IB History Entry Into the Second World War Notes

Fascist Ideology and Italian Foreign Policy

1. Mussolini's foreign policy was rooted in Fascist ideology, which glorified war as a means of forging national character and proving Italy's greatness
2. Mussolini sought to recreate the Roman Empire, transforming the Mediterranean into Mare Nostrum ("Our Sea") under Italian domination
3. Fascism rejected liberal democracy and international cooperation, favouring military strength and imperial expansion as the path to national greatness
4. Italy's territorial ambitions focused on Africa (Abyssinia, Libya) and the Mediterranean (Nice, Corsica, Tunisia, Dalmatia)
5. The Treaty of London (1915) had promised Italy territorial gains for joining WWI, but the Allies largely reneged, creating lasting resentment
6. Mussolini increasingly distanced Italy from traditional diplomacy, aligning with Nazi Germany after 1935 as relations with Britain and France deteriorated

The Depression and Domestic Economic Pressures

1. The Great Depression hit Italy hard after 1929: withdrawal of US investment caused a collapse in industry and agriculture
2. Unemployment reached 2 million by the early 1930s, threatening the Fascist regime's claims of economic competence
3. Mussolini's regime increased state control, creating the largest public sector in Europe outside the Soviet Union
4. Italy pursued autarky (economic self-sufficiency) to reduce dependence on imports, but this failed to solve underlying weaknesses
5. Foreign policy aggression served as a distraction from domestic failures, with the Abyssinian invasion designed to boost national prestige and divert attention

Changing Diplomatic Alignments (1933-1935)

The Four Power Pact (1933)

1. Mussolini proposed a pact between Britain, France, Germany, and Italy to manage European affairs as a concert of great powers
2. The pact was largely symbolic and failed to achieve lasting cooperation, but it showed Mussolini still engaging with both sides
3. Smaller nations like France's allies (Poland, Czechoslovakia) opposed the pact, fearing great power decisions would override their interests

The Stresa Front (April 1935)

1. In April 1935, Italy, Britain, and France met at Stresa to oppose German rearmament and defend Austrian independence