Your concern captures a profound, ongoing debate within Italian society. In Italy, the cultural and structural separation between the intellectual class and the military/security sphere is not just beginning—it has been deepening for decades, shaped by a unique convergence of post-war history, politics, and sociology.
Several distinct factors have driven this divide in the Italian context:
1. The Post-Fascist Trauma and the Pacifist Consensus
Following the collapse of Fascism and the devastation of World War II, the new Italian Republic consciously built a political and cultural identity rooted in anti-militarism.
This ethos was codified directly into Article 11 of the Italian Constitution ("L'Italia ripudia la guerra..."). While designed to prevent aggressive expansionism, in post-war intellectual, school, and university circles, this often drifted into an absolute, reflexive pacifism that viewed any military matter, strategic thinking, or martial capability with suspicion.
2. The Cultural Hegemony in Academia and Media
Throughout the Prima Repubblica, intellectual life—humanities faculties, publishing houses, cultural commentary—was heavily influenced by left-wing thought and Catholic pacifism (pacifismo cattolico).
Both traditions tended to treat armed service not as a civic duty of the citizen-soldier, but as an inherently reactionary, coercive tool. Strategic studies, military history, and geopolitical realism were marginalized in universities in favor of sociological, ideological, and purely diplomatic studies.
3. The End of the Leva Obbligatoria (2004/2005)
For over a century, mandatory conscription (la leva)—despite its logistical flaws—served as a great social leveler. A philosophy graduate from Bologna, a mechanic from Naples, and an agronomist from the Veneto shared barracks and learned the reality of defense together.
The suspension of conscription in 2005 turned the Italian Armed Forces into a purely professional, volunteer force (volontari). In practice, this created a sharp socioeconomic and geographic sort: recruitment concentrated heavily in the southern regions and working-class backgrounds seeking stable employment, while northern and educated urban youth disconnected from the military world entirely.
4. The Loss of the Intellettuale-Combattente Tradition
Italy once had a profound tradition of the scholar-fighter:
The Risorgimento: Figures like Goffredo Mameli (poet and soldier), Giuseppe Garibaldi, and countless university student battalions (Battaglione Universitario Romano, Curtatone e Montanara).
The Resistance (Resistenza): Intellectuals, teachers, and writers took to the mountains as partisans—figures like Beppe Fenoglio (Il partigiano Johnny), Primo Levi, Italo Calvino, and Emilio Lussu (Un anno sull'Altipiano), who understood both classical literature and trench warfare.
Today, that memory is often commemorated purely as a political or moral symbol, while the concrete martial courage and physical readiness of those thinkers are largely erased from school curricula.
The Consequences for Modern Italy
When Italian policy-makers, journalists, and public intellectuals have almost zero literacy in military strategy, deterrence, or logistics:
Public debate on geopolitics becomes moralistic rather than realistic, focusing on wishes rather than power dynamics.
The military becomes an invisible caste, acknowledged only during domestic natural disasters (civil protection) or international peacekeeping, rather than as a core element of national sovereignty.
Societal resilience weakens, leaving the broader public culturally unprepared when major geopolitical shocks, hybrid warfare, or territorial conflicts reappear on the European perimeter.
To bridge this gap, Italy doesn't need militarism—it needs a revival of civic realism, where the intellect understands force, and force remains guided by cultivated, ethical minds.

