Gli italiani e la politica estera 2021

How do Italians perceive the Draghi government’s handling of Italian foreign policy? Do they believe Italy’s external projection has improved or not compared to the previous executive (Conte II) for instance on migration issues and the crisis in Libya? How do they view Italy’s relations with the EU and have their opinions changed since the outbreak of the pandemic two years ago? What are the main threats to national security and which foreign policy issues should be prioritised? How does Italian public opinion feel about the rise of China and what is their opinion on the new Biden administration? How do they judge Italian military spending and arms exports? What are the prevailing opinions among the electorates of major political parties on all these issues? IAI – in the framework of its strategic partnership with the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation – and the Laboratory of Political and Social Analysis (LAPS) of the University of Siena carried out an opinion survey aimed at analysing viewpoints of the Italian public on the main foreign policy issues affecting Italy. The opinion survey was conducted on a representative sample of the Italian population residing in Italy. The report, presented during a webinar “La politica estera del governo Draghi. Le opinioni degli italiani” on 15 November 2020, also provides useful comparisons with the results of previous surveys, thus highlighting evolving public opinion trends with respect to Italian foreign policy.