Much Ado about Little: The Foreign Policy of the Second Berlusconi Government

Summary This article provides a review and an assessment of the foreign policy of the second Berlusconi government. The first section summarizes the changes Italian foreign policy underwent at the end of the Cold War. The second focuses on the question of continuity and change regarding the two traditional pillars of Italian foreign policy, the European Union and the Atlantic Alliance, during the second Berlusconi government's time in office. The article concludes that if the current government has brought changes to Italian foreign policy, they concern its tone and style more than its substance, and that the claim that Italy has embarked on a new foreign policy course is a political exaggeration.