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Conclusion

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Britain, Italy and the Origins of the Cold War

Part of the book series: Cold War History Series ((CWH))

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Abstract

The British Labour government’s policy towards Italy was inspired by two distinct and yet interrelated objectives: first, to deny Italy to the Soviets and the PCI and second, to safeguard its interests in the region by a limited retrenchment that would assist Britain to spring back financially and recover its position as a major power alongside the United States and the USSR. Italy’s geo-strategic position made it vitally important for the defence of key British strategic interests such as maintaining the Mediterranean lines of communications and consequently for the defence of the Middle East and the protection of Greece and Turkey. Britain was thus alerted from early on to the dangers to its global position of a Soviet encroachment in the region. The fear of Communism and especially the fear of the PCI which had been an integral part of every Italian government from 1944 until 1947 was evident in all aspects of British policy towards Italy during 1946–9.1 Britain took all the measures it could to frustrate the ambitions of the PCI. The British decision to continue with involvement in the Italian armed and police forces during this period was directly related to these concerns as well as to promoting British interests. The Italian armed and police forces had been re-organised and were equipped, trained and standardised on British lines right up to the time Italy joined NATO.

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Notes

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  1. University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Effie G. H. Pedaliu (Senior Lecturer in International History)

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© 2003 Effie Pedaliu

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Pedaliu, E.G.H. (2003). Conclusion. In: Britain, Italy and the Origins of the Cold War. Cold War History Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230597402_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230597402_7

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-42989-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-230-59740-2

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