No-Constructivists' Land: International Relations in Italy in the 1990S
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Sonia Lucarelli and Roberto Menotti No-Constructivists’ Land: International Relations > in Italy in the 1990s Introduction theoretical debates that were frozen in time and provided the discipline in their There is one country in Europe respective countries with more strength where Constructivism has never and visibility. In Italy, however, this taken root: Italy. Although Con- opportunity seems to have been lost. No structivism in its various forms has been significant theoretical shift in the the most popular theoretical approach on discipline has taken place. Italian scholars the Continent, the Italian peninsula has have failed to make themselves more remained surprisingly immune to this visible in public debates in Italy and to “epidemic”. This situation is even more participate more fully in theoretical interesting if we take a closer look at the mainstream debates at the international Italian International Relations (IR) level. literature only to discover a certain We suggest that the puzzle of the predilection for the classics and for multi- post-Cold War “missed opportunity” calls disciplinary philosophically-embedded for an account that goes beyond the theory. What then is the reality of Italian traditional purely “external” explanation IR? What are its main features and the of IR developments in a given com- reasons underlying them? munity, and that also draws on the In this article, we investigate IR cultural-institutional context, namely, on theory in the peninsula of the Con- (i) the organisational characteristics of tinental IR archipelago that has been the the research environment (i.e. mainly the most successful in keeping secret its vices university system), (ii) the habits and and virtues. We thus wish to contribute to attitudes of interaction among national the larger debates on Continental professionals and between them and the European IR (Jørgensen 2000) from a external market, and (iii) the political national perspective and to the European culture of the country. challenge to the hegemonic role of It is therefore our aim to provide an American theory in the discipline.1 insight into the realm of IR in Italy by We claim that in a large part of Europe means of both analysing the charac- IR communities benefited from the teristics of the literature produced, and political and academic change triggered describing the socio-intellectual environ- by the end of the Cold War to reopen ment in which research is conducted.2 We 114 JIRD (2002) 5(2), 114-142 Copyright 2002 by Faculty of Social Sciences, Centre of International Relations Journal of International Relations and Development 5(June 2002)2 claim that the two aspects are strongly (the analysis is limited to works appearing interrelated and are at the same time both in the 1990s),3 its main themes, significantly grounded in the Italian theoretical referents and some of the context. central arguments. It does so by first We show that Italian IR tends to sketching the main themes and produce few efforts at “theory-building” substantive issues of research, then and more efforts at “puzzle-solving”, that analysing the main positions vis-à-vis some recent theoretical developments some of the main schools of thought and never reached the peninsula and that approaches in IR, and the position of Italian IR suffers from a substantial Italian IR against the broader IR detachment from broader IR trends in community. The latter, in terms of both terms of both “imports” and — far more theories/approaches imported and the No-Construc- — in terms of “exports” of literature. We presence of Italian literature in inter- tivists’ Land: claim these characteristics, albeit some- national IR Journals or IR papers at International what common to other Continental international conferences. It should be Relations in European countries, involve reasons that underlined that we focus on IR literature Italy in the are specifically Italian. More specifically, that has a specific theoretical aim either 1990s we find that IR in Italy is weak “at in the sense of producing theory, home” in the first place, both numerically deliberately applying theory to case (with few academic positions to allow a studies with a view to developing and/or vibrant debate), and organisationally testing theory, or introducing foreign (with insufficient interaction among theoretical literature in the Italian scholars in the field). As a consequence, debate. This choice implies neglecting Italian IR also suffers from modest the wide branch of IR literature that deals research funding from Italian and with geographical area studies and policy international sources. The limited size analysis. Such studies may well use and funding are clearly linked to the theoretical concepts, but do not aim to discipline’s weak position in the academic contribute to developing theory. Rather, context — the environment in which IR they provide policy analyses that could be is mostly produced. To gain its place in useful for policy-makers and international academia, IR first had to fight the battle practitioners. This type of research is of Italian Political Science at large against mainly produced in the context of private the dominance of historicism on Italian research institutes. The reason for intellectual life and the highly ideological neglecting this branch of literature (wider character of the latter. Subsequently, it and more diversified than the theoretical has fought to draw attention to inter- one) has nothing to do with our national affairs in a country that for judgement on the quality of these studies: historical (the absence of a recent and at it instead reflects a desire to isolate what least partly successful “imperial” past) and we believe is a distinct area of inves- structural (Cold War constraints on tigation — the theoretical one — far less foreign policy) reasons was not known at home and especially abroad. particularly interested in international The only exception to this academic politics. focus is a brief description of a loose set The article has two main chapters and of studies usually referred to as “new a short conclusion. Chapter One deals geopolitical studies”, not because they are with the chief characteristics of current theoretically informed but because they IR theoretical production in this country give an idea of the cultural climate seen in 115 Journal of International Relations and Development 5(June 2002)2 the 1990s, and indirectly confirm the research is concerned, a direct request to problematic features of IR. most authors mentioned here for a list of With the aim of offering the reader an their publications with theoretical con- introduction to the social context in tributions. which IR research occurs in Italy, and on the assumption that the characteristics of Themes and the socio-intellectual environment in Substantive Issues which research is done eventually One way of analysing the literature influence the outcome, Chapter Two and its orientation is to identify the key introduces to the academic position of substantive IR themes studied by Italian the discipline of IR, the pattern of scholars. The most common themes Sonia interaction amongst domestic scholars include: Lucarelli and between them, and the external • Evolution of the post-Cold War and community and domestic factors that international system. Here, specific Roberto influenced the current shape of the theoretical hypotheses for conceptualising Menotti country’s IR production. Finally, the the system are scrutinised, such as a new concluding section sums up the main balance of power, unipolarity (Colombo arguments and looks at the potential for 1995; 1996), variants of the “Clash of development in the field. civilisations” (Menotti 1994; 1995; Ragionieri 1996; Fossati 1998a). Less studies deal with the related theme of long- The Italian Literature: term historical trends (the long durèe) and Characteristics and Puzzles their interpretation (Bonanate, Armao and Tuccari 1997; Santoro 1998).4 A significant There are many ways of providing portion of this type of literature is of the an overview of IR literature in Italy “review” type, yet it also contains original in the 1990s. We chose to provide a reflections and contributions. description of the state of the art in terms • New conceptions and meanings of the most recurring issues under of international security and con- investigation, some of the main flict (Cerutti and Ragionieri 1990; theoretical arguments developed by Stocchetti 1993; Ragionieri 1994; Por- Italian scholars, and the degree of tinaro 1996; Cerutti and D’Andrea 2001) interaction between Italian IR and the are often related to the effects of mainstream debate. globalisation and/or fragmentation and the It should first be clarified that this evolving distribution of power (Jean 1995; literature presentation seeks to identify Santoro 1995a). Conflict analysis or “war” themes, approaches and methods more as such are an important sub-field (Armao than authors, and therefore does not 1991; 1994; 1999; Bozzo and Simon-Belli account for the work of every scholar 1997; 2000a; 2000b; Bonanate 1998; working in the field of IR in Italy. Our Fossati 1998b), that is also increasingly data are drawn from a variety of sources: incorporating conflict management, direct observations of books, articles on peace-keeping and more generally “peace- Italian reviews and on a relevant selection support” issues (Cappelli 1999; Gori 1999; of foreign specialised journals; a ques- Lucarelli 1999; Andreatta 2000). This field