Patterns of Strategic Culture and the Italian Case

The international relations literature has not produced a systematic typology of the different models of strategic cultures. This study aims to close this gap and contribute to the development and refinement of the concept of strategic culture by elaborating a typology that is based on current studies and researches. The typology is employed to analyse the strategic culture of the Italian political elite in the twenty-first century. Using an empirical analysis of the belief systems of the Italian party and bureaucratic elites, the study determines whether the model of Italian strategic culture, which has remained dominant since WWII, persisted during the post-Cold War period and the extent to which the current leadership has an image of international politics and strategic preferences consistent with this model. © 2017 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.