Military policing in Italy

This chapter tests the theory advanced in the book by tracing party choices regarding the employment of the armed forces for policing roles from 2013 to 2024. In the initial phase, left-leaning governing coalitions, combined with a relative improvement in economic conditions, attempted to reduce the deployed contingent. Two major security shocks, however—terrorist attacks in Europe and then the pandemic—prevented these governments from following through. Following the pandemic, at Minister Guerini’s initiative, the operation was scaled back, but the 2022 victory of a right-wing coalition led by Fratelli d’Italia reversed this course. Despite the war in Ukraine and pressure from the armed forces, the right-wing government quickly decided to increase the contingent again.