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Foreign relations of the Italian Republic are the Italian government's external relations with the outside world.
Located in Europe, Italy, since the unification in 1861, has been considered a major Western power.[1] Its main allies are the NATO countries, the EU member states and the G7 developed nations, three entities of which Italy is a founding member.
Italy has a special relationship with the Roman Catholic Church due the presence of the sovereign territory of the Holy see within his borders: the Vatican City. But it has also a good dialogue with Israel and the Arab world due the number of Jews and Muslims communities in the peninsula. Italy usually plays an important mediation role in the Palestinian conflict and has a lot of troops deployed in the middle east and all over the world for peacekeeping missions and for combating the illegal drug trade, human trafficking, piracy and terrorism. Italy is currently commanding different multinational forces.[2]
Italy plays also a significant role in the former colonies and territories of the Italian Empire and is considered a key player in its region having the largest economy in the Mediterranean sea.
Italy has important relations also with the other G20 nations, and is trying to open a great partnership with China, like the historical one that it has with Russia. Italy has now difficult relations with the other two BRIC states (India and Brazil), mainly for being the country leader of the Uniting for Consensus but also for the Enrica Lexie incident and for the Italian request of extradition of the terrorist Cesare Battisti.
The Risorgimento was the era 1830–1870 that saw the emergence of a national consciousness. Italians achieved independence from Austria, the House of Bourbon and from the Pope, securing national unification.[3][4]
The papacy called France to resist unification. Pope Pius IX, fearing that giving up control of the Papal States would weaken the Church and allow the liberals to dominate conservative Catholics.[5] However the capture of Rome happened though.
Leaders of the new nation of Italy were enthusiastic about acquiring colonies in Africa, expecting it would legitimize their status as a power and help unify the people.
Italy developed its own colonial Empire. Italian colonies were Somalia and Eritrea; an attempt to occupy Ethiopia failed in the First Italo–Ethiopian War of 1895–1896. Italy was massively defeated at the Battle of Adwa in 1896. However the territories were conquered later and it was formed an Italian Empire considered a Great Power In 1911 the Italian people supported the seizure of what is now Libya.[6] A centerpiece of the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–12, came when Italian forces took control of a few coastal cities against stiff resistance by Ottoman troops as well as the local tribesmen. After the peace treaty gave Italy control it sent in Italian settlers, but suffered extensive casualties in its brutal campaign against the tribes. In 1911, Giovanni Giolitti's government sent forces to occupy Libya and declared war on the Ottoman Empire which held Libya. Italy soon conquered and annexed Tripoli and the Dodecanese Islands. Nationalists advocated Italy's domination of the Mediterranean Sea by occupying Greece as well as the Adriatic coastal region of Dalmatia.[7][8]
Italy won WWI as one of the axis power, to play a decisive role in the Second World War, and when the British, the Americans, and their Allies invaded Sicily and southern Italy in 1943. Mussolini's failures became obvious and he was overthrown. Germany invaded the peninsula, rescued Mussolini from prison, and set him up in a puppet regime in the north that fought alongside the Germans against the Allies and against the Italian resistance[9]
As the war ended, the Italian economy was in ruins but it after enjoys an economic miracle. Italy promoted European unity, joined NATO, and became an active member of the European Union.[10]
In the 21st century there is a new topic of foreign-policy: the large scale arrival of illegal immigrants from Africa and the Middle East.[11]
Italy has an embassy in Lisbon and consulates in Faro, Funchal and Oporto
Italy is part of the Balkans contact group with USA, Russia, France, UK and Germany.
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