Diplomatic Security in Times of Austerity: The Case of Italy

Abstract

Even if the Italian diplomatic presence abroad has slightly diminished since 2013, Italy still maintains the fourth largest diplomatic network worldwide. Italy has a clear and long-standing system in place for the protection of its diplomatic corps, complementing host country protection with the dispatch of units from the Carabinieri, a gendarmerie corps with both military and law enforcement duties. Nevertheless, as this chapter shows, the growing exposure of Italian diplomatic missions to a variety of threats requires the allocation of further resources to diplomatic security. The need for budgetary cuts and public criticism of the alleged privileges enjoyed by diplomatic personnel abroad, however, make the allocation of additional funding and personnel to diplomatic security problematic.