A maverick in fusion research? Italy, the European Fusion Programme, and the debate over an alternative R&D path

This article examines Italy’s role in the European Fusion Programme (E.F.P.) during the 1980s and 1990s, after the Joint European Torus marked a qualitative leap in the integration of European fusion research, reinforcing both the primacy of the large-tokamak line and the programme’s normative regime. It focuses on Italian initiatives in potentially alternative areas, notably the reverse field pinch and high-field tokamaks. Drawing on previously untapped archival evidence, the article argues that Italy’s relevance within the E.F.P. rested on scientific competence, technological ambition, and strategic flexibility. More broadly, the case shows how institutional structures shaped the development of large-scale scientific projects while constraining alternative trajectories.