fabrizio coticchia - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by fabrizio coticchia

After the Cold War, Italy started to act as an international peacekeeper, deploying troops in doz... more After the Cold War, Italy started to act as an international peacekeeper, deploying troops in dozens of military operations, mainly within multilateral frameworks. Recently, with the end of the "war on terror" and after the 2015 White Paper, Italy devoted growing interest and resources to the "Enlarged Mediterranean". Despite Italy's postbipolar military dynamism, limited attention has been paid to assessing missions. The withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as the debate about European Union defence and NATO, particularly after the Russian aggression on Ukraine, have emphasised again the need for a detailed analysis of Italian operations. This paper discusses the effectiveness of international interventions and the features and the trajectory of Italian missions. Three policy recommendations are advanced: the need to 1) create standard and systematic evaluations as events proceed; 2) establish transparent and inclusive assessments when interventions are completed; and 3) plan strategically for longterm proactivity rather than short-term reactivity.

"A sovereignist revolution? Italy’s foreign policy under the 'Yellow–Green' government", Contemporary European Politics (forthcoming, open access)

In Italy, the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the Northern League (LN) formed a coalition government... more In Italy, the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the Northern League (LN) formed a coalition government after the legislative elections of March 2018. What has been the actual impact of the populist executive in the Italian foreign policy? Relying on the (few) existing analyses that have developed specific hypotheses on the expected international repercussions of populist parties-ruled governments, the paper examines Italy’s foreign policy under the Italian “Yellow–Green” cabinet (June 2018–August 2019). The manuscript advances three hypotheses. First, the foreign policy of the Conte’s government has been featured by a personalistic and a centralized decision-making process. Second, the Yellow-Green executive has adopted a vocal confrontational stance on the world stage, especially within multilateral frameworks, to “take back control” over national sovereignty. Third, such sovereignist foreign policy was largely symbolic because of “strategic” populist attitudes toward public opinion and due to domestic and international constraints. The manuscript—which is based on secondary and primary sources, such as interviews with former ministers, MPs, and diplomats—aims at offering a new perspective on populist parties and foreign policy, alimenting the rising debate on foreign policy change.

“Managing incoherence. Social Democratic Parties and transnational issues in Europe". E. Calossi, F.Coticchia, and M.Di Giulio, “European Politics and Society”.

Do political parties keep their promises? The coherence between parties’ ideology and policy outp... more Do political parties keep their promises? The coherence between parties’ ideology and policy output have always attracted scholarly interest. Moreover, the importance of political parties’ accountability has dramatically increased also because of the rise of populist parties. This paper aims at contributing to the current debate by investigating different phases: the electoral manifestoes, the framing on issues in parliament, the votes, and the ways through which the manifestoes for the following elections change. What are the patterns parties can adopt to address a possible dissonance between electoral platforms, votes, and frames? Are there recurrent patterns of party behaviour between manifestoes, rhetoric, and policy outputs? To answer these research questions, the manuscript builds on a cross-country and cross-time (2007–2017) empirical analysis of three West European social democratic parties and their attitudes towards transnational issues, such as migration, terrorism, military operations and the financial crisis. The paper, which is based on content analysis of debates and manifestoes, identifies several patterns parties can follow for managing these crises. This paves the way for further variable-testing research.

A growing body of the International Relations (IR) literature has started to pay attention to the... more A growing body of the International Relations (IR) literature has started to pay attention to the concept of 'strategic narratives', stressing the role played by storylines in affecting public attitudes. However, the analytical differences among concepts like strategic narratives, master narratives, frames, framing, and master frames have been rarely investigated through a comprehensive approach. Very different definitions and perspectives have been adopted in the IR scholarly debate and beyond, while few studies have identified how ideologies underlie frames and narratives. The paper aims at filling such gap. The manuscript makes two claims. First, the process of plot formation, their strategic dimension, and the levels where narratives operate are the peculiar features allow distinguishing strategic narratives from all the other concepts. Second, only by unpacking-through an interdisciplinary perspective-the complex relation between ideology and narratives we could understand the proper conceptual boundaries in the narrative literature. In sum, there are four levels of discourse to consider: frame, strategic narrative, master narrative and ideology.

Italy represents an important case of defense policy change after the Cold War. While during the ... more Italy represents an important case of defense policy change after the Cold War. While during the bipolar era the country rarely intervened abroad and was deeply constrained in its defense policy by domestic as well as international factors, in the post-Cold War era, Italy has constantly intervened in major conflicts in the Balkans, the Middle East and Afghanistan. Yet, in the past decade, and especially after the 2011 Libyan intervention, Italian activism has consistently diminished. The purpose of this article is to describe this trend and to review theories that have been put forward to explain Italian activism (and retrenchment). While several insights can emerge from multiple studies dedicated to the topic, we argue that some elements such as legacies and institutional constraints have been somewhat overlooked and actually open promising avenues for research.

Populist parties and foreign policy: The case of Italy’s Five Star Movement, F.Coticchia and V.Vignoli, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2020

The role of political parties in foreign policy is gaining increasing attention. Nonetheless, des... more The role of political parties in foreign policy is gaining increasing attention. Nonetheless, despite an extraordinary interest in ‘populism’, the foreign policy of populist parties has rarely been investigated. This article provides an innovative theoretical framework, applying it on a rare example of a ‘pure’ populist party: Italy’s Five Star Movement. How has Five Star Movement positioned on Italian contribution to military operations abroad? What does such positioning say about its ideological leaning? In order to address such questions, the article analyses Five Star Movement’s MPs’ votes and speeches on foreign policy during its first term in Parliament (2013–2018). We find that, notwithstanding some ambiguities, the Movement’s stance has been mostly pacifist and humanitarian, resembling more a ‘left-libertarian populist party’ than a ‘sovereigntist far-right one’. Through these findings, the article contributes to the debate on populist parties and foreign policy in Europe, clarifying also the elusive ideological leaning of the Five Star Movement.

Michela Ceccorulli & Fabrizio Coticchia (2020) ‘I’ll take two.’ Migration, terrorism, and the Italian military engagement in Niger and Libya, Journal of Modern Italian Studies, 25:2, 174-196

In January 2018, the Italian parliament approved a new military operation in Niger and an extensi... more In January 2018, the Italian parliament approved a new military operation in
Niger and an extension to the existing deployment in Libya. Italian leaders
explicitly cast this as a ‘pivot’ to Africa, a ‘relocation of troops’ from Afghanistan
and Iraq to the Sahel and Northern Africa. What factors underlie this strategic
shift? Despite the importance of this question, to date, little analysis of the
decision-making process underpinning the recent change has been forthcoming.
The article seeks to address this gap through an analysis of the parliamentary
debates on the missions. Specifically, it examines the ‘relative importance’
of the two threats/challenges motivating the interventions: irregular immigration
into the E.U. (and the related smuggling phenomena) and transnational
terrorism. The article contributes to the ongoing debate on the evolution of the
Italian foreign, security and defence policy in the broader Mediterranean, offering
insights for comparative analyses with other states engaged in those
contexts.

"Peaceful legislatures? Parliaments and military interventions after the Cold War: Insights from Germany and Italy", F.Coticchia and F.N.Moro, International Relations, 2020

The article contributes to the growing debate on parliamentary war powers and shows how parliamen... more The article contributes to the growing debate on parliamentary war powers and shows how parliaments matter in shaping both force deployment and force employment. Through original analysis of the Italian and German decision-making on military interventions after the Cold War, the article illustrates how formal and informal constraints shape the opportunity structures faced by executives that are willing to undertake military interventions. Revisiting, and building on, the great deal of research recently emerged on institutional constraints to the use of force, the article details the types of costs – namely, transaction and audience costs – linked to involvement of legislatives in the decision-making and provides empirical support for theories based on parliamentary war powers, adding new dimensions of analysis.

"A reality check for students? How participating in the Model United Nations influences skills, IR perceptions and perspectives on future career", F.Coticchia, L.Cicchi and E.Calossi, Politics, forthcoming

Despite a growing number of studies on simulations and International Relations (IR), few analyses... more Despite a growing number of studies on simulations and International Relations (IR), few analyses investigate how participating in a simulation affects students’ perceptions of relevant IR issues. In addition, almost none of the current analyses on role playing and IR investigate how the involvement in a simulation affects students’ views on university enrolment or future career. This article seeks to fill these gaps, addressing how students’ interpretations and expectations change after participating in the Model United Nations (MUN). This article studies how the MUN is perceived as an experience that helps improve personal skills such as language ability, negotiation skills, and knowledge related to IR issues. This article also analyses how perceptions about selected IR issues and views on future university enrolment or future career vary before and after the MUN. The article is based on an original data set from a survey submitted to high school and university students participating to two MUNs held in Spring 2018. This article also employs ordinary least squares (OLS) multivariate regression analysis to test alternative hypotheses.

The literature has devoted considerable attention to the understanding of state institutions and ... more The literature has devoted considerable attention to the understanding of state institutions and rule of law in processes of democratization. However, despite the crucial relevance of dynamic and repeated interactions between actors and institutions in non-homogenous post-conflict societies, most research lacks systematic analyses on the role of parliaments, parties and party-systems after civil wars. While several studies have examined the effects of electoral systems or veto rights after power-sharing agreements, as well as the transformation of rebel groups into political parties in post-conflict societies, the development of parties within parliaments has been largely ignored. Therefore, by combining conflict studies, institutional design perspectives, and peacebuilding approaches, this paper presents a research agenda on the overlooked role played by parliament as a crucial arena for a better analysis, in the long term, of power-sharing mechanisms and state-building, postwar political framing and narratives, ethnic outbidding, and party modernization strategies.

"Italian Political Parties and Military Operations: An Empirical Analysis on Voting Patterns", F.Coticchia and V.Vignoli, Government and Opposition, 2018.

Since the end of the bipolar era, the military activism of several Western powers has raised ques... more Since the end of the bipolar era, the military activism of several Western powers has raised
questions about parliamentary control, fostering growing research and analyses on the
features, drivers and consequences of the different kinds of oversight exercised by
legislative assemblies. Within this scholarly debate, this article focuses on the understudied
case of Italy. How did Italian parties vote on military operations abroad in the
post-Cold War era? In order to answer this question, the article presents the first detailed
and comprehensive set of data on parliamentary votes over the deployment of the Italian
armed forces in the post-Cold War era (i.e. from the beginning of the 1990s to the recent
operation against ISIL). Thanks to this extensive new empirical material, the article
assesses selected arguments developed by the literature on political parties and foreign
policy, paving the way for further research.

"Can you hear me Major Tom? News, narratives and contemporary military operations: the case of the Italian mission in Afghanistan", F.Coticchia and S.D'Amato, European Security, 27(2), 224-244

This research explores the relationship between public narratives and the Italian military contri... more This research explores the relationship between public narratives and the Italian military contribution to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan (2001–2014). Despite attracting little attention in the literature, Italy has been one of the most crucial contributors of multilateral military missions around the world in the post-bipolar era. Italy has remained consistently engaged militarily in Afghanistan over the entire period of the ISAF mission. However, the country’s involvement has been characterised by differing and controversial views and perspectives among Italian political actors and the media. This study aims to reconstruct the core features of the strategic narratives and the media frames around the military intervention and it does so through a Qualitative Content Analysis on a collection of almost 200 articles published by four main Italian national newspapers. The goal of this paper is twofold: on the one hand, we systematically retrace the main discursive patterns and frames employed by the newspapers on the ISAF. On the other, we evaluate whether in the case of military interventions, the Italian media unveil critical inconsistencies and competitive arguments or whether they function as a repeater of the dominant political discourse. Thanks to the case study, we find that the Italian media supported the mainstream narratives.

"Through military lenses. Perception of security threats and jointness in the Italian Air Force", Defense Studies, F.N. Moro, L.Cicchi, and F.Coticchia.

The article explores Italian Air Force (ITAF) officers’ perceptions of military transformation an... more The article explores Italian Air Force (ITAF) officers’ perceptions of military transformation and of changes in the global security environment. While several studies have addressed the challenges faced by European armed forces in the last two decades, the methods used have been rather uniform, mostly relying on in-depth case studies through qualitative interviews and analysis of strategic documents and budgets. Using data from an original, and unique, survey conducted among ITAF captains (N = 286), this article focuses on servicemen’s attitudes towards the transformations of the global security environment and the changes occurring (and needed) within the Italian Air Force. After describing the “military view” on these topics, the article provides preliminary statistical evidence on the links between individual experiences, views, and change. The research aims to contribute to the broader debate on military transformation by adding a novel dimension of analysis and providing new insights on the micro-level aspects of learning.

(Codice AI-SA-21), CENTRO ALTI STUDI PER LA DIFESA CENTRO MILITARE DI STUDI STRATEGICI

Unconventional learning activities such as games and simulations have been widely used as teachin... more Unconventional learning activities such as games and simulations have been widely used as teaching tools in international relations (IR) in the recent years. The literature on simulations and student learning has often highlighted a lack of empirical evidence in the existing research. The paper aims at providing empirical support to illustrate the ways in which simulations might influence students’ levels of (factual and self-evaluated) knowledge and perceptions of IR. The study is based on extensive empirical material, collected through questionnaires submitted to 298 students who participated in the 2014 edition of the National Model United Nations in New York (NMUN·NY).

The international context seems to be increasingly exposed to multidimensional and transnational ... more The international context seems to be increasingly exposed to multidimensional and transnational challenges, ranging from irregular migration and piracy to the violation of basic human rights. Rather than excluding a potential role for the military, many European states rely on it to face a complex security scenario. What are the reasons behind this activism? Taking Italy as a case study, this article works out two main arguments (ideational factors and interests relating to the so-called military-industrial complex) and tries to intercept their weight in the national debate leading to the decision to intervene militarily (or not) in Sri Lanka (2004( -05), Haiti (2010, and in the Central Mediterranean (2015-). Ultimately, this effort contributes to understanding the role of the military instrument in Italy, a state particularly exposed to the new challenges ahead, and offers tools for research to be potentially applied in other countries that make similar use of armed forces to deal with non-conventional security threats.

The literature on strategic narratives has started to pay growing attention to the concept of " n... more The literature on strategic narratives has started to pay growing attention to the concept of " narrative dominance " , stressing the role played by counter-narratives in hindering a wider acceptance of a specific message. However, limited consideration has been devoted to counter-narratives, which have seldom been assessed in a systematic way.. The paper aims at filling these gaps by examining the underrated case of Italy. The manuscript investigates the main content of narratives and counter-narratives developed by parties and peace movements regarding the decision to acquire the F-35. The paper, which is based on primary and secondary sources, adopts a multidisciplinary approach, combining security studies and social movement studies.

How does military change take place in states that are not able to develop autonomous solutions? ... more How does military change take place in states that are not able to develop autonomous solutions? How does transformation occur when limited resources are available? What are the ''sources of military change'' for armed forces that do not possess the (cognitive and material) resources that are essential for autonomous development? In articulating an answer to these questions, this article draws from the theoretical debate on interorganizational learning and looks at the mechanisms that drive ''learning from others.'' We argue that adaptation and organizational learning often had to look for, and then try and adapt, off-the-shelf solutions that required relatively more limited resources. Empirically, the article focuses on the Italian Armed Forces, which have rarely attracted scholarly attention, although it emerged from almost total lack of activity in the Cold War to extended deployments in the 2000s.

Recently, Italy has employed the military instrument abroad to deal with new, multidimensional an... more Recently, Italy has employed the military instrument abroad to deal with new, multidimensional and transnational challenges, ranging from irregular migration and piracy to the violation of basic human rights. What has pushed the country to intervene specifically through armed forces? Through three main arguments (strategic culture, domestic interests and international norms) emerging from the interplay between internal and external dynamics, the paper analyses the national debate in the run-up to the decision to intervene militarily in Darfur (2007–2010), Somalia (2009) and Haiti (2010). In so doing the work hopes to contribute to understanding the role of the military tool in Italy, a country particularly exposed to new challenges ahead.

Scholars increasingly suggest that coalition governments produce more extreme foreign policies th... more Scholars increasingly suggest that coalition governments produce more extreme foreign policies than single-party governments. Extremity is especially likely when governments include radical parties that take extreme positions on foreign policy issues and are “critical” to the government’s survival, as the radical parties push the centrist ones toward the extremes. A look at Italy’s Second Republic provides an important counterpoint to the extremity hypothesis. In three high-profile cases of military operations—Albania 1997, Kosovo 1999, and Afghanistan 2006–08—Italy had a center-left government that depended on radical parties for its survival. In all cases, the radical parties opposed military operations but did not prevent the government from acting by forcing the government’s fall. Our article seeks to explain the limits of leftist radical parties in Italy’s Second Republic. We argue first that radical parties are reluctant to threaten or force government collapse as this can lead to an opposition coalition coming to office and voters’ being blamed for the outcome. Second, we claim that foreign policy has been less important to radical parties than domestic issues. Finally, we argue that radical parties have appealed to their voters through theatrical politics and have affected the implementation of military operations.