The Transformation of Italian Armed Forces in Comparative Perspective: Adapt, Improvise, Overcome? (Military Strategy and Operational Art)

Hardcover, x + 151 pages, NOT ex-library. Book is clean and bright throughout with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Minor handling wear only. Issued without a dust jacket. -- This work provides a detailed analysis of the transformation of the Italian armed forces in the post-Cold War era. It examines how Italy, a mid-sized power, has adapted its military capabilities and strategic posture to meet the demands of new international security challenges, from expeditionary peacekeeping operations to coalition warfare. The authors analyze the complex interplay of political, economic, and strategic factors that have shaped this evolution, including budget constraints, the shift from conscription to a professional force, and the pressures of alliance commitments within NATO and the EU. The book uses Italy as a key case study to explore the broader challenges of military adaptation for European states in the 21st century. -- Contents: 1 Introduction; 2 Military Transformation: The Quest for Coherence and Adjustment; 3 Force Transformation: Italy in Comparative Perspective; 4 Force Deployment and Field Experience from Afghanistan to Libya; 5 Patterns of Learning and Change; 6 Conclusions; References; Appendix; Index -- "European armed forces have undergone deep changes in the past two decades. Given the breadth of the debate and the size of transformations that took place, it is somewhat surprising that relatively few academic studies have directly dealt with changes in force structure of European militaries, and the Italian armed forces in particular. The focus of this book is the organizational dimension of the restructuring of armed forces through three different lenses: doctrine and strategic framework, budget and resource allocation, and force structure and deployment. The key issues addressed relate to how these factors interact in shaping transformation. Of particular interest is the theme of learning, which is how armed forces endogenize change in the short and long run. This study provides valuable insights into the extent to which armed forces manage to adapt to the emerging strategic and operational challenges they have to face and to illustrate the weight of institutional legacies, resource constraints and inter-organizational learning in shaping transformation. Focusing on the Italian case in comparative perspective and based on a large variety of military operations from airstrikes to peacekeeping and counterinsurgency, the book provides an innovative viewpoint on military transformation and significantly contributes to our understanding of contemporary security that is deeply shaped by the lessons learnt in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq and Libya.".…