Italy s foreign policy has often been dismissed as too idiosyncratic, inconsistent and lacking ambition.

This book offers new insights into the position Italy has attained in the international community in the 21st century. It explores how the country has sought to take advantage of its passage from a bipolar to a multipolar system and assesses the ways in which it has engaged internationally, its new responsibilities, and the manner in which it conducts its policies in the pursuit of its interests, whether political or commercial. It argues that although Italy is engaged internationally, there is a gap between its actions and what it actually delivers, and as long as this gap continues Italy is likely to remain a partial and unreliable foreign policy actor. Divided into three parts, this book explores:

• the context and processes which characterise Italy s external action
• its relations with crucial countries and regions such as the US, the EU, and the BRICs
• its security and defence policies.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of European Politics, Foreign Policy analysis and Italian studies."

This book analyses European foreign policy as the activity of the European Union (EU) as a global actor and explores its efforts to raise its visibility in Southeast Asia through its relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Myanmar. Contributors examine the EU's engagement in a process of dynamic consolidation of its relationship with Asia and the Pacific region. They shed light on how interregional relations with ASEAN and interactions with Myanmar can be viewed as a perfect opportunity to promote the EU's presence in the region. Chapters examine the EU's efforts to inspire Myanmar to connect with security cooperation and Myanmar's engagement with the EU to diversify its foreign relations with China. The book also explores the extent to which the EU has failed regarding the Rohingya crisis and whether the EU's effort to support the peace process in Myanmar has been beneficial. A timely and important contribution to the growing literature on the EU's role in the world and its relations with East and Southeast Asia, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of International Relations, European Politics and Foreign Policy, Comparative Regionalism, East Asian and Southeast Asian Studies.

This book analyses European foreign policy as the activity of the European Union (EU) as a global actor and explores its efforts to raise its visibility in Southeast Asia through its relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Myanmar. Contributors examine the EU's engagement in a process of dynamic consolidation of its relationship with Asia and the Pacific region. They shed light on how interregional relations with ASEAN and interactions with Myanmar can be viewed as a perfect opportunity to promote the EU's presence in the region. Chapters examine the EU's efforts to inspire Myanmar to connect with security cooperation and Myanmar's engagement with the EU to diversify its foreign relations with China. The book also explores the extent to which the EU has failed regarding the Rohingya crisis and whether the EU's effort to support the peace process in Myanmar has been beneficial. A timely and important contribution to the growing literature on the EU's role in the world and its relations with East and Southeast Asia, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of International Relations, European Politics and Foreign Policy, Comparative Regionalism, East Asian and Southeast Asian Studies.

Italy's foreign policy has often been dismissed as too idiosyncratic, inconsistent and lacking ambition. This book offers new insights into the position Italy has attained in the international community in the 21st century. It explores how the country has sought to take advantage of its passage from a bipolar to a multipolar system and assesses the ways in which it has engaged internationally, its new responsibilities, and the manner in which it conducts its policies in the pursuit of its interests, whether political or commercial. It argues that although Italy is engaged internationally, there is a gap between its actions and what it actually delivers, and as long as this gap continues Italy is likely to remain a partial and unreliable foreign policy actor. Divided into three parts, this book explores: the context and processes which characterise Italy's external action its relations with crucial countries and regions such as the US, the EU, and the BRICs its security and defence policies. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of European Politics, Foreign Policy analysis and Italian studies.