Italy foreign policy quirks
I find it interesting that Japan, Germany, Burgundy, and the US have their fingers in the Russian pie throughout the 60s, but Italy seems resigned to its immediate neighbors and colonies. I'm aware the burden of empire is tearing them apart from the inside, but Italy seems stable enough to at least be sending some machine guns and grenades to an anti-German fascist/authdem unifier. They can afford space launches, after all. Is there any given reason for Italy's isolation in foreign affairs outside of cutting trade deals with the OFN/CPS?
Posted Sep 16, 2020, 2:42 AM UTC
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The thing is: Why? What geopolitical goal of Italy's is advanced by doing anything in Russia? For Germany and Japan, their interest makes eminent sense, because their spheres of interest respectively border Russia and they have a vested interest in ensuring the boat is not rocked too much. (Or, if it must be rocked, that it be rocked in the right direction.) For the U.S., there's also a certain amount of sense to sending aid to ideologically-aligned groups as well as token diplomatic measures like recognition, if only because if they succeed, then America's own rivals will be made unhappy. And Burgundy does what it does because it's a narrativium-powered Bond villain playing Xanatos Roulette with Plot Armor so thick it's a miracle any sunlight penetrates it.
Italy has none of that, at least not without fleshing out more details. I mean, if you want to give Italy a reason to be involved in Central Asia, a quick two-minute sketch of an idea might be: ENI is always looking to enhance its portfolio of productive assets, as well as diversify in the face of rising anti-imperialist sentiment, and wants to build a series of pipelines to bring Russian hydrocarbons across Central Asia and Transcaspiania to refineries it intends to build in friendly states in the Persian Gulf. This will require Italian diplomacy to work with the various warlords and statelets to make such happen and provide a reason for Italy to things in the Russian Anarchy.
Fair points all around, and good potential in that idea. I think the way Italy is portrayed to hate Germany with a passion led me to thinking that pure spite for Atlantropa would drive the endeavours.