TURKISH-ITALIAN RELATIONS IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD

The guiding principle of Italian foreign policy in the interwar period was the Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) policy through which the domination over the areas that had been formerly ruled by the Roman Empire was regarded as the foremost aim of Fascist Italy, in order for a national regeneration after the ‘mutilated'' victory in the Great War. In the light of this imperial goal, Italy posed serious threat to the sovereignty of many countries situated in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Adriatic region, throughout the interwar history. Turkey was one of these countries that felt the keen Italian threat. The threat that Turkey perceived from Italy especially through the fortifications on the Dodecanese Islands became so influential for Ankara that the whole interwar Turkish foreign policy, specifically the 1930s, was formulated vis-à-vis Italy to a large extent. In this regard, this book is a diplomatic narrative that displays the determinant role of Italy in most of the decisions, initiatives and the orientations of the interwar Turkish foreign policy.