The Italian armed forces and the new conflicts in Europe

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 constraints by providing a detailed analysis of the responses undertaken and, at the same time, placing those responses in the broader context of Italian defence transformation in recent decades. The objective is to trace continuities and discontinuities in Italian defence policy under the Draghi government and also to assess potential directions for change under the new cabinet led by Giorgia Meloni.