Category Archives: International Security

Italy’s Support to Ukraine’s War Effort: Neither Unconditional Military Aid, Nor Unconditional Peace

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In 2024, the Russia-Ukraine conflict remained one of the main topics of debate in foreign policy matters in Italy. Among the aspects discussed by governmental representatives, the most significant ones are the extent of Italian support to Ukraine’s war effort, the final aim this support pursues (i.e., the conditions attached to a future peace arrangement), and military aid to Russia from other States.

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The Enforcement of Arrest Warrants Issued by the International Criminal Court: Between the Duty to Cooperate and Realpolitik

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In late 2024 and early 2025 the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued several arrest warrants in the context of politically sensitive investigations, including those regarding the ongoing armed conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine.[1] Some of these decisions concern alleged perpetrators holding high-level political positions in States that are close allies of Italy, such as Israel. Furthermore, in January 2025, Italy was requested by the Court to execute on its territory an arrest warrant issued against General Osema Almasri Najeem in the context of the investigation in Libya. Italy’s recent behaviour in relation to arrest warrants in the situations in Palestine and Libya is indicative of a shift from the traditionally supportive attitude to a more cautious (and lees cooperative) one in its relations with international criminal tribunals. This contribution analyses the Italian Government’s conduct, which shows a discrepancy between the rhetorical support for the ICC and the lack of actual cooperation in the execution of its requests.

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Between order and (international) law: Minister Crosetto’s strategic realism and the future of multilateral institutions

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The speech delivered by Italy’s Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto, at the University of Padua on 20 June 2025, is an unusually frank address by a sitting member of government. It stands out not only for its candid tone but also for its breadth, spanning global order, European decline, security, technological supremacy, and international law. It offers particular value to foreign observers of Italian international practice for the way it lays bare the strategic doubts that animate the highest political levels of the Country.

From the standpoint of international law, the speech is significant because it reflects a realist understanding of law’s place in the international order. Far from viewing international law as an autonomous normative system, Minister Crosetto implicitly portrays it as a superstructure – one dependent on political preconditions that are now faltering. This is quite a common reading of international law as the by-product of a political and economic configuration that may not survive in its present form. The Minister’s remarks are also noteworthy for their recognition of the crisis of multilateralism, and the consequent risks for institutions – such as the United Nations and NATO – which are ordinarily seen as pillars of the present legal order.

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The Legality of Arms Transfers to Israel after 7 October: The Relationship Between the International Legal Framework on Arms Trade and Law No. 185 of 1990

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In Italy, as in several other countries, the debate on the legality of arms transfers to Israel assumed considerable political importance in late 2023 and early 2024.[1] After an initial period of shock over the Hamas attack on Israeli territory on 7 October, public and parliamentary attention to arms transfers to Israel increased in parallel with the growing number of Palestinian civilian casualties caused by the Israeli army’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Between November 2023 and April 2024, the Italian Government had to address the issue on at least five occasions during parliamentary debates.

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The Response to the Houthis’ Attacks in the Red Sea: Bathing in Ambiguity

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In October 2023, the Yemen-based and Iran-backed Houthi movement started a series of attacks (continuing well into 2024) against several vessels navigating the Red Sea, with the declared intention to support the population of Gaza in the rekindled Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On 10 January 2024, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2722, taking note of “the right of Member States, in accordance with international law, to defend their vessels from attacks, including those that undermine navigational rights and freedoms”. This ambiguously-worded text does not provide for an autonomous legal basis for reaction and leaves open the question of the legality of the forcible measures subsequently taken by (mostly Western) States.

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The Hamas Attack of 7 October and Israel’s Military Response

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On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an attack on the State of Israel, firing rockets from the Gaza Strip and breaching the Gaza “border” by air, sea and land. This attack resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths,[1] as well as the abduction of hostages in the Gaza Strip. The incident – and Israel’s subsequent military response – had a profound impact on the international community and occupied a significant part of the Italian parliamentary debate on foreign affairs in 2023, which continued in 2024.

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Italy and the United Nations Security Council: Strengthening the Securitization Trend

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Italy has traditionally been very vocal about matters regarding the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), with a recent peak between 2017 and 2018, when Italy shared a seat with the Netherlands as a non-permanent member of the Council.[1] This special interest has first and foremost concerned the reform of the UNSC membership and working methods. In this respect, in 2023, the Italian Government reiterated its well-established positions on the need for a more “representative, democratic, transparent, accountable and effective” UNSC[2] and against the use of the veto.[3]

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Of Castaways and Pirates: Migrants’ Rights from Departure to Arrival

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The victory of the right-wing coalition at the general elections of September 2022 brought the topic of migration back to the center of the Italian political debate. In the first half of the year the Parliament had discussed migration issues with a theretofore unknown positive attitude: the shock caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine nourished the sympathy for those displaced by the war and led to the welcoming of tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees and the financing of support initiatives. However, the steady rise in the number of migrants reaching the country’s shores, as compared to those arrived in the period immediately after the conclusion of the 2017 agreement between Italy and Libya, led the newly elected President of the Council of Ministers, Ms. Giorgia Meloni, and her center-right coalition to adopt a tighter approach.

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Violations of International Humanitarian Law and Issues of Accountability in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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Not surprisingly, in 2022, the Italian Government(s)[1] extensively dealt with several international humanitarian law (IHL) implications of the Russia-Ukraine war: firstly, the systematic violations of the rules on targeting that protect civilians and civilian objects against the effects of hostilities; secondly, the forcible transfer of civilians from occupied territories under the law of belligerent occupation; lastly, the prospects for accountability for serious violations of IHL. These aspects are explored in the following analysis.

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The Reaction to the Russian Federation’s Invasion of Ukraine and the Debate on the Provision of Weapons to the State Victim of Aggression

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At the beginning of 2022, when the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation started, several factors would have led one to question Italy’s ability to condemn the unlawful use of force. Italy was heavily dependent on gas supplies from Russia by virtue of a decades-long policy of cooperation in the energy sector (a situation that changed radically in the space of a year).[1] Some parties with governmental responsibilities in both the executive led by Mario Draghi and the subsequent one led by Giorgia Meloni,[2] had also shown over time that they had a network of relations with the Russian leadership.[3] Furthermore, the presence of a strong pacifist movement within public opinion had led some analysts to doubt whether the country would adopt a firm political stance towards the Russian Federation involving the supply of weapons or some form of participation in the conflict.[4]

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