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Africa and the World pp 169–188Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Africa and Italy’s Relations After the Cold War

Abstract

Chapter 8 notes that, since the beginning of decolonisation to the end of the Cold War, Italy had not shown much interest in sub-Saharan Africa. Italy’s presence in the region decreased considerably, especially when compared with its presence in other African countries, relegating it to a secondary role in terms of the country’s economic footprint on the continent. Italy’s influence in Africa has been more strongly felt in North Africa than in sub-Saharan Africa. Italian interaction with North Africa has been based on mutual respect in politics, intercultural communication, and mutual economic benefit. But the main game changers in African-Italian relations in the post-Cold War era have been those who took over the Italian leadership from 2013.

Keywords

  • Italian Development Cooperation
  • Italian Foreign Policy
  • Micro, Small And Medium Enterprises (SMMEs)
  • UN Interim Force In Lebanon (UNFIL)
  • Common Security And Defence Policy (CSDP)

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Fig. 8.1
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Notes

  1. 1.

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  2. 2.

    Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, “Challenge Facing Italian Cooperation: Our Priority Is Africa”, 25 March 2017, http://www.esteri.it/mae/en/sala_stampa/archivionotizie/interviste/2017/03/la-sfida-della-cooperazione-alfano.html

  3. 3.

    World Bank, “Italy’s Economic Indicators”, http://data.worldbank.org/country/italy

  4. 4.

    Gideon Rachman, “Italy’s Threat to Europe’s Future”, Financial Times, 5 December 2016, https://www.ft.com/content/cedfc28c-b884-11e6-ba85-95d1533d9a62

  5. 5.

    Gabriele Abbondanza, Italy as a Regional Power: The African Context from National Unification to the Present Day (Rome: Aracne Editrice, 2016). See also John P. Grant and J. Craig Barker (eds), International Criminal Law Deskbook (Sydney: Cavendish, 2006).

  6. 6.

    Fasil Amdetsion, “Italy’s Investment in Africa Is Not a Passing Fancy”, Fair Observer, 20 September 2016, https://www.fairobserver.com/region/europe/italy-increases-investment-in-africa-italy-economic-crisis-07769

  7. 7.

    Melvin E. Page and Penny M. Sonnenburg (eds), Colonialism: An International Social, Cultural, and Political Encyclopedia, vol. 1 (Santa Barbara, California, and Oxford: ABC CLIO, 2003), p. 344.

  8. 8.

    Abbondanza, Italy as a Regional Power, p. 132.

  9. 9.

    Sergio Romano, “Italian Foreign Policy After the End of the Cold War”, Journal of Modern Italian Studies 1 (2009), pp. 8–14.

  10. 10.

    Fabio Fossati, Economia e Politica Estera in Italia: L’Evoluzione Negli Anni Novanta (Economics and Foreign Policy in Italy: the Evolution in the Nineties) (Milan: FrancoAngeli, 1999).

  11. 11.

    Romano, “Italian Foreign Policy After the End of the Cold War”.

  12. 12.

    Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Libya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa.

  13. 13.

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  14. 14.

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  15. 15.

    Senato Della Repubblica (Italian Senate), “Governo Prodi-II” (The Second Government of Prodi), http://www.senato.it/leg/15/BGT/Schede/Governi/0068_M.htm

  16. 16.

    European Union (EU), “The History of the EU—1999”, 20 April 2017, https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/history/1990-1999/1999_en

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  18. 18.

    Amdetsion, “Italy’s Investment in Africa Is Not a Passing Fancy”. This was true also for the Cold War period. For instance, Aldo Moro in the 1970s and Bettino Craxi in the 1980s promoted the role of Italy in Africa, but only through declarations.

  19. 19.

    Amdetsion, “Italy’s Investment in Africa Is Not a Passing Fancy”.

  20. 20.

    Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, “First Italy-Africa Ministerial Conference”, 18 May 2016, http://www.esteri.it/mae/en/sala_stampa/archivionotizie/approfondimenti/2016/05/prima-conferenza-ministeriale-italia.html

  21. 21.

    Amdetsion, “Italy’s History in Africa Is a Messy Affair”.

  22. 22.

    Fasil Amdetsion, “Strengthening Business Ties Between Italy and Africa”, Fair Observer, 23 September 2016, https://www.fairobserver.com/region/europe/italy-business-presence-in-africa-11129

  23. 23.

    Italian Agency for International Cooperation, Concessione di Contributi a Iniziative Promosse dalle Organizzazioni Della Società Civile, Bando 2017 (Call for Proposal for Projects promoted by Civil Society Organisations), 10 April 2017, http://www.agenziacooperazione.gov.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Bando_OSC_Infoday_10APR2017.pdf

  24. 24.

    Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, “Challenge Facing Italian Cooperation”.

  25. 25.

    Nino Sergi, “Fondo Africa: Due Ministri dell’Interno in Italia sono Troppi” (Africa Fund: Two Ministers of Domestic Affairs are too many), Vita, 31 January 2017, http://www.vita.it/it/article/2017/01/31/fondo-africa-due-ministri-dellinterno-in-italia-sono-troppi/142262

  26. 26.

    Istituto Affari Internazionali, L’Italia e la Politica Internazionale.

  27. 27.

    Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Statistical Yearbook 2016, http://www.esteri.it/mae/resource/doc/2016/07/annuario_statistico_2016_uso_web.pdf

  28. 28.

    Carbone et al., La Politica Italiana in Africa.

  29. 29.

    Joseph Hanlon, Mozambique: Talks with Mediators Yesterday and Today, 21 July 2016, http://allafrica.com/stories/201607210896.html

  30. 30.

    Carbone et al., La Politica Italiana in Africa.

  31. 31.

    Carbone et al., La Politica Italiana in Africa.

  32. 32.

    Italian Embassy in Pretoria, Political Cooperation, http://www.ambpretoria.esteri.it/ambasciata_pretoria/en/i_rapporti_bilaterali/cooperazione_politica

  33. 33.

    The main companies involved are: Fiat/Iveco, Enel Green Power, ENI, Finmeccanica Group, Ariston Thermo, and Technogym.

  34. 34.

    Fondazione Ambrosetti, South Africa-Italy Summit, https://www.ambrosetti.eu/en/summits-workshops-forums/international-summits-with-think-tanks/south-africa-italy-summit

  35. 35.

    Carbone et al., La Politica Italiana in Africa.

  36. 36.

    Carbone et al., La Politica Italiana in Africa.

  37. 37.

    Rakesh Dubbudu, How Much Do Various Countries Contribute to the UN Budget?, Factly, 13 December 2016, https://factly.in/united-nations-budget-contributions-by-member-countries

  38. 38.

    United Nations (UN), Troop and Police Contributors, http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/resources/statistics/contributors.shtml

  39. 39.

    Tommaso De Zan, Paola Tessari, and Bernardo Venturi, “Preventing Conflicts: Personnel, Procedures, and Technology in Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding”, November 2016, https://eucivcap.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/eu-civcap_deliverable_2-1_updated.pdf

  40. 40.

    European External Action Service (EEAS), Personnel Figures of the Civilian CSDP Missions as of 31/08/2016, internal document.

  41. 41.

    Mantica, “Che Cosa fa l’Italia”, p. 107.

  42. 42.

    Luca De Fraia, “Italy Overhauls its Development Cooperation System”, 9 September 2014, https://concordeurope.org/2014/09/09/italy-overhauls-its-development-cooperation-system (accessed 12 April 2017).

  43. 43.

    Fossati, Economia e Politica Estera in Italia.

  44. 44.

    Fabio Fossati, “Italian Foreign Policy After the Cold War”, Working Paper no. 3 London: London School of Economics, European Foreign Policy Unit, June 2008).

  45. 45.

    Fossati, “Italian Foreign Policy After the Cold War”.

  46. 46.

    Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, “Iniziativa HIPC Rafforzata” (Reinforced HIPC Initiative), http://www.esteri.it/mae/it/politica_estera/economia/cooperaz_econom/debito_estero/iniziativahipc

  47. 47.

    Italian Agency for International Cooperation, “About Us”, http://www.cooperazioneallosviluppo.esteri.it/pdgcs/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11914&Itemid=589

  48. 48.

    Carbone et al., La Politica Italiana in Africa.

  49. 49.

    Italian Agency for International Cooperation, “Filed Offices”, http://www.agenziacooperazione.gov.it/?page_id=10158

  50. 50.

    Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, “Under-Secretary Mario Giro”, http://www.esteri.it/mae/en/ministero/viceministri_sottosegretari/mario_giro

  51. 51.

    Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, “Cameroon—Deputy Foreign Minister Giro: Italy Is Considered Among Its Most Reliable Partners”, 15 February 2017, http://www.esteri.it/mae/en/sala_stampa/archivionotizie/approfondimenti/2017/02/camerun-vice-ministro-giro-l-italia.html

  52. 52.

    Italian Trade Agency, “About Us”, http://www.italtrade.com/about/about_us.htm

  53. 53.

    World Bank data referring to 2015, http://wits.worldbank.org

  54. 54.

    Carbone et al., La Politica Italiana in Africa.

  55. 55.

    Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (Italian Institute for Africa and Orient), I Rapporti Economici fra Italia e Africa Sub-Sahariana (Economic Relations between Italy and sub-Saharan Africa), Economisti Associati (March 1997).

  56. 56.

    Carbone et al., La Politica Italiana in Africa.

  57. 57.

    Amdetsion, “Italy’s Investment in Africa Is Not a Passing Fancy”.

  58. 58.

    Amdetsion, “Strengthening Business Ties Between Italy and Africa”.

  59. 59.

    Amdetsion, “Strengthening Business Ties Between Italy and Africa”.

  60. 60.

    Amdetsion, “Strengthening Business Ties Between Italy and Africa”.

  61. 61.

    Carbone et al., La Politica Italiana in Africa.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Affari Internazionali (IAI—Institute for International Affairs), Rome, Italy

    Bernardo Venturi

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  1. Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR), Cape Town, South Africa

    Dr. Dr. Dawn Nagar

  2. Independent Consultant, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Charles Mutasa

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Venturi, B. (2018). Africa and Italy’s Relations After the Cold War. In: Nagar, D., Mutasa, C. (eds) Africa and the World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62590-4_8

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