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

Abstract

ABSTRACT 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.