🎯 Key Concept: How did Mussolini’s Fascism influence Italy's foreign policy?

• Italian Fascism: Hard to pinpoint one definition.
• Established in 1922 and collapsed in 1945.
• Mussolini saw it as a flexible, evolving concept.
  • E.g., From being anti-monarchic to pro-monarchy.
  • Shifted from liberal views to protectionist ones.

• Major shift in Italian foreign policy under Mussolini.
• No fixed principle: Sometimes acted as a mediator ('honest broker'), but sometimes as a disruptor ('mad dog').

• War was seen as a noble pursuit.
• Mussolini believed war elevated human energy and added nobility.
• Quote: "War alone brings to its highest tension all human energy and puts a stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have the courage to meet it [...]" - Mussolini
• Yet, Mussolini balanced ideology with pragmatism.
• Domestic issues and international situations also shaped his decisions.