Hydropower, expertise, and attempted Italian economic imperialism in Dalmatia. Nitrogen fixation in ‘the Norway of the Mediterranean’ (1902–1945)

This article analyzes the rise and decline of the electrochemical industry in Dalmatia between 1902 and 1945, with particular attention paid to production of the nitrogen fertilizer calcium cyanamide, made from calcium carbide. Central to the discussion is the Sufid company – which made Dalmatia the world’s second largest producer of calcium cyanamide after Scandinavia – that projected Italian capitalism beyond national borders by linking industrial, financial, and diplomatic interests. Dalmatia’s abundant hydroelectric resources attracted substantial Italian investment during the turbulent geopolitical period shaped by the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italian Fascism, and the formation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The industrial enterprise, dependent on imported German and Italian technologies, enabled rapid early growth but proved structurally fragile, and was unable to adapt to the emergence of the Haber-Bosch synthetic ammonia process. By adopting a transnational perspective, this article shows how reliance on exogenous technologies and political contingencies constrained both innovation and competitiveness. As such it is a contribution to the debates on industrial modernization in European peripheries, with particular reference to the conditions for establishing important chemical industries, and emphasizing the limits of externally driven developments.