De-Europeanizing at the UN? The Impact of the International Economic Crisis on Italian Foreign Policy

Abstract

Among the mechanisms identified in the literature on the Europeanisation of Italian foreign policy, the idea of belonging to a group or “we-feeling” plays an important role. By shaking the idea of European solidarity, the international economic crisis has promoted greater euroscepticism in Italy, suggesting that the previously recorded Europeanisation of Italian foreign policy could eventually also be affected. The article explores whether and how much Italian foreign policy has been de-Europeanized by comparing Italian behavior at the UN before and after the crisis. This arena has the advantage of allowing an analysis of behavior on the most important foreign policy issues, but it is also one of the institutions in which greater European attempts at speaking with a single voice have driven member states to change their working methods, achieving remarkable results. After reviewing the literature on the Europeanisation of Italian foreign policy, the study presents Eurobarometer’s data on the growth of euroscepticism in Italy. It then assesses whether the crisis has had an impact on the Italian habit to coordinate with the other EU member states at the UN, both in the General Assembly (2004-2013) and in the Security Council (2000-2012). In particular, analysing voting behavior in the General Assembly and sponsoring behavior in the Security Council on the basis of a dataset appositely built, the paper measures variations in Italian distance from the EU majority in the General Assembly; the countries that were involved the most in the crisis or that are particularly important for EU dynamics at the UN; and, potential alternatives. The paper highlights that, although the economic crisis has led to temporary variations and has created a favorable context for occasional free-riding by EU member states, Italy included, a comparison with the pre-crisis period shows great continuity in the Europeanisation of Italian foreign policy.