Role of Military History in the Italian Military Intelligence

This thesis aims to explain the reason and the historical framework that led to the diminishment of the importance of the military history in the Italian military intelligence. Although the entire military community agrees that military history is a fundamental component for analyzing the environment and better addressing future challenges, too often in Western military organizations this hardly finds a place in military intelligence. In particular, in Italy, the study of war events starting from 1925 (the date of establishment of Joint Italian military intelligence) has seen less and less space until it became marginal. To understand the reason for this decline, it is necessary to analyze the historical, political, and cultural roots of this choice made by the ruling class between 1925 and today. The thesis will demonstrate that studying history and contextualizing past events in the present is essential to face future challenges better. Therefore, to fully understand the operating environment, it would be appropriate to restore the importance of military history within the intelligence branch and in all military contexts at all levels. It would be appropriate to give more space in the training program of the intelligence operators, importance during the planning process, and relevance during the intelligence cycle.