AHC: Italy accepts mid-tier status

I've initially intended to post this in the ASB forum (given that I'm not sure whether some of my demands are 'merely' implausible or just flat out impossible) but eventually decided to leave it here.

Your mission, should you accept it, is to put forth a general framework that would have Italy accept a downgrade in power status, from a world to a regional level, with a PoD no earlier than 1917. I'm not interested in a full-narrative TL; frankly, I never bother reading them (for some reason). I'm just interested in a sort of a brainstorming discussion (like that based around a TL).

What I want however, is a general train of events that leads to Italy abandoning the Horn, the Dodecanese, concentrating on developing South Italy, Sicily and Libya (campaign to improve literacy level!), relinquishing irredentist claims on the Dalmatic coast beyond Trieste (though adding more strategic depth to the coast around it and especially Duino) and gaining Malta (yeah, I know, this one may be pushing it too far, since it had massive strategic importance to the British; as I said, however, I'm fine with 'merely' implausible, after all, RL is massively implausible sometimes).
 
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Could Italy get away with going the route of Switzerland in the 1900-1914 timeframe? Focusing mostly on economic development and stability with a smaller and nearly exclusively defensive military focus, with an eye towards selling heavily to both sides in the event of any military conflict. Maybe if they got lucky they'd discover the oil in Libya early.
 
Could Italy get away with going the route of Switzerland in the 1900-1914 timeframe? Focusing mostly on economic development and stability with a smaller and nearly exclusively defensive military focus, with an eye towards selling heavily to both sides in the event of any military conflict. Maybe if they got lucky they'd discover the oil in Libya early.

Maybe a WWI petering out in 1919 in a stalemate has Italy end up with a social-democratic government that wins based on promising not to involve Italy in any more "foreign adventures". A stable, long-lasting, broadly centre-left administration in the national government focuses on fighting crime and corruption as well as economically developing the south of Italy and re-enforcing Italian control over the territory of Libya. An eventual second round of European war results in the late 1930s (maybe a chastised Germany and Britain against a revanchist France, Poland and White Russia, with a variety of "minnows" on either side?) with Italy eventually joining in on the side of Britain, with the promise that the British will cede sovereignty of Malta to Italy after the war, with a lease of the port facilities to the Royal Navy.
 
I've initially intended to post this in the ASB forum (given that I'm not sure whether some of my demands are 'merely' implausible or just flat out impossible) but eventually decided to leave it here.

Your mission, should you accept it, is to put forth a general framework that would have Italy accept a downgrade in power status, from a world to a regional level, with a PoD no earlier than 1917. I'm not interested in a full-narrative TL; frankly, I never bother reading them (for some reason). I'm just interested in a sort of a brainstorming discussion (like that based around a TL).

What I want however, is a general train of events that leads to Italy abandoning the Horn, the Dodecanese, concentrating on developing South Italy, Sicily and Libya (campaign to improve literacy level!), relinquishing irredentist claims on the Dalmatic coast beyond Trieste (though adding more strategic depth to the coast around it and especially Duino) and gaining Malta (yeah, I know, this one may be pushing it too far, since it had massive strategic importance to the British; as I said, however, I'm fine with 'merely' implausible, after all, RL is massively implausible sometimes).

The dream scenario for all Italians!!!
Not a great power,but a good living peoples.
 

Gwax23

Banned
Few Suggestions.

Give up ALL colonial and Imperialistic Ambitions. Horn Of Africa, Aegean Islands, Libya, Albania etc.

I think getting rid of its claims over Greater Italy is not necessary for this TL.

Italy should still claim Nice Corsica Savoy Ticino Istria South Tyrol (Trento and Bozen) Dalmatia Malta and Corfu.

I think having Garibaldi not give up on his idea of a Italian Republic. This would Require him not to surrender to Cavour his recent conquests in the expedition of the 1000.

If garibaldi can Unite Italy as a Republic and subsequently hold on to the Territories of Nice and Savoy instead of having those be ceded to france post Unification then thats already a good start.

A Federal Republic that is more decentralized would prevent many problems that faced the young Italian State. Probably no mass Emigration which would be a big plus for the Italian economy and Demographics.
 
Really none of it even seems to horribly implausible, although Malta seems a little iffy, then again I'm not an expert upon anything directly related to the topic.

However Azander's idea sounds fairly decent.
 
Corsica as part of Italy is a no-go. The French would never give it up (on account of being the birthplace of some Nappy the Lion guy or something). They'd sooner give Morocco away rather than Corsica.
 
Corsica as part of Italy is a no-go. The French would never give it up (on account of being the birthplace of some Nappy the Lion guy or something). They'd sooner give Morocco away rather than Corsica.

I know what you're saying, but Morocco wasn't French. It was Spanish.
 
Err, oops, sorry, meant to say Tunisia.

Heck, they would probably give away Madagascar before Corsica.

Edit: What Novak said.
 
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