Negotiating Empire: The Secret Talks Between Italy and Ethiopia in Italian Archive Documents (1935–1940)

Abstract This article examines the secret negotiations, hitherto neglected, between Fascist Italy and the Ethiopian Empire before, during and after the Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1940). Based on recently discovered Italian archival sources and Italian and British diplomatic documents, it reveals how Emperor Haile Selassie and other members of the Ethiopian court were involved in negotiations during and after the conflict. The study therefore contributes to a deeper understanding of the war between Italy and Ethiopia, interpreting it in the light of European events but also of secret negotiations.