Impact of Fascism on Italian

Foreign Policy
1870-1933
Aims
• Evaluate and analyze historical sources
• Compare and contrast historical sources
• Elaborate an essay answer with based on historical
sources
Challenges following Italian unification and Liberal Italy

a. Unification of the Kingdom of

Italy in 1861 of a number of
independent states i. Despite
unification, there was great division
and a lack of national identity

b. 1870-1923: Liberal Italy i. Italy

under a liberal democratic monarchy-
citizens choose leaders in open and
free elections while having individual
rights protected by law.
 Challenges following Italian unification and Liberal Italy
❖ Governmental separation between
church and state and anti-clerical
policies in Italy caused a rift with the
Roman Catholic church and led many in
Italy to distrust the government.
❖ Underrepresented working class:
● Only wealthy elites could vote
leaving working class Italians out of
the political process
● General Strike in 1914 to protest
conditions I. Some politicians
pushed for a ban of trade unions
and the Socialist Party (PSI)
Nationalism growth
❖ i. Prior to 1914, a strong nationalist
movement grew that glorified war and
supported Italy's push towards empire to
become a Great Power of Europe
● I. Italian Nationalist Association founded
in 1910 to support these ideas
● II. A small Empire a. Eritrea 1885 b.
Italian Somaliland 1889 c. Defeated in
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) at the Battle of
Adowa
● III. 1912, Italy seized Libya following a Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, leader of
brief war with the Ottoman Empire Futurism
Discuss
What factors undermined liberal rule before the First World War?

Work in groups to create a mindmap to show the difficulties faced by the liberal
govern m e nts after 1870 .
Impact of WWI
● i. Despite being a member of the Triple Alliance since 1882, Italy remained
neutral at the outset of WWI with Italian politicians divided as to what to do.
● I. A strong push from nationalists encouraged Italy to join the Entente powers
in hopes of conquering Italian speaking regions from Austria-Hungary
● II. April 1915, with support from the king Victor Emmanuel III-Italy signed the
Treaty of London with Britain, France and Russia and joined the war. a.
Trentino and South Tyrol b. Trieste c. Aegean Coast Land
● III. Political division remained with the powerful socialist party in opposition to
what they called an 'imperialist war' a. Socialist Party member Benito
Mussolini originally opposed intervention buy ultimately argued in favor of
joining the war i. Ousted from the party.
Impact of WWI
WWI for Italy

● I. War against Germany and Austria in

Northern Italy: Trench warfare with
horribly costly combat
● II. The War further divided Italy politically
with some resenting the government's
management of the war while others
resented the socialist anti-war stance
● III. Total War in Italy led to greater
industrial production and growing trade
unionists, socialists and greater push to
end the war
● Growing fascism
Collection of ideological stances

● Promotion of nationalism
○ a. The nation state as a unifying force and
superior to others
○ b. Removal of foreign influence
● Strong leader or dictator in a One-party
government
○ a. Totalitarian state
○ b. Citizens are subservient to the state
● War a. War revitalizes society b.
Creation of empire
● Anti-Communist
● Anti-internationalist
 Post-WWI
● Post-War political challenges continued in
Italy with the ruling liberals losing control of
the state.
● No one party gained a majority of the seats
in the government and there was frequent
turnover of the political system
● Frustration with the outcome of the Treaty of
St. Germain and Italy's failure to obtain all
the territory they originally hoped for. Prime Minister Vittorio
○ I. Prime Minister Orlando was forced to resign Emanuele Orlando
○ II. Popular anger grew following the devastating war
where over 600,000 Italians were killed
 Look at the
characteristics
of Fascism.
Discuss what kind
.
of foreign policy
you would expect
to see from a state
following this
ideology.
Growth of the Fascist movement

● Anger over the war settlement

● Economic crisis leading to high unemployment
● US restrictions on immigration leading to the inability of poor Italians to
emigrate to US.
● Bolshevik revolution leading to widespread fears of the communist spread.
● Many conservatives supported fascists as they could prevent the spread of
Communism
● Support from the Catholic Church as Pope Pius XI saw the Fascists and
Mussolini as an opportunity to improve the church's position within the state.
March on Rome, October 1922
● Weak coalition governments in 1922 could
not suppress political and street violence
● Socialists and communists called for a
general strike in August bringing wider
middle-class support to the fascists who
promised law and order 24 October 1922,
thousands of Fascists paramilitary Blackshirts
began a march to Rome to seize the
government
● The king, rather than declaring martial law,
sided with Mussolini and he was offered the
office of Prime Minister despite the Fascist
party's relatively small numbers in the
government
How did Mussolini consolidate his power?
● Weakness of the king
● Fascist Violence and Control
● Acerbo Law
● Failure of opposition
● Personal dictatorship

Read the text and prepare an answer.

Causes of the expansion(Background)
● Italy was a relatively new country in WWI
○ Concept of national identity was still in the
making
○ Italians were more loyal to their region than
their country
○ Pope didn't recognise the Italian state
○ The majority of the population was torn
between political citizenship and religion
○ Poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition were
high in the South
○ Italy had minimal colonies after the war
Causes of the expansion (Background)
● Italy started the war as a neutral
country
● Joined the Allies under the London pact
● Even though Germany was stripped of
its colonies, none went to Italy
● A wave of nationalism took place after
the war
Italian situation after the war
● Economic issues
○ Italy owed large amounts to Britain and the US
○ Used to finance the war effort
○ Inflation and unemployment caused unrest
● Social issues
○ Repeated workers strikes and riots
○ Peasant attempts to take over land in the south
● Political issues
○ Coalition governments after the war were inefficient
○ Limited democratic experience
○ Industrialists and landowners feared Bolshevism
○ Offered paramilitary oragnisations financial support in exchange for
protection
Impact of Mussolini's Fascism on Italy's Foreign Policy

● Italian Fascism
○ From 1922 to 1945
○ Mussolini thought it was an ideology
that was constantly changing
○ Moved from being anti-monarchic to
working with the monarchy
○ Liberal to highly protectionist
○ Acting from an 'honest broker' to like a
'mad dog'
Expansionist Foreign Policy
● Saw it as a right and necessity
● Right
○ Mussolini saw the need to revise the postwar treaties in order to revert to the
'mutilated peace' of 1919
○ Mussolini believed in Italy's imperial destiny
■ Had a right to the Mediterranean region
○ Mussolini defended Italy's right to claim more territories with racial arguments
● Necessity
○ Propaganda was an important characteristic of fascism, territorial expansion was
used to increase Italy's prestige and to enhance the cult of the leader
○ Italy needed colonies to provide arable land in order to expand the economy as
weel as new territories to resettle a growing Italian population
○ Mussolini's regime met increasing challenge at home, a successful foreign policy
was sought as an opportunity to move attention away from his domestic policy
Source
Thomas, J., & Rogers, K. (2015). Oxford IB Diploma Programme: The Move to
Global War Course Companion. Oxford University Press-Children.