Civil Peace Corps: New Inspiration for the Italian Foreign Policy

Italy has established its own Civil Peace Corps (CPC). What might seem a “niche” decision takes on a systemic profile of huge political, as well as legal significance, particularly because the CPCs have been formally included in the same list as the armed forces as regards Italy’s participation in international missions, and because of the direct links made between domestic law and sources of international law. Starting with an analysis of the new legislation, we submit a double research hypothesis. The first is that the setting up of the CPCs could have a significant impact on Italy’s foreign policy, in the sense that it could steer the country towards more ‘pacifist’ and ‘multilateralist’ roles somewhat identifiable with active neutrality. This hypothesis is grounded, as far as the legal aspects are concerned, on the interpretation of Article11 of the Italian Constitution in the light of the innovation introduced into Italian law by the new legislation on CPCs and international peace missions. The second hypothesis is that the establishing of CPCs fosters an enhanced role for civil society organisations because of their direct involvement in operations, which were traditionally the exclusive reserve of the realm of “high” politics and of the military, and offers them new scope for intervening in conflict transformation processes. This research hypothesis will be tested in exploratory mode against the cases of Germany, the European “precedent” which is most similar to the novel Italian experiment, and of the EU Aid Volunteers.