Italian “Mediterraneanness”: A New Path in Italy's Foreign Policy?

Abstract

  Italy's foreign policy in the Mediterranean is hindered by the same setbacks which have prompted the country not to positively act in the wider context of international politics hitherto. Its notorious “politics-of-the-chair-attitude” meets the so-called “catering diplomacy”, leaving no room for a more substantial policy to be implemented in the region. The balance between regional arrangements and bilateral relations risks undermining Italy's credibility in the basin. Not surprisingly, what emerges from the analysis of the country's Mediterranean policy is the lack of any clear strategy, with more heed paid to a political window-dressing approach. Hope stems from civil society's increasing interest in the euro-mediterranean partnership, especially in the cultural field. The added value Italy may provide to the area remains a bottom-up cultural foreign policy.