Ike and Italy: The Eisenhower Administration and Italy’s "Neo-Atlanticist" Agenda

U.S.-Italian relations in the 1950s were shaped in part by Italy's pursuit of a "Neo-Atlanticist" policy--a policy that emphasized economic multilateralism within the Western alliance and active diplomatic engagement with the nonaligned Arab countries. The Neo-Atlanticist approach led to certain accomplishments but also to some notable failures. By late 1959, when domestic political squabbles and an unpropitious international climate brought an end to the Neo-Atlanticist policy, Italy had been unable to attain its chief objective of a significant increase in its international standing. The country did, however, shift from being a mere client of the United States to something closer to a full--edged partner. Despite the failures of Neo-Atlanticism, the policy showed that a reliance on "soft power" (non-coercive means of influence) can work in some circumstances.