Italy and Libya: From Colonialism to a Special Relationship (1911–2021)

ISBN-13: 9781032457901 / Angielski

Luciano Monzali; Paolo Soave

Opis

This volume proposes a historical analysis of Italian-Libyan relations in contemporary times. After examining the colonialism of liberal Italy, which in 1911 culminated in the military campaign for the conquest of the Libyan regions, it evaluates the impact of fascism in Libya and the attempt to launch a broader pro-Arab policy. The third section analyzes the construction of the so-called 'special relationship' between Rome and Tripoli since the 50s when an economic interdependence between the Libyan oil producer and the Italian industrial power was pursued despite political differences.

Finally, the volume also focuses on the dramatic implosion of Libya and the loss of its political unity following the fall of the Gaddafi regime, which on the one hand, scaled back Italy's regional role, on the other, spread instability throughout the Euro-Mediterranean area. The volume uses a historiographical methodology focused on primary sources and updated scientific literature but also includes specialized analyses of the most current scenarios.

This is the first systematic work on the Italian-Libyan relationship produced in English, accessible to area scholars, specialists, analysts and students, who intend to deepen their understanding of one of the pivotal factors of the Euro-Mediterranean balance, which is currently missing.

Spis treści

Introduction: Italy and Libya: A Historical Perspective of a Mediterranean Relationship. Part 1: Italy and Libya: From Liberal Colonialism to Fascism. 1. Tripolitania and Cyrenaica in Liberal Italy’s Foreign Policy 2. History of a Minority, not a Minor History: the Maltese Community in Tripoli from the Liberal Age to Fascism 3. From the ‘Riconquista’ to the Normalisation: Fascism and Libya 4. The Demographic Colonisation in Libya 1926 – 1940 5. If the monument could speak: Jewish Italian imaginaries across the Mediterranean. Part 2: Italy and Independent Libya: Building a ‘Special Relationship’. 6. Pietro Quaroni, Post-Fascist Italy and the Libyan Question 1945-1949 7. Republican Italy and the Senussi Monarchy 1951-1969 8. Aldo Moro, Italian Diplomacy and Gaddafi’s Rise to Power 1969-1978 9. The Silent Friend. ENI and Gaddafi’s Libya 10. From Troublemaker to Strategic Partner: Gaddafi and the West 11. Two Great Friends. Berlusconi and Gaddafi 1994-2011. Part 3: Fragmented Libya: Trying to Save the Italian and European Influences. 12. Libya’s Arab Spring And Italy’s Post-Uprising Influence 13. Italy and the Disintegration of the Libyan State 14. A New State-Building Process for Libya? Italy and the International Community 2011-2021.