, journalist, philosopher, and political activist who worked for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and was a major leader of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the independent and unified Italy in place of the several separate states, many dominated by foreign powers, that existed until the 19th century. An Italian nationalist in the historical radical tradition and a proponent of a republicanism of social-democratic inspiration, Mazzini "helped define the European movement for popular democracy in a republican state." He is widely known as the "Prophet of Italian Nationalism".
Mazzini's thoughts influenced the Italian and European republican movements, the Constitution of Italy, and Europeanism, as well as later political leaders including Benito Mussolini, who was later the Fascist leader of Italy, former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, former U.K. Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Indian independence movement figures such as Subhas Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the founder of Hindutva. His ideas also influenced Sun Yat-sen, former President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912–1913), and founder of the Three Principles of the People (also known as Tridemism). In addition, Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of his most devoted followers, was deeply inspired by Mazzini's revolutionary vision and later played a decisive role in the Risorgimento through his military campaigns.
However, Mazzini's methods were often criticised, as his reliance on secret revolutionary groups and uprisings led to repeated failures and repression. Some historians also argue that his refusal to compromise with the monarchy made his goals harder to achieve, even though his ideas ultimately inspired the success of Italian unification.
