Italian Domestic Politics: Constraint, Opportunity, or Scapegoat for the Country's European Policy? Paper for the ASPSA Conference, Boston 28-31 August 2008 Conference Group on Italian Politics and Society Panel 1: Italy in Transition: The Long Path to a Second Republic Federiga Bindi, PhD Visiting Fellow Center on the United States and Europe, The Brookings Institution, Washington DC
[email protected] 202-2383605 cell 202-2558820 Jean Monnet Chair in European Political Integration Director, Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, University of Rome Tor Vergata
[email protected] Introduction Italian foreign policy since WWII has been based on four pillars, each responding to one or more domestic needs: - European integration: undoubtedly the major pillar of the Italian foreign policy – which initially responded to the need to secure the country’s newly formed democratic institutions, ensure economic reconstruction and, last but not least, allow the definitive reinsertion of Italy on the international stage. - Atlantic integration: the other main pillar of Italian foreign policy, initially ensuring economic reconstruction (the Marshall Plan) but essentially allowing Italy to maintain low defense expenditures. - USSR / Russia: good relations with Moscow were initially needed domestically to contain the left parties’ (Socialists and Communists) opposition to European integration and to Transatlantic relations. As time passed, Russia also became a major energy provider for Italy, as it is today. - The Mediterranean / Middle East: this is a natural endeavor for Italy, given its geographic position, as well as major energy suppliers. More recently they also emerged a source of possible domestic instability due to the illegal flows of immigration.