Abstract
This chapter provides an analysis of how Italy’s policymakers adjusted Italy's foreign and security policies to an evolving international political and security environment in the mid-2000s. A particular focus will be laid on Italy’s foreign policy choices of the centre-left government led by Prime Minister Romano Prodi in 2007 when domestic controversies on foreign policy caused a government crisis. The chapter concludes that Italy is today more active and involved in international politics and security and has had to come to terms with the use of force when contributing to international military operations. However, the events that occurred during the Prodiled government suggest that Italy’s political institutions have been able to safeguard the coherence and commitments of Italian foreign policies despite obstacles and contradictions in domestic politics.
This chapter is based on the article: “La politica estera italiana”, in A. Colombo and N. Ronzitti (eds.), L’Italia e la politica internazionale. Edizione 2008, Bologna, Il Mulino, pp. 101–115. The author would like to thank the Institute for International Political Studies–ISPI (Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale) for the authorisation to reproduce extracts from the article in English.
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Notes
- 1.
Carlo Maria Santoro underlined the tension implicit in the international status of Italy as the “least of the great powers” and the “largest of the smaller powers” (Santoro 1991).
- 2.
During Lorenzo Forcieri’s turn as Italian Secretary of Defence it was reported that, “official documents show that between the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006, the previous government had formally given the green light to the project, as shown by a letter addressed by the Italian Minister of Defence to the US administration” (“Il Secolo XIX”, Ho visto la lettera l’impegno c’è, 18th January 2007).
- 3.
One person was injured during the protest (“La Repubblica”, 200 “disobbedienti” affrontano la polizia. Vicenza: contestato l’ambasciatore Usa, 10th January 2007).
- 4.
“Corriere della Sera”, Al corteo contro la base Usa critiche a Prodi e Napolitano, 16th December 2007.
- 5.
On 22nd February 2007 a bomb was found near the Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland). The bomb was accompanied by a message addressed to “Il Sole 24 Ore”, declaring that the bomb was connected with the protests against the US base; on 31st July an unsuccessful attempt was made to damage an underground fuel pipeline serving NATO bases in northern Italy (“Corriere della Sera”, Altare della Patria, mina contro le basi Usa, 23rd February 2007; and Vicenza, fallito attentato contro un oleodotto Nato, 1st August 2007).
- 6.
According to the organisers of the protest, around 200,000 participants joined the march (“Corriere della Sera”, Vicenza, corteo senza incidenti. Siamo in duecentomila a dire no, 18th February 2007).
- 7.
“Corriere della Sera”, Bertinotti: assolutamente contro l’allargamento della base Usa, 21st January 2007.
- 8.
“La Repubblica”, E tra Giordano e Diliberto derby a sinistra, 18th February 2007.
- 9.
The atmosphere became even more tense by an open letter written by the ambassadors of Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, Romania, United Kingdom and United States in support of the Italian involvement in Afghanistan.
- 10.
D’Alema’s declaration about foreign policy in Senate on 21st February 2007.
- 11.
Ibidem.
- 12.
In collaboration with the EU, Italy organised the Conferenza sullo Stato di diritto in Afghanistan (Conference on the Rule of Law in Afghanistan) and asked for the so-called ‘International Conference on Afghan Peace’: Ibidem.
- 13.
“La Repubblica”, Dalla politica estera alle pensioni. “Sì” dell’Unione ai 12 punti di Prodi, 22nd February 2007.
- 14.
“Corriere della Sera”, L’Onu vota contro la pena di morte, 19th December 2007.
- 15.
On 2nd February Major-General Claudio Graziano was appointed Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
- 16.
Official Journal of the European Union, L 139/33, May 31, 2007.
- 17.
Speech given at the meeting of the Political Commission of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly on April 3, 2007.
- 18.
On 22nd September, 2007 two Italian soldiers were abducted; Lorenzo D’Auria died of wounds received during his release; on 24th November Daniele Paladino died in a suicide explosion.
- 19.
Declaration to the joint parliamentary committees of Foreign Policy and Defence in both Chambers about the weaponry of the ISAF Italian military contingent in Afghanistan, 15th May 2007.
- 20.
Terrorist organisations typically abduct people to pursue several objectives, such as raising money, keeping the international tension high and generalising the conflict by involving the public opinion of the countries of origin of the abuctees and trying to interfere with their political decision-making. In other words, abductions represent a particular type of international challenge since it affects the domestic environment of the abductees’ countries directly. In this sense, it is important to stress that Italy was confronted with abductions several times in the past and it cannot be excluded that Italy’s domestic political contraints were taken into account by the kidnappers abducting Italian citizens. Cases of abduction that have had an impact on the internal debate regarding Italy’s foreign policy took place in Iraq from April to June 2004 (the victims were bodyguards Salvatore Stefio, Maurizio Agliana, Umberto Cupertino and Fabrizio Quattrocchi—the latter was killed); in August 2004 (the victim was a journalist, Enzo Baldoni, who was also killed); in September 2004 (voluntary workers Simona Pari and Simona Torretta); and in February-March 2005 (the victim was journalist Giuliana Sgrena and the SISMI military intelligence officer Nicola Calipari, who was killed during her release). In May-June 2005 the voluntary worker Clementina Cantoni was abducted in Afghanistan.
- 21.
This is a bipartisan trend. See (Clementi 2005).
- 22.
Speech to the Senate Defence Committee on 2008 budget law, 10th October 2007. In the budget, 140 million Euro were set aside for operating expenditure in 2008.
- 23.
Declaration to the Senate Defence Committee on the participation of Italy in military missions abroad, 26th July 2007.
- 24.
It should be noted that the rules of engagement limiting the use of force for self-defence for the mission of the Italian troop contingent in Afghanistan were adopted by the previous Italian government. For a wider perspective on the presence of internal constraints in the international action of governments supported by different coalitions see e.g. (Andreatta and Brighi 2003).
- 25.
For an inverted analysis of these fundamental traits see (Romano 2006).
- 26.
Going through the list of countries where these missions took place, Italy was active in all the most problematic areas, i.e. Albania, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Congo, Egypt, India and Pakistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Macedonia, Malta, Morocco, Lebanon, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan.
- 27.
The countries the EU chose to negotiate with Iran were Germany, France and the UK.
- 28.
“La Repubblica”, Nato, l’ammiraglio Di Paola presidente del Comitato militare, 14th November 2007.
- 29.
A conference hosting negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
- 30.
Declaration to the Assembly of the Senate of the Italian Republic, 27th February 2007.
- 31.
Progress was made thanks to those negotiations, which led to the signing of an Italo-Libyian protocol on the management of illegal migratory flows.
- 32.
On the importance of the willingness to sustain these high costs, see (Silvestri 2007).
- 33.
See also (Caffarena 2007).
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Clementi, M. (2014). Domestic Constraints, Governmental Instability and Italian Foreign Policy. In: Beretta, S., Berkofsky, A., Rugge, F. (eds) Italy and Japan: How Similar Are They?. Perspectives in Business Culture. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2568-4_15
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