171. The Berlusconi Government and Intervention in Libya
- Author:
- Ben Lombardi
- Publication Date:
- 12-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- This article offers an explanation for Italian decision-making in the early weeks of the Libyan crisis. Of the European NATO allies that have been engaged in military operations, none have been so conflict-ridden as Italy. It is the member of the European Union (EU) whose interests, economic and political, are most directly engaged by the unrest. Rome understood from the outset that those interests would be severely challenged by a policy of confrontation with the Qadhafi regime. Indeed, the government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi sought to maintain its longstanding relationship with Tripoli alongside its traditional solidarity with EU partners and NATO allies. From the beginning, that effort proved very difficult, and was ultimately made impossible by the approval of UN Security Council Resolution 1973 (17 March 2011). Italian leaders were then forced to make choices that they originally had very much wanted t o avoid. By early-April, they endorsed the efforts by both the EU and the NATO-led force to effect Qadhafi's removal and later recognised the rebel alliance. Rome agreed to contribute forces to help enforce the arms embargo and allowed NATO to use seven air bases. Although Italian forces were initially not permitted to engage in combat, by late April even that caveat had been withdrawn.
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Libya, and Rome