Power vs. Diplomacy, Globalism vs. Regionalism: United States and Italy Facing International Terrorism. The Sidra Crisis, 1986

In the '80s the escalation between United States and Libya put under pressure the Italian foreign policy. As Reagan administration considered Ghaddafi a terror supporter and a Soviet customer for arms supplies, the use of force became instrumental to relaunch American strategic influence, eventually to spend in dealining with Gorbachev. This global approach was aimed at winning the cold war through a continuous evidence of Soviet weakness in regional crisis. After second world war Italy was leading a regional foreign policy focused on dialogue, cooperation and an inclusive sight of Middle East. Cold war tensions, as well as Arab-Israeli conflicts were considered by Rome a serious threat to this inclusive approach. When Reagan decided to bomb Libya, on April 1986, Craxi and Andreotti were able to preserve, to some extent, an autonomous foreign policy, based on Atlantic alliance as well as good economic relations with Tripoli.