Italy’s transatlantic bargain: defence policy, burden sharing and relations with Washington

Giorgia Meloni’s government has placed defence policy at the centre of its attempt to revitalize Italy’s relationship with the United States and strengthen Rome’s credibility within NATO. Against the backdrop of Russia’s war against Ukraine, renewed great-power competition, and Donald Trump’s return to a more transactional approach to alliances, Italy’s defence choices cannot be understood solely as responses to external threats or domestic political preferences. They also form part of a broader strategy of alliance bargaining, partly inherited from the previous government. By increasing defence spending, endorsing NATO’s new burden-sharing agenda, and presenting Italy as a reliable contributor to European security, the Meloni government has sought to convert defence policy into diplomatic capital vis-à-vis Washington. Yet this strategy remains constrained by Rome’s budgetary limitations and by the difficulty of sustaining higher levels of defence commitment over time. By examining the Meloni government’s external action through the prism of alliance politics, this contribution sheds light on the evolving nature and trajectory of Italian defence policy, procurement, and military operations.