ABSTRACT
Social and economic dislocations that followed World War I gave rise to totalitarian regimes harnessed to imperialist ambitions. In the Far East, in 1931, Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria, converting it into a puppet state called Manchukuo, and extended control over Shanghai and northern China. Neither the U.S. nor the League of Nations intervened. Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy in 1922 and established a dictatorial “fascist” regime pledged to restore the grandeur and power of Italy as the successor of the Roman Empire. In October 1935, Italy invaded and annexed Ethiopia, while the United States endorsed neutrality and isolation.
