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European armed forces have undergone deep changes in the past two
decades. Given the breadth of the debate and the size of
transformations that took place, it is somewhat surprising that
relatively few academic studies have directly dealt with changes in
force structure of European militaries, and the Italian armed
forces in particular. The focus of this book is the organizational
dimension of the restructuring of armed forces through 3 different
lenses: doctrine and strategic framework, budget and resource
allocation, and force structure and deployment. The key issues
addressed relate to how these factors interact in shaping
transformation. Of particular interest is the theme of learning,
which is how armed forces endogenize change in the short and long
run. This study provides valuable insights into the extent to which
armed forces manage to adapt to the emerging strategic and
operational challenges they have to face and to illustrate the
weight of institutional legacies, resource constraints and
inter-organizational learning in shaping transformation. Focusing
on the Italian case in comparative perspective and based on a large
variety of military operations from airstrikes to peacekeeping and
counterinsurgency, the book provides an innovative viewpoint on
military transformation and significantly contributes to our
understanding of contemporary security that is deeply shaped by the
lessons learnt in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq and Libya.
How and why the three losers of the Second World War reconsidered
their pacifism, embraced a more active military role and
transformed their armed forces after the Cold War Analysis of the
process of military transformation in Italy, Germany and Japan
Addresses the impact of historical legacies on the pacing and
direction of transformation Looks at the transformation of military
doctrine and force structure over three decades Assesses the impact
of different external and internal factors in military
transformation While armed forces in several countries underwent
deep transformations after the end of the Cold War, few if any,
however, experiences more radical changes than Germany and Italy,
and Japan. The book explores how the three countries modified
posture and structure of their militaries over the past three
decades. While the three countries all had to overcome a pacifist
constitution, a widespread view in both elites and public opinion
that that war was a taboo, and armed forces designed to defend and
deter against large-scale threats, they all became more active
security providers over the last decades. Each country followed a
distinct path, though. The book reconstructs these paths, trying to
show how a mix of external and domestic factors affected the pace
and the extent of transformations. The book also identifies
critical junctures in such process: any push to change it is argued
is mediated by the need to come to terms with the cumbersone weight
of the past.
This volume presents three claims regarding the role of middle
powers in the 21st Century: first, states aspiring to become or
remain middle powers choose from three possible role: to be a
global middle powers; to be a regional pivot; or to be a niche
leader. Second, states seeking such roles need different mixes of
hard and soft power sources. Third, more so than great or small
powers, middle powers walk a thin line between the domestic and
systemic pressures they face. In this volume, these claims are
based on (comparative) case studies of Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan,
the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, and Turkey.
This volume presents three claims regarding the role of middle
powers in the 21st Century: first, states aspiring to become or
remain middle powers choose from three possible role: to be a
global middle powers; to be a regional pivot; or to be a niche
leader. Second, states seeking such roles need different mixes of
hard and soft power sources. Third, more so than great or small
powers, middle powers walk a thin line between the domestic and
systemic pressures they face. In this volume, these claims are
based on (comparative) case studies of Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan,
the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, and Turkey.
This book sets out to explain the foreign policy of Italian Prime
Minister Matteo Renzi (February 2014 to December 2016). It offers a
unique analytical framework to make sense of Renzi's foreign
policy: the domestically-focused outsider. It argues that to
untangle Renzi's foreign policy one must first understand that his
clear priority was enacting domestic economic and political
reforms. Domestic focus means that Renzi made foreign policy
decisions with a sensitivity to public opinion and party unity. The
book also argues that Renzi's status as an outsider in Italian
politics-having previously served only as the mayor of
Florence-provides critical insight into his foreign policy. Renzi
was prone to skepticism of the establishment and dramatic, symbolic
gestures rather than patient coalition building. The book applies
this framework to the five most important foreign policy issues
Renzi's government faced: migration, finance and the EU, Russia,
ISIL, and Libya. The book's analysis of the cases benefits from
over twenty elite interviews, including those with senior members
of Renzi's government.
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