“Italian foreign policy was inconsistent in the period between 1922 and 1940.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

The question requires that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the statement. They are required to cover the whole period of Mussolini’s regime. Candidates may argue that Mussolini had consistent goals and used consistent methods to achieve them. Alternatively, they may argue that he had clear goals—restoring Italian prestige, revising the post-war settlement and expanding Italian influence and territory in the Mediterranean—but was inconsistent in terms of the methods used. Some may choose to examine Mussolini’s policies chronologically, arguing that in the 1920s and early 1930s he was, overall, pursuing consistent policies diplomatically (Locarno), but with some exceptions (Corfu). From the mid-1930s his policies became more aggressive (Abyssinia and Spain, signing the Rome Berlin-Axis), but that again there were inconsistencies (helping to preserve peace at Munich or attempting to reach an Anglo-Italian agreement in 1939). He joined the war in 1940 to expand into the Balkans.