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Italy and the Balkans: The rise of a reluctant middle power

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2016

Roberto Belloni  and
Roberto Morozzo della Rocca
Roberto Belloni*
Affiliation:
Queens University, Belfast, Ireland; Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, Italy
Roberto Morozzo della Rocca
Affiliation:
Queens University, Belfast, Ireland; Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, Italy
*
∗Corresponding author. Email: r.belloni@qub.ac.uk
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Abstract

Since the early 1990s Italy has been engaged in promoting peace and stability in the Balkans with a growing amount of political, economic and military resources. At the beginning of the process of Yugoslav dissolution, the Italian polity was torn apart by a set of political and financial scandals that prevented the development of an assertive foreign policy. Over time, however, Italy was able to play a more relevant and constructive role. This article traces Italy's policy towards the Balkans from its modest beginnings to the present day, focusing on four key political/economic events: the war in Bosnia, the Telekom Serbia affair, the war in Kosovo and the support given to the nascent Albanian democracy. Generally speaking, Italy has provided a positive, although modest, contribution to bringing peace and stability to the region.

Keywords

Italian foreign policyYugoslaviaTelekom SerbiaAlbanian transition
Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Italy , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , May 2008 , pp. 169 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © Association for the study of Modern Italy 

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