MUSSOLINI’S FOREIGN POLICY

MUSSOLINI’S FOREIGN POLICY

One of the fundamental articles of the fascist faith was to lighten the prestige of Italy in the eyes of the foreign countries. The fascist glorified war as a symbol of national virility. Mussolini. Aimed at reviving the prestige of ancient Rome and securing for Italy the position of world power. Besides, Italy was in need of colonies to provide an out let for hundreds of thousands of her children deprived of work in the father land and no longer able to emigrate abroad on account of the limitation imposed on immigration by foreign countries. Hence he followed an aggressive foreign policy.

Policy till 1934: First of all Mussolini concentrated his attention on south-eastern Europe. By the treaty of Locarno signed in 1923, Italy got back Dodecanese Island which she had surrendered to Greece in 1920. Another example of his aggressive foreign policy was Corfu incident i.e. took place in 1923.this arose from a boundary dispute between Greece and Albania in which three Italian officials working in boundary commission were killed. Mussolini blamed the Greeks, demanded huge compensation and bombarded and occupied island of Corfu. When League of Nations interfered Mussolini refused to recognize its competence to deal with the problem and threatened to withdraw Italy from the League.

In 1924 Italy signed Treaty of Rome with Yugoslavia by which the free state of Fiume was divided between the two. While the city of Fiume proper went to Italy, Yugoslavia got the neighboring port of Baros. In 1925 he attended the Locarno Conference, but disappointed when the agreement was signed. It did not guarantee the Italian frontier with Austria. He followed friendly policy towards Greece, Hungary and especially Albania. In 1926 he concluded a treaty with Albania by which Albania was virtually controlled by Italy. He cultivated good relation with British and supported her demands i.e. Turkey should hand over Mosul Province to Iraq. In return the British gave Italy a small part of Somaliland. At the London Naval conference held in 1930, Mussolini demanded naval party with France. In 1931, he advocated the revision of Peace Treaty.

When and why was Stresa Front collapsed?

Policy after 1934: The Stresa Front: -the prospect of Europe dominated by Germany was not to the liking of Italy and for France. It was the worst possible development. French foreign minister Pierre Laval was a sincere admire of fascism. He now entered into settlement with Mussolini. The object of this agreement was to present a united front of France, Italy and Britain against the growing German threat. When Hitler announced the re-introduction of conscription in March 1935, Italy, Britain and France at once decided to register their strong protest. They met in a conference at Stresa in11-14 April 1935. It was attended by the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, French foreign minister Pierre Laval and Mussolini. They formed declaration and the three powers agreed to oppose,’ any unilateral repudiation of treaties and to uphold the system of collective security under the frame work of the league. Thus the three powers made impressive display of their solidarity. But non wanted to keep their promise and this became evident within a very short time the insincerity of the three powers became evident when Britain entered into a naval agreement with Germany. It created a breach not only in the Treaty of Versailles, but in the Stresa front also. It convinced Mussolini of British self interest.

Why did Mussolini invade Abyssinia?

Annexation of Abyssinia: - the most spectacular achievement of Mussolini was the conquest of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Many factors were responsible for the conquest of Abyssinia by Italy. The population of Italy was on the increase and there was the necessity of the acquiring some territory for the surplus population. Italy needed raw material for her industries and the market for the finished goods. It was necessary to divert attention from internal troubles and provide a new market for Italian exports. It would please the nationalists and colonialist, avenge the defeat of 1896 and boost Mussolini’s declining popularity. The conquest of Abyssinia would put minerals into the hands of Italy. Abyssinia was of great strategic value for Italy. It could link the Italian possession in Somaliland, Eritrea and south-east Africa. From Abyssinia, Italy could afford to attack the British position in Sudan. It could also help Italy to make the Mediterranean an Italian Lake. From the attitude of the League of Nations and the great powers towards the conquest of Manchuria by Japan, Mussolini had come to the conclusion that in spite of the principle of collective security, nobody was going to stop him from conquering Abyssinia. As Italy was considered as lesser evil, it was possible i.e., the other powers may not like to interfere while she was busy in conquering Abyssinia.

Mussolini took a lot of time make preparation for an attack on Abyssinia. In 1935 he took advantage of some border incident at Walwal and attacked Abyssinia. Its king Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations for arbitration. The league condemned Italy as an aggressor and applied economic sanction. But these were useless because they did not include banning sales of oil and coal to Italy. The league’s prestige suffered further blow when it emerged i.e. the British foreign secretary Sir Samuel Hoare had made a secret deal with Luval the French Prime Minister to hand over a large sanction of Abyssinia to Italy. Public opinion in Britain was so out raged i.e. the idea was dropped. In the mean while Italian forces continued to penetrate in to Abyssinia and ultimately occupied it in May 1936.

State the important consequence of Mussolini’s invasion of Abyssinia.

The conquest of Abyssinia marks a crucial turning point in post war history. Its real importance was i.e. it demonstrated the ineffectiveness of collective security. The league and the idea of collective security were discredited. The only significant step taken by the league was the application of Article16 providing for sanctions. But the half hunted manner in which article 16 was applied indicated its weakness rather than strength. The primary responsibility for the leagues’ failure lay on the big powers especially Britain and France. Reason for this weak stand against Italy was i.e. Britain and France were military and economically unprepared for war. Any way Mussolini was annoyed by the sanction and began to be drawn towards friendship with Hitler, who had not criticized the invasion.

Involvement in Spanish civil war

The constitutional monarchy in Spain under king Alfanso was not very efficient. In 1923 General Rivera seized the power in a bloodless coup. The people supported the dictatorship for the fear of the Bolshevik revolution. In the election of 1931 socialists republican party majority and demanded the abdication of the Spanish king.

The king abdicated and a republican form of government was formed. In July 1936 the Rightist leader Calvo Sotelo was murdered by the police. This incident created a terror in the minds of Rightist and they decided to restore military dictatorship. A group of generals under the leadership of Franco decided to utilize the situation and Civil war began in Spain in 1936.

Mussolini sent extensive help to Franco hoping to establish a third Fascist state in Europe and to get naval bases in Spain from which he could threatened France. He also wanted to check the spread of communism. Twenty seven European states formed non-interference committee and decided not to give any kind of help to either party in Spain. Disregarding the decision Italy sent help to General Franco. In 1939 civil war came to an end when Franco won the battle. This Spanish civil war transformed into a European war and paved the way to the Second World War.

Rome Berlin Axis: Another achievement of Mussolini's foreign policy was his understanding with Hitler known as Rome-Berlin Axis. Mussolini said that the Axis was a line drawn between Rome and Berlin, around which all European states that desire place can revolve.

Italy sent help to General Franco: in 1939 Italy joined the Anti Comintern Pact with Germany and Japan in which all three pledged to stand side by side against Communism.

Pact of Steel:- Carried away by his success, Mussolini signed a full alliance with Germany known as pact of steel in may 1939. According to this pact Italy promised full military support if a war came.

Though the Second World War started in September 1939, Italy remained neutral. In 1940 Italy joined the war by declaring war against Britain and France.