Mussolini's Foreign Policy
MUSSOLINI’S FOREIGN POLICY
In the early days of Mussolini’s regime (he came to power in 1922), Italian foreign policy seemed rather confused: Mussolini knew what he wanted, which was ‘to make Italy great, respected and feared.’ But he was not sure how to achieve this, apart from agitating for a revision of the 1919 peace settlement in Italy’s favour. At first he seemed to think an adventurous foreign policy was his best line of action, hence the Corfu Incident and the occupation of Fiume in 1923. By an agreement signed at Rapallo in 1920, Fiume was to be a ‘free city’, used jointly by Italy and Yugoslavia; after Italian troops moved in, Yugoslavia agreed that it should belong to Italy. After these early successes, Mussolini became more cautious, perhaps alarmed by Italy’s isolation at the time of Corfu. After 1923, his policy falls roughly into two phases:
1923-34
At this stage Mussolini’s policy was determined by rivalry with the French in the Mediterranean and the Balkans where Italian relations with Yugoslavia were usually strained. Another consideration was the Italian fear that the weak state of Austria might fall too much under the influence of Germany; Mussolini was worried about a possible German threat via the Brenner Pass. He tried to deal with both mainly by diplomatic means:
1. He attended the Locarno Conference: but was disappointed when the agreements signed did not guarantee the Italian frontier with Austria.
2. He was friendly towards Greece, Hungary and especially Albania, the southern neighbour and rival of Yugoslavia. Economic and defence agreements meant that Albania was virtually controlled by Italy.
3. He cultivated good relations with Britain. He supported her demand that Turkey should hand over Mosul province to Iraq, and in return, Britain gave Italy a piece of the Somaliland.
4. Italy became the first state after Britain to recognized the USSR; a non-aggression pact was signed between Italy and the USSR in September 1933.
In the early days of Mussolini’s regime (he came to power in 1922), Italian foreign policy seemed rather confused: Mussolini knew what he wanted, which was ‘to make Italy great, respected and feared.’ But he was not sure how to achieve this, apart from agitating for a revision of the 1919 peace settlement in Italy’s favour. At first he seemed to think an adventurous foreign policy was his best line of action, hence the Corfu Incident and the occupation of Fiume in 1923. By an agreement signed at Rapallo in 1920, Fiume was to be a ‘free city’, used jointly by Italy and Yugoslavia; after Italian troops moved in, Yugoslavia agreed that it should belong to Italy. After these early successes, Mussolini became more cautious, perhaps alarmed by Italy’s isolation at the time of Corfu. After 1923, his policy falls roughly into two phases:
1923-34
At this stage Mussolini’s policy was determined by rivalry with the French in the Mediterranean and the Balkans where Italian relations with Yugoslavia were usually strained. Another consideration was the Italian fear that the weak state of Austria might fall too much under the influence of Germany; Mussolini was worried about a possible German threat via the Brenner Pass. He tried to deal with both mainly by diplomatic means:
1. He attended the Locarno Conference: but was disappointed when the agreements signed did not guarantee the Italian frontier with Austria.
2. He was friendly towards Greece, Hungary and especially Albania, the southern neighbour and rival of Yugoslavia. Economic and defence agreements meant that Albania was virtually controlled by Italy.
3. He cultivated good relations with Britain. He supported her demand that Turkey should hand over Mosul province to Iraq, and in return, Britain gave Italy a piece of the Somaliland.
4. Italy became the first state after Britain to recognized the USSR; a non-aggression pact was signed between Italy and the USSR in September 1933.