In what ways did Mussolini’s foreign policy become more aggressive after 1935?

In the years leading up to 1935, Mussolini began building a reputation for himself and gaining influence over other countries. To begin with, his ultimate goal was to make Italy into a great nation and to ensure they gained an elevated status and huge amounts of power. The turning point in Mussolini’s foreign policy came when he invaded Abssynia (Ethiopia) in 1935. The League of Nations were shown to be ineffective, and therefore nothing was done to stop Italy from conquering Ethiopia. From this victory, Mussolini appeared to gain confidence and prestige, causing him from then on to continue invading other countries and inflicting war, to result in a stronger, more powerful Italian Empire. By 1939, Mussolini had created a close relationship with Hitler and had grown a greater dependency on Germany.

One of Mussolini’s first successes was also one of the most significant events of his life as a dictator. This early success was the Corfu incident in 1923, where an Italian official was killed whilst trying to resolve a border dispute between Greece and Albania. As a result of this, Mussolini demanded an apology from Greece, as well as 50million Lire as a form of compensation. Although Greece were conciliatory, Italy decided to invade Corfu, ignoring The League Of nations as well as threats from Britain. Mussolini only withdrew Italian troops after Greece had fully payer the compensation money. Italian propaganda proclaimed the incident as a great success. This incident was significant for Mussolini’s later success as it gave the impression to other nations that Italy were a country that deserved respect and praise, but were also a nation that should be taken seriously- whether this be in its leadership or in its threats. Mussolini wanted to prove that no one could mess with him or his country- and this was one of the first incidents to show that, as well as being one of his first successes to build his reputation on.

Another key success in Mussolini’s leadership of Italy was when he greatened his ownership of land. This came in 1924, when he added Fiume to his possessions. Although this may appear to be a great gain, Mussolini didn’t need to go to extremities to be given Fiume. He sent an Italian military commander to rule the disputed territory, and soon after that, Yugoslavia agreed to give the land to Italy. However, once it became Italy’s land, it gradually lost its importance as a port, as Yugoslavia developed the rival port of Split. Italians portrayed this gain of Fiume as another great success by Mussolini, which influenced peoples impression of him, and therefore further elevated his status. Other countries may have seen the rise of Italy’s colonies as a threat to themselves.

As Italy gradually added more and more land to it’s name, the more powerful they became as a nation. In 1926, Mussolini extended Italian influence by declaring Albania as an Italian protectorate. This meant that Italy would side with Albania if they ever needed support and that Italy would even fight in war for them: a small helpless country was protected by an ever-growing, important nation. In return for this protection, Albania were now effectively owned by Italy, and by Mussolini. As Mussolini was constantly becoming a more important figure in Italy, and around the world, the more of a threat Italy would be perceived as- this would further boost Mussolini’s ego, making him more eager to control larger amounts of land and causing him to be greedier then ever. If he couldn’t get what he wanted, this could provoke him to make himself and his policies more aggressive.

The vital turning point in Mussolini’s foreign policy came in 1935 when he invaded Ethiopia. He decided to invade here, as Italy believed that they had not got their fair share of colonies in the ‘Scramble for Africa’ since the late nineteenth century. Italy had attempted to conquer Ethipoia once before, in 1896- however, at this time they were unsuccessful. Mussolini desperately wanted to establish economic domination there, and saw his opportunity in 1935- during a time when the effects of the Great Depression were visible and damaging. Italy succeeded in taking over Ethiopia on this attempt, as countries such as France and Britain did nothing to stop them. This was because these countries wanted to maintain good relations with Italy in the hope that they could join together to help prevent the threat of Germany, who were greatly growing in strength as well as power. Mussolini was very clever in the fact that he had invaded Ethiopia at a time when he knew neither France nor Britain were prepared for war- making his invasion much less of a challenge. Sanctions were imposed against Italy, which angered Mussolini, but these sanctions did not stop him conquering Ethiopia- but instead he withdrew from the League Of Nations and drew closer to Germany, who had not applied the sanctions. This was a threat for other countries as both Italy and Germany were growing in power and in strength- so if they joined together they would be almost impossible to defeat. This was significant, as after this, Mussolini’s foreign policy became more aggressive. This could have been due to his and Hitler’s growing relationship- but at the same time Mussolini continuously tried to match Hitler’s destructive actions.

After 1935, Mussolini’s relationship with Hitler strengthens and the two dictators become closer. This has a powerful impact on Mussolini, as he becomes keen to match Hitler’s actions. We see a key example of this when Mussolini invades Albania in 1939. In this attack, Mussolini imitates Hitler’s seizure of Czechoslovakia, showing that he may want to be compared to Hitler as he could possibly see Hitler as a great idol. Many people saw the invasion of Albania as pointless as Mussolini already virtually controlled it. He may have invaded Albania to further heighten his name and continue to build on his reputation, as it was almost certain that he would not be defeated in this instance.

Mussolini’s foreign policy became more aggressive after 1935. I think that many things contributed towards this; one of the main aspects being the invasion of Ethiopia. From then on, he appeared to grow more aggressive as well as being more determined to succeed. I also believe that the company of Hitler had an impact on Mussolini and his foreign policy.