Dalle leghe alla Lega nord: il federalismo europeo, le “piccole patrie” e l’Occidente (1979-2003)

Throughout its long history, the Northern League has been the subject of numerous political, sociological, and anthropological studies, few of which have addressed its foreign policy. The article offers a reconstruction of this dimension, focusing in particular on how Northern League leaders understood Europe and European federalism; how they positioned a political force with an autonomist vocation between the United States and the Soviet Union in the final decade of the Cold War; and, finally, how they confronted the challenges of the new international order between the collapse of Communism and the Iraq War of 2003. The analysis confirms the limited relevance of international politics in the party’s ideological development, while highlighting its contradictions and discontinuities. Finally, it shows how domestic politics and migration issues determined the foreign policy positions of the Northern League.