Italy in International Relations : The Foreign Policy Conundrum

125 Pages·2017·4.571 MB·English

by  Emidio Diodato, Federico Niglia (auth.)

Italy in International Relations
EmidioDiodato(cid:129)FedericoNiglia
Italy in International
Relations
The Foreign Policy Conundrum
EmidioDiodato FedericoNiglia
UniversitàperStranieridiPerugia DepartmentofPoliticalScience
Perugia,Italy LiberaUniversitàInternazionale
Rome,Italy
ISBN978-3-319-55061-9 ISBN978-3-319-55062-6(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-55062-6
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vii
C
ONTENTS
1 Introduction 1
2 Italyin InternationalRelations: EuropeanBenchmark
DatesandNational CriticalJunctures 7
3 March1861.The Challenging Mythof the Post-Imperial
Legacy 29
4 September1943.Democratic TransitionandInternational
Adjustment 49
5 February1992.Italyin aPost-Bipolar World 75
6 Conclusion 101
Glossary 107
Bibliography 111
Index 121
ix
CHAPTER1
Introduction
Abstract Italy is always presented as a contradictory actor in terms of
foreign policy. The chapter addresses this foreign policy conundrum by
adoptinganew researchapproach,which mixesthemethodandresearch
instruments of Political Science (in particular, Foreign Policy Analysis)
withtheonesofInternationalHistory.Theresearchobjectiveistounder-
stand the extent to which the Italian international vision and action is
convergent ornot withotherEU countries.
Keywords Historical and political studies (cid:1) Italian international vision (cid:1)
Italyandthe EU
During the last decades, historical and political studies have been domi-
natedbyglobalistapproachesbothinhistoryandcurrentpoliticalanalysis.
Thistrendreflectstheongoingprocessofglobalization:thedismantlingof
politicalbarriershasgivenmomentumtotheunderstandingoftheworld
in its entire complexity. Another emerging trend is the shift from inter-
nationalism to transnationalism. Given the high degree of global inter-
connectivity between peoples, scholars are prone to considering
transnational relations even more important than traditional relations
between states. While globalism and transnationalism besiege the old
approaches of international history and international relations, states
©TheAuthor(s)2017 1
E.Diodato,F.Niglia,ItalyinInternationalRelations,
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-55062-6_1
2 E.DIODATOANDF.NIGLIA
remain the primary andofficially recognized players in the game of inter-
nationalpolitics.
TheprocessofEuropeanintegrationisprobablythemostrelevantcase
ofsovereignty’s transfertoa higherinstitution.The1990sopened anew
stage of this process and the European Union (EU) has engaged in the
ambitioustasktodevelop acommonforeignanddefence-securitypolicy.
This meansthattheEUisexpectedtochannelalltheactiveforcesofthe
member states to address the emerging challenges in the international
system. This ambition, albeit frustrated many times in the past, was
officially included in the European agenda with the Maastricht Treaty.
Since then, progress has been made in promoting political convergence
and in developing common approaches and actions to address emerging
threatsandchallenges.Butrecentyearshavewitnessedarenationalization
of European foreign policies: the cases of Mali, Libya, as well as the
controversy with Russia and the ongoing migrant crisis confirm that the
EUmemberstateshavedifferentscalesofprioritiesandinterests.TheEU
is the only European entity with sufficient demographic, economic and
military resources to operate on a changing international scene. But the
EUhastolookatitslimitsandalsothepotentialconsequencesofBritain’s
secession.Inparticular,thefundamentaldivergencesintheforeignpolicy
vision haveto be betteranalysed anddiscussed.
AmongthesixfoundingmembersoftheEuropeanCommunity(EC),
Italy holds a strategic position. The last 60 years of history confirms that
Italyiscrucialforthepromotionofthefederalistproject.Today’soutlook
reaffirmstheimportanceofItalyforthepoliticalandeconomicgrowthof
the Union, as well as for the management of the crisis in the
Mediterranean area. At the same time, Italy’s relationship with other EU
members and towards some policies adopted by the Union is controver-
sial. While always promoting a deeper integration, Italy fears being
excludedfromthecommunitarianleadership.Alongwithitscommitment
to give the EU a single voice in international politics, Italy has always
defendedtherighttoactindependentlyininternationalaffairs.Duringthe
most divisive crises of the last 15 years, such as the 2003 intervention in
Iraq, the Italian decision diverged from ones taken by other major
European partners (in that case France and Germany). Homogeneity
among European countries is not to be expected, at least not in the
realmofforeignpolicy,wheretheleadingprincipleisstilltheintergovern-
mental one. In the current turmoil, it would also be difficult to trace the
line of the ideal European foreign policy so as to test the coherence of
INTRODUCTION 3
single foreign policies. But the motto of the Union, unity in diversity,
cannotbecome to agreeto proceedseparately.
At the same time, one cannot deny that Italy has often adopted a
different direction from other major European countries on strategic
issues. Commentators in charge of explaining Italy and its international
actions see many contradictions and peculiarities to this regard. More
generally, difficulties emerge in the classification of Italy: the same
government sitting at the G8/20, or the state expected to behave as a
pivot in the Mediterranean, represents a country with a confused party
system, one of the world’s largest public debts, an impressive regional
divide, the presence of organized crime and where the rule of law is
questioned. These peculiarities are rarely analysed through a compre-
hensive approach and this reflects in the judgement on Italy’s foreign
policy, being often portrayed as inconsistent and dominated by the
ambition to be recognized as a great power, without any confirmation
intherealstrengthsofthecountry.Suchstereotypedinterpretationsare
clearlysummarizedbyBritishdiplomatandhistorianHaroldNicholson:
“UnliketheGermans,Italianforeignpolicymakersanddiplomatsbased
power on diplomacy, not diplomacy on power. The Italian system was
alsothecompleteoppositeofthatoftheFrenchinthatitspractitioners
sought, not to secure permanent allies against an unchanging enemy,
but assumed the interchangeability of ally and foe” (quoted in
Drinkwater 2005, p. 109).
While these words are pertinent, here we would suggest a different
assumption:ItalyisandwasnotdivergentfromotherWesternEuropean
countries in terms of values, fundamental priorities and objectives.
Similar to other founding members of the EC/EU, Italy has its own
identityanditsownpeculiarities,whichshapedomesticandinternational
actions. But we believe that the temptation to classify the Italian model
offoreignpolicyasdifferentresultsfromhistoricalprejudicesandfroma
lack of adequate and wide ranging comprehension of the country.
Indeed, our purpose in the following pages is to better explain the
history of Italian foreign policy in order to better understand Italy’s
current affairs.
SomeaccountsonItalianforeignpolicyhavedrawnlimitedattentionto
domesticaspects,inthesupposedprimacyoftheinternationaldimension.
On the other hand,the few scholarsthat haveattempted to integratethe
domestic political level with the international one have only addressed
limitedperiodsoftime.Asaresult,thereadernevergetstheentirepicture