Foreign policy as a tool of party differentiation: How Donald Trump’s re-election influenced Italian politics

This article argues that foreign policy has become a key arena of identity formation within the right-wing coalition that has governed Italy since 2022. As geopolitical shocks following Trump’s re-election in 2025 have reshaped Europe’s strategic environment, Italian parties have increasingly used international affairs as a means of political differentiation. The article shows how Fratelli d’Italia (FdI), the Lega, and Forza Italia (FI) mobilize foreign policy to project distinct political identities. FdI presents foreign policy as an opportunity to project an image of responsible leadership and institutional credibility. The Lega deploys a populist narrative centred on popular sovereignty and resistance to elite-driven international agendas, while FI positions itself as the defender of institutional continuity. These contrasting forms of political positioning help stabilize the coalition by allowing each party to cultivate a distinct political profile within a shared governing framework. In doing so, they illustrate how foreign policy can function as an instrument of domestic coalition politics in contemporary Italy.