Genuine commitment or search for prestige? Italy’s ambiguous foreign policy discourse on human rights

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6456986
AutoresP Perini (0000-0001-8101-0048, University of Padua, autor correspondente)
Ano2024
Volume29
Fascículo6
Páginas1093-1115
Data de publicação2024-12-09
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe International Journal of Human Rights (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1364-2987 • E-ISSN: 1744-053X
EditoraRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13642987.2024.2436508
OpenAlexW4405193215
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas40

This article seeks to question the self-proclaimed commitment of Italy as a human rights champion in international politics. More specifically, analysing the content and scope of Italian policymakers’ discourse, the paper aims to grasp whether, how and to what extent human rights (really) matter in the definition of the country’s foreign policy. The paper argues that human rights are a constant component in the foreign policy discourse of Italy over time, shared by policymakers of all political persuasions However, Italy’s commitment on these matters follows a particularly fluctuating and inconsistent path in terms of both its assertiveness and level of elaboration, which is the result of a continued confrontation between, on one hand, a committed ideational promotion of human rights by part of Italian foreign policymakers, rooted in a widespread conception of the country’s historical and ‘civilisational’ proclivity to these values and, on the other, the understanding of human rights as a strategic area of ‘niche diplomacy’ which could be helpful to boost the country’s international prestige

Champion · Diplomacy · Foreign policy · Human rights · Law and economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Prestige · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Global Political and Social Dynamics · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law