The Influence and Role of Current U.S. Foreign Policy in Modern Italy

On 25 March 2017, the European Union will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its existence. Nevertheless, the European Council and the presidents of the twenty seven member states are aware that it is not a perfect union.

For my research paper I have chosen to compare two countries which have totally different cultures, Italy, and the United States of America. I decided to compare these countries for two reasons, the first being that as an Italian I can better point out the differences I have noticed living back and fourth in the US since a young age, and the second and main reason is because during our course we have been discussing on how bribing practices were banned and partially reintroduced in the U.S. due to unfair competition from foreign companies abroad.

Italy is very different then America. I didn’t picture Italy anything like that in my mind before I went. There wasn’t very many grocery stores, I didn’t find one until the third day that I was there. The buildings are very close together and I thought that everything looked the same from the outside and were very difficult to tell apart from one another. But when I happened to find the store, inside wasn’t big at all, the stores were called “mini marts.” It wasn’t really for kids but there isn’t many kids in Italy to begin with. Mostly it was an in and out kind of store. I wasn’t sure what kind of things were their popular items, so it was difficult to tell how they organized the stuff. One store that I went into, had lights around the selves

WWII all started with the Great Depression and the rise of dictators, everyone saw it coming. The U.S. struggled in the Great Depression when their stock market crashed. When WWII came along they ignored the issue, trying their best to stay out of it. While European leaders attempted to negotiate. Many countries seemed weak, so the dictators began stepping in, taking control, and setting goals. Some countries began making allies, and starting their plan to invade other countries. Democratic nations stood back and watched until it was absolutely necessary for them to get involved.

The “cold war” loss of Italy to Communist control would result in profound political, psychological and military damage to the free world (p.1567)

This speech by the President of Poland, President Donald Tusk, focuses on his views on the necessity for greater unity among the European nations. He brings up the history of of his home along with his personal history of living behind the iron curtain and how his experience of living under the communist regime strengthens his idea of a guaranteed freedom for all. He says that only through unity can Europe oppose totalitarianism and the restriction of freedom.

Like the Great Gatsby, the European Union is quintessentially modern: "unsettled and unsettling"; never satisfied, always wanting more; insanely rich, yet unable to pay their bills. Post World War II, moves towards a united Europe was seen by many as a solution from the extreme forms of nationalism that had devastated the continent. The idea behind

2.1 The Formation of the European Community/Union: Integration’s Twentieth Century Narrative – ‘No More War’

The European document, on the other hand, openly and repeatedly calls for “Unification” and “Cooperation” (European Security Strategy, 2003, 1-8).

The Europe of the future, if it should ever emerge, will be one of the mass identification and loyalty to the European ideal, alongside or even in place of national allegiances and identities, such that large numbers of the inhabitants of the European continent will not only consider themselves to be first and foremost ‘Europeans’ but will be prepared to make sacrifices for that ideal. [7]

“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which… create a de facto solidarity.”

What does a coherent and unified European community (known as the European Union) mean to the United States? Is it a threat, a competitor, or a partner? Or is it the three combined together?

     In the event of an integrated Europe, constructivists recognize that to completely avoid conflict, each state will have to succumb to a “European identity” and all individual identities will have to become merely “cultural gems” within the European system. This, they argue, can be achieved with the success of several steps including economic, judicial, and security integration . The first step has already been attempted with the establishment of the Euro, the common European currency, which has been outperformed by its monetary competitors. A great amount of trust will have to be secured between states before a common court or army can be established, and most likely with as little success as the common currency. So, even by these simplified guidelines the outlook for the creation of a new “European

The creation of European Union was one of the 20th centuries greatest accomplishments. So great that it won the noble peace prize in 2012 for “over six decades [having] contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.” What was once a continent torn apart by war, is now a model for peace for the world. Over a 70 year period, Germany and France in particular had fought three wars. However, today war between those countries, or any in the European Economic Area, is close to unthinkable.

For the last decade the European Union has struggle to hold itself together against multiple crisis and national rivalries of its member nations. The European Union (EU) has time and time again overcome these union breaking threats. However, since the American recession of 2008, the EU faces its greatest challenge of its short existence: the Eurozone crisis. The Euro, the monetary unit of the EU, is falling due to the fiscal policies of the so called PIIGS nations: Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain. Even with the support of the heavyweights of the European Union (France and Germany) the nations of PIIGS is suffering heavily from economic depression; this economic depression is causing fractures between the nations that make up the European Union. Situationally, the issue has almost past the limit of no return and causing nations like Italy and Greece thinking about withdrawing from the European Union. If any of the PIIGS nations actually withdraw from the European Union, it would be the first step to the dissolvent of the European Union. The repercussion of a dead EU would be disastrous for the entire continent; one has to remember that the European Union was created to prevent a Third World War from ever erupting. Most Americans would not care what happens to the nations of Europe in this day and age however, the nations of Europe are among America’s greatest allies politically, economically, and militarily. If the EU fails and the continent erupts into war once