Italy’s Role in International Missions: Moderating the Two Percent Obsession

The "expansive" and "qualitatively peculiar" Italian contribution to international missions should be seen in the broader perspective of Italian-American defense relations. Although the United States still wants Italy to increase defense expenditure to two percent of the GDP, Washington is increasingly appreciative of the contribution that Italy provides to NATO and international missions beyond the two percent issue. Policymakers in Rome must see the future of Italian engagement in international missions as an element that can influence defense relations with strategic partners, and the United States remains one of the strategic partners par excellence of Italy.