Mussolini’s Foreign Mussolini’s Foreign PolicyPolicy

Overview

In this lesson, you will examine:• Features of Mussolini’s early foreign

policy• Mussolini’s shift towards aggression• Creation of the Rome-Berlin Axis

CooperationMussolini’s foreign policy from 1922-1936 was generally of cooperation:

• Signed the Locarno Pacts of 1925 which affirmed European boundaries as set by the Treaty of Versailles

• Threatened to protect Austria if Germany invaded after the 1934 assassination of Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss

• Signed the Stresa agreement of 1935 which reinforced commitment to the Treaty of Versailles

Changes

Mussolini believed that Italy could only be politically and economically successful if it expanded its empire. As a result:

• Italy invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935

• Italy signed the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936

• Italy supported the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1937

Isolation

Mussolini’s militarism led to increasing isolation in the international community:

• Britain and France led the League of Nations towards limited sanctions against Italy for the Abyssinian invasion

• Italy left the League of Nations in 1937• Italy joined the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis of

1938

A new partnership

Mussolini was no longer in command of Italy’s foreign policy:

• Italy’s economy had been drained after taking over Ethiopia

• Italy supported Hitler’s takeover of Austria in 1938

Summary Questions

• What characterized Italy’s foreign policy prior to 1936?

• Why did Mussolini feel that war would solve Italy’s economic and diplomatic problems?

• How did Italy become a major partner of Nazi Germany after 1936?