NEWSLETTER N.12 (March 2010)
Italian Foreign Policy
Portal of the University of Bologna, Master in International Relations
www.foreignpolicy.it
EDITORIAL NOTE
The G8, civilian missione and energy policies: challenges and opportunities for Italy
SONIA LUCARELLI (University of Bologna at Forlì), Editor of the Newsletter Section
In this issue of the Newsletter, Italy's foreign policy is evaluated in three distinctive areas of intervention: high level international diplomacy, peacekeeping and energy policy.
Nicola Chelotti evaluates the role of the Italian Presidency in the organization of, and leadership in, the G8 planned in 2008 at l'Aquila. Chelotti suggests a nuanced evaluation of the Italian presidency: if the organization was good and lauded by other delegations and the press, Italy's role in drawing up the agenda has been weak and criticised.
Barbara Nicoletti evaluates Italy's role in training of forces for civilian crisis management. Her report shows that Italy's contribution in this field has been significant, particularly as far as EU operations are concerned.
Pointing to the need for a coordinated and well-designed energy policy in Europe, Gianluca Pescaroli points to the weaknesses of the West, and particularly of the European Union, where “countries like Italy are ready to invest in nearly obsolete nuclear power and non renewable supplies from Libya and other ‘friendly” neighbours’.”
On the whole, then , a mixed picture at best.
IN THIS ISSUE:
NICOLA CHELOTTI
The 2009 L’Aquila G8: Evaluating the role of the Italian Presidency
On the 8-10 July 2009 the G8 group heads of state and government from the most industrialised countries (United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Canada, Russia) met in L’Aquila, Italy. Italy hosted the event for the fifth time since 1975 and the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has been in the fortunate, and unique, condition of hosting the summit three times: in 1994, 2001 and 2009.
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BARBARA NICOLETTI
Setting EU training standards for civilian crisis management: the Italian contribution.
The term peace operations, introduced in the 90s by the Brahimi report , was meant to reflect the evolution of traditional peacekeeping operations, mainly mandated to keeping the peace and monitoring cease fires in the new multidimensional post-Cold War scenario of UN operations supporting the implementation of comprehensive peace agreements.
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GIANLUCA PESCAROLI
Back to Scarcity: Energy, Security and World Crisis
Imagine Europe as an organism, full of life and functions. It has a body, the territory. It has the brain, the networks of decisions. Sometimes it has a mind, the culture. The interaction of these produces governance, ideas and whatever (...)
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The Newsletter section includes periodical series of short articles in English on various topics dealing with Italian Foreign policy at large. The newsletter will offer three sections:
(1) An editorial on Italy's most recent involvement in world politics
(2) A digest of the foreign press on Italian foreign policy
(3) A series of comments and focuses on specific aspects of Italian foreign policy and the most important events in international politics.
Contributions to the newsletter are open to the Italian and international community of scholars and policy analysts. Though not tied to any fixed dates, it aims to appear at least four times a year.
Readers are invited to send their comments or propose their contributions to:
info@foreignpolicy.it
