Italy constitutes the fourth state of the European Union (Eu) in terms of population and economic wealth. By virtue of its geographical location, the country is at the intersection of two strategically important regional areas: continental Europe to the north and the Mediterranean to the south. The country’s geopolitical position has thus contributed to shaping its foreign policy guidelines. In particular, at least since the second post-war period, Italy has followed three main axes, aimed respectively at the United States, Europe and emerging countries. The relationship with the United States was defined starting from the ‘Western choice’ of Italy, namely the entry into the Atlantic Alliance in 1949. In relations with Washington, the country’s strategic position – placed exactly on the border between the two ‘blocs’ – resulted in a geopolitical importance destined to persist throughout the Cold War period. On the other hand, the protection guaranteed by the American ally involved the installation of military bases on the territory of the peninsula and, perhaps more importantly, not negligible repercussions on internal politics – which resulted in the exclusion of the Communist Party from the governing coalitions.. After the Cold War ended, and the Soviet threat vanished, Italy maintained a fundamental partner in the United States and in the non-negligible repercussions on domestic politics – which resulted in the exclusion of the Communist Party from the governing coalitions. After the Cold War ended, and the Soviet threat vanished, Italy maintained a fundamental partner in the United States and in the non-negligible repercussions on domestic politics – which resulted in the exclusion of the Communist Party from the governing coalitions. After the Cold War ended, and the Soviet threat vanished, Italy maintained a fundamental partner in the United States and in the Born the main strategic alliance, as evidenced by participation in major military operations and peacekeeping Alliance. The second priority in Italian foreign policy is evidenced by the country’s propensity to support (albeit with some limitations) the European integration project. Italy is not only among the six founding members of the original European communities, but sees in the Eu(of which he held the rotating presidency in the second half of 2014) the main tool to amplify its international influence. Despite some inevitable tensions with Brussels, in recent years there has been a substantial convergence with the Community institutions. Two brief (but acute) disagreements in 2009 are exceptions: the first concerned the policy of refoulement of immigrants from Libya, the second the request submitted by Italy to the European Commission to review the EU commitments relating to the reduction of harmful emissions. As regards the third line of action of foreign policy, Italy has developed a series of bilateral relations, in particular with the countries of the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Balkans. The Libyan crisis of 2011, which, moreover, has led to strong friction with the European partners promoting military intervention such as France and the United Kingdom, does not seem to have entailed strong repercussions in bilateral relations between Rome and Tripoli. Moreover, despite the climate of chaos and the latent civil conflict that rages in Libya, at the end of 2014 Rome was the only major European capital to keep its diplomatic headquarters open in Tripoli. Equally important is the axis with Turkey, a country with which Italy has intense entertainments Rome at the end of 2014 was the only major European capital to keep its diplomatic headquarters in Tripoli open. Equally important is the axis with Turkey, a country with which Italy has intense entertainments Rome at the end of 2014 was the only major European capital to keep its diplomatic headquarters in Tripoli open. Equally important is the axis with Turkey, a country with which Italy has intense entertainments economic relations, even if from 2013 onwards bilateral relations have undergone a slight cooling due to the more general frictions of Ankara with the European Union following the Turkish policy in Syria and Iraq and the criticisms of Brussels of Turkey due to the worsening of the condition of civil and political rights in the country. With respect to the Middle East, Italian foreign policy has maintained a position of substantial equidistance in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute (albeit with different accents depending on the color of the government in office), which has allowed it to maintain friendly relations both with Israel and with the Arab countries. On the occasion of the Gaza crisis of summer 2014, for example, Rome argued for the legitimacy of Israel’s action as defensive, at the same time criticizing certain aspects of Israeli military action.UnifilII of the United Nations, and towards Egypt, with which it has entered into a privileged relationship. During 2013 and at the beginning of 2014, Italy, through the action of the former foreign minister Emma Bonino, had also become the protagonist of the rapprochement between Iran of the new president Rouhani and the international community, above all for this which concerns relations with the European Union. Finally, towards the Balkans, Italian foreign policy is aimed at promoting stability, in particular with the aim of easing ethnic and national tensions (especially in Kosovo and Serbia) and fighting organized crime. In this theater Italy has shown a particular interest in Serbia and Montenegro, as well as in Albania. In addition to having committed to devote substantial investments to these countries,Eu. Finally, Italy shows a high propensity for multilateralism, as evidenced by its membership and active participation in the main international institutions, such as the United Nations, the G8, the WTO and the aforementioned EU and NATO. In particular, as regards the United Nations, of which the country is one of the first contributors in the world, Italy is committed to the difficult process of reforming the organization. The proposal put forward by Rome, which on the issue is opposed both to great powers such as Germany and Japan and to emerging states such as India and Brazil, is to increase the number of non-permanent seats on the Security Council. Finally, as regards the country’s foreign relations, 2014 saw Italy, together with other countries such as Germany, at the center of a heated debate within the European Union about relations with Russia. If, on the one hand, Brussels – like the United States – has tried to take a common position and we firmly condemn Moscow because of the crisis in Ukraine, on the other hand, not all member countries agreed on how to respond to Russia and on the sanctions to impose, although in the end joint action was reached. Rome has been criticized by the most extremist European actors, such as Poland or the Baltic countries, because of its relations with Russia, a very important partner both for energy supply and for economic and commercial relations. Relations with Russia also risked compromising Federica Mogherini’s candidacy for the post of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union.
