The Italian armed forces and the new conflicts in Europe
Journal: Contemporary Italian Politics
Year: 2023

The Russian invasion of Ukraine radically altered the strategic context in which the European armed forces operate. For Italy, the event signalled a critical moment as it pushed for at least a partial re-orientation of defence priorities established over three decades, entailing a possible shift from the Southern to the Eastern front and from crisis management to conventional operations as the main focus of the armed forces. This article reconstructs how Italy is adapting to these new constraint