How did Italian foreign policy change between 1922-35?

1. How did Italian foreign policy change between 1922-35? L/O – To examine the key features of Italian foreign policy between 1922 and 1935

2. Did Mussolini have a foreign policy? • In his first speech to the Chamber of Deputies in 1922, Mussolini proclaimed that ‘Foreign policy is the area which especially preoccupies us’. • Mussolini’s fascist ideology stressed that Italy should be ‘great, respected, and feared’. This would necessitate a revision of the post-First World War settlement to reverse the perceived ‘mutilated peace’. • All historians agree that Mussolini had an expansionist agenda. What they disagree about is the extent to which this agenda was planned, or whether in the words of A.J.P. Taylor, Mussolini was ‘a vain, blundering boaster without ideas or aims’.

3. Did Mussolini have a foreign policy? • As the historian Stephen Lee (2010) identifies, Fascist foreign policy was an amalgam of three main components that were a mixture of continuity and radicalism, tempered by domestic conditions and the international situation: • Continuation of Italy’s traditional objectives– increase influence in Mediterranean and Balkans, gain empire internationally • Sense of Disillusionment– Treaty of St. Germain left Italy unsatisfied and revisionist in outlook • Fascist Vision of the Future – Strengthen the state through the rival of the heritage of the Roman Empire

5. The Development of Foreign Policy • Mussolini’s foreign policy, at the same time traditional and radical, developed in stages: • 1922 – 1929: Foreign policy based on long-term aim to revise Treaty of St. Germain. Constrained by collective security abroad, and consolidation of power at home. • 1929 – 1934: Great Depression opened scope for action. Rise of Hitler undermined international cooperation. Policy of ‘equidistance’ between France and Britain and Germany. Italy plays sides off against each other for advantage. • 1935 – 1940: Constraints now gone. Abyssinia, Spain, Albania invaded. Closer connection with Germany culminating in War. Radicalisation at home.

6. The Corfu Incident - 1923 • On 21st August 1923, four Italians were assassinated whilst working for a boundary commission marking the border between Greece and Albania. • Mussolini seized the opportunity to browbeat Greece. Demanded 50 million lire and official apology. Greece refused. Mussolini invaded the island of Corfu – his original intention. • Greece appealed to LoN. Under British pressure, Italian marines pulled out on 27th September, Greece paid the compensation but no apology. Relations with Britain and France were damaged.

8. The Annexation of Fiume - 1924 • The city of Fiume with an Italian majority was given to Yugoslavia after WW1. Italian nationalists resented this. In 1922, the nationalist Gabriele D’Annunzio briefly occupied the city. • Shortly after the Corfu Incident, Mussolini invaded Fiume again. This time he moved quickly in getting Yugoslavia to sign the Treaty of Rome in January 1924. Italy officially annexed Fiume and both countries promised mutual neutrality in case of attack by a third party. • This was a victory of sorts for Mussolini. Domestically people were jubilant. However he had upset France who in 1921 had created the ‘Little Entente’ alliance with Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Romania. France had hoped these powers would help maintain the Paris Peace Settlement.

10. The Locarno Pact - 1925 • Having soured relations with Britain and France over his invasions of Corfu and Fiume, Mussolini decided to reverse course and initiate more conciliatory relations. • The Locarno Treaties were 7 agreements signed in Switzerland in October 1925. Under the Rhineland Pact between Germany, France, Belgium, the UK, and Italy, Italy agreed to guarantee German borders and come to the aid of any country coming under attack. • The ‘spirit of Locarno’ ushered in a brief era of improved relations in Europe. Germany joined the LoN in 1926 and Mussolini would later sign the Kellogg-Briand Pact in 1928 - banning war!

11. Increasing Influence in Albania - 1926 • However whilst Mussolini was playing the international statesman in Western Europe, he was plotting to expand Italian influence in the Balkans at the expense of the French. • He secretly supported separatist forces in the Balkans like Croats in Yugoslavia and signed commercial agreements with Czechoslovakia. He was hoping that the little Entente Powers would move towards Italy. • This plan backfired in 1926. After intervening in the Albanian Civil War, he established a virtual protectorate over Albania. He monopolised Albanian shipping and trade as well as training its army. These moves only served to push the Little Entente powers closer together in mutual fear of Italy.

13. The Great Depression – 1930s • The Great Depression was a significant turning point for international relations in Europe. Nations struggling to deal with its economic fallout increasingly favoured unilateral action and bilateral agreements over multi-lateral cooperation. • Italy in particular was hit hard by the depression. International trade fell sharply along with access to foreign loans. Unemployment rose to 1 million. Mussolini’s foreign policy became increasingly aggressive and focused on capturing overseas markets to achieve ‘autarky’. • This combined with the rise to power of Hitler in an increasingly revisionist and determined Germany. This posed a threat to Italy if Anschluss was ever achieved. Mussolini therefore saw an opportunity to mediate between the rival power blocs of France/Britain and Germany.

14. The Four-Power Pact • In order to curb an increasingly bellicose Germany, Mussolini proposed a treaty between Italy, Germany, France, and Britain in June 1933. • Also called the Quadripartite Agreement, the Four-Power Pact was initially proposed as a better way to insure international security. Mussolini was really trying to achieve closer Italo-French/British relations and to isolate Germany. • Yet whilst the Pact confirmed Mussolini’s role as international statesman, it didn’t last long. It merely served to further undermine confidence in the League of Nations, which Germany then withdrew from along with the disarmament conference in October 1933.

16. The Dollfuss Affair • In July 1934, Austria’s Chancellor, Englebert Dollfuss, was murdered by Nazi supporters in an attempt bring about an Anschluss between Austria and Germany. • Italy was concerned as its authority in the province of South Tyrol was under threat. South Tyrol was a majority-German area given to Italy in the 1919 Treaty of St Germain. Mussolini felt that Anschluss would threaten his control of this province. • In response, Mussolini mobilised troops to the Austrian border along the Brenner Pass. Germany was forced to back down and stop its interference in Austrian affairs as it was not yet strong enough.

18. The Stresa Front • The result was a major success for Mussolini and the prestige of the Italian army. Germany had been checked. Yet the murder of Dollfuss illustrated the weakness of Austria. • When Hitler announced conscription and rearmament to the world in March 1935, Mussolini again moved to isolate Germany. • In April 1935, French FM Pierre Laval, British PM Ramsay MacDonald and Mussolini met at Stresa in Northern Italy to discuss how to deal with Hitler.

20. The Stresa Front • The agreement re-affirmed the Locarno Pact of 1925 and all agreed to form the ‘Stresa Front’ to contain Nazi Germany. • However the Front wouldn’t last long. All three powers had diverging aims. Britain was pursuing a ‘Dual Policy’ and didn’t want to antagonise Germany when anti-war sentiment was high at home. • Like Italy, France wanted to contain Germany but seemed unwilling to consider war to do so. Mussolini wanted to contain Germany but also gained silent acquiescence to invade Abyssinia – or so he believed.

21. The Front breaks down • This failure to present a united front and co-ordinate policy more fully led directly to the breakdown of the Front. • In June 1935, without even consulting France or Italy, Britain signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement which gave Germany the right to rebuild its navy. Britain believed it could ‘appease’ Hitler. • Italy and France saw this as a betrayal of the Stresa Front which was probably the last best chance to stop Hitler. Gambling, Mussolini then invaded Abyssinia in October 1935, resulting in the death of the Front. Swinging towards Germany, Mussolini informed Hitler that he wouldn’t oppose Anschluss anymore!