Italy although it considers itself to be a middlesized power on par with France the United Kingdom and Germany has been incapable of playing an international role comparable to theirs instead keeping a lowprofile foreign policy. This has not been due to any material constraintsampmdashItalyamprsquos profile has remained consistently low through economic times both good and badampmdashbut rather to the countryamprsquos strategic culture a mixture of realpolitik and pacifist tendencies. This book sets out to analyze the influence of Italyamprsquos strategic culture on its foreign policy. It conducts an exploratory case study to show if hypotheses generated by the strategic culture approach can shed some light on the puzzling Italian behavior in the international arena puzzling because Italy shows a less assertive foreign policy visampagravevis other middle powers in the same rank. The first chapter considers the main interpretations of Italian foreign policy and their limitations. The second and third chapters review the literature on strategic culture stressing its utility for the Italian case. The fourth chapter describes the countryamprsquos strategic culture through the Liberal Fascist and Republican periods and the fifth chapter analyzes the influence of ideational factors on Italyamprsquos behavior abroad. Conclusions sum up the various emerging evidences. Scholars of political science international relations strategic studies and comparative politics will find this work to be of interest.