Abstract:
This thesis aims at analyzing how the position of Italy in the United Nations General Assembly Second Committee has evolved over the two-year period 2015-2017, by trying to assess if this recent action is in line of continuity and/or discontinuity with the decennial commitment of the country within the UN. The work is relevant because the state of the art has given little attention to this topic so far, with the few exceptions of authors like Luciano Tosi, Enrica Costa Bona and Anna Bedeschi Magrini.
The dissertation consists of three parts, each one with subsections.
The first chapter investigates the role played by Italy in the multilateral organization. The research starts by analyzing the Italian foreign policy in the second post-war period, trying to grasp its drivers and the motivations behind the embrace of multilateralism. An historical analysis retraces the path that led to the admission of Italy to the UN and the related debate amidst the ruling class. Subsequently, the work attempts to periodize the action of Italy in the bosom of the Organization, by highlighting the factors that have determined its choices. With a record of the main results obtained but also of the non-achieved targets, the chapter ends with a general assessment of the role played by Italy in the UN from its entrance to the noughties.
The second part of the thesis explores the Agenda 2030 together with the idea of sustainable development, being one of the core topics the United Nations General Assembly Second Committee deals with, especially since 2015. Starting from the work of the Bruntland Commission, the dissertation retraces the history of the concept of sustainable development, which eventually brought to the Agenda 2030 and its seventeen goals. The way the Agenda is investigated entails an analysis of its philosophical assumptions as well as of its juridical implications. Lastly, the chapter analyzes the progresses Italy made in implementing the Agenda so far.
The final part of the research inquires into the role Italy played in the United Nations General Assembly Second Committee before and after 2015, specifically by focusing on the two-years period 2015-2017. The analysis draws a comparison between the recent action and the framework dotted in chapter one, and it derives conclusions on the traits of continuity or discontinuity which can be inferred from this comparison.
By analyzing both primary and secondary sources, the thesis shows how the recent action of Italy is, by one side, in line of continuity with the role Italy has traditionally played in the UN, but, on the other side, it differs for the pursuit of new goals, such as the one of sustainable development. The work has profound implications for future research on the theme and it may add a valuable contribution to the existing literature, which has taken little heed to the role Italy has played at the Glass Palace.
Keywords: Italy, UN General Assembly Second Committee, 2015-2017, role, Agenda 2030, sustainable development, continuity, discontinuity.
