Introduction

Abstract

It is surprising that there have not been more studies on the question of the Italian colonies (that is the future of Eritrea, Italian Somaliland or Somalia and Libya: Mussolini's famous collection of deserts) from 1945 to 1952 since it has been ‘one of the most complex and controversial issues in the history of post‐war international relations.’ Perhaps this has been due to its very complexity or the ‘turgid’ nature of the controversy. Alternatively, it may have been the result of a conviction that the few existing accounts were adequate. Whatever the answer, the importance of the issue in postwar international history alone justifies a re‐examination of the subject and the existing studies.