Italian expansion and British reaction in the Mediterranean (1920–1930)

The article examines the policy of Great Britain in the Mediterranean region in the years preceding the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. The author turns to the analysis of British economic interests in the Mediterranean and the activities of the government in the interwar period. It is shown that the relatively soft position of Great Britain in relation to Italian expansion was dictated by economic and political circumstances. The author concludes that the British Empire absorbed a huge number of territories, at the same time it was impossible to control them in conditions of insufficient funding. Based on economiccircumstances, the British political elite sacrificed interests in the Mediterranean region to strengthen its position east of the Suez Canal.