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- Author: Daniela Huber
- Publication Date: 04-2020
- Content Type: Working Paper
- Institution: Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract: The coronavirus crisis deeply challenges the assumption that we human beings can dominate nature. Contraposing the new European Commission Green Deal and geopolitical language with critical/green thought, this paper aims to provoke reflections on a re-imagination of the European Union as part of a larger regional and global community that lives together within a green and diverse planet.
- Topic: International Relations, Climate Change, Environment, Coronavirus
- Political Geography: Europe
- Author: Sandra Lavenex, Ivo Križić
- Publication Date: 12-2019
- Content Type: Working Paper
- Institution: Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract: In light of rising internal cleavages and centrifugal tendencies, differentiated integration (DI) has (re)arisen as a major topic in debates on the future of the European Union. As new forms of participation below the threshold of full membership are needed, this paper provides a conceptualisation of effective and legitimate DI. Going beyond existing scholarship’s focus on the legal dimension of DI, the paper emphasises its organisational component, meaning the variegated participation of EU member states, sub-state entities and third-country actors in the panoply of EU policy-making institutions, such as regulatory agencies and transgovernmental networks. The paper subsequently discusses how to measure effectiveness of such differentiated arrangements in terms of their output, outcome and impact, before theorising under what conditions we are likely to see effective DI. Finally, the paper turns to the question of legitimacy of DI, discussing its meaning, measurement and determinants.
- Topic: Governance, Democracy, Regional Integration, Accountability, Legitimacy
- Political Geography: Europe, European Union
- Author: Sinan Ülgen
- Publication Date: 12-2019
- Content Type: Working Paper
- Institution: Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract: The evolving external threat environment is impacting the internal political dynamics of NATO nations and is accentuating a series of already existing trends – differences in threat perceptions, burden-sharing difficulties, challenges to respond to sub-threshold threats and the rise of populism – which altogether affect the cohesiveness and potentially the effectiveness of NATO as a political and military alliance. NATO’s operational future over the next decades will be shaped by the ingenuity of the transatlantic leadership in developing new arrangements of institutional cooperation between the Alliance and the burgeoning forms of the “coalition of the willing”. The Alliance should nonetheless remain the main transatlantic political forum, given Brexit as well as the rising need for a common political response to the many challenges ranging from migration to failed states. NATO has been relatively successful in adapting to the changing security environment. Its military capabilities remain unparalleled and unrivalled. The more interesting question is however the political one. Namely how the politics of sustaining this Alliance are being shaped by the underlying dynamics that are transforming the global political, economic and military context. The paper is divided in three chapters.
- Topic: Defense Policy, NATO, Politics, Institutions, Transatlantic Relations
- Political Geography: Europe, United States of America, European Union
- Author: Nathalie Tocci
- Publication Date: 12-2019
- Content Type: Working Paper
- Institution: Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract: Much is being said about European power these days. From the new European Commission President von der Leyen and new High Representative Borrell to French President Macron, the idea that Europe must exert power on the global scene is gaining traction. The political intuition behind these statements is absolutely correct. The 21st century rationale for the European project is a profoundly global one. However, to turn it into a practical reality, it’s worth delving into the detail of European power, what it meant, how it has transformed, and what should be done to exercise it in future.
- Topic: International Relations, Power Politics, Transatlantic Relations
- Political Geography: Europe, European Union
- Author: Funda Tekin, Vittoria Meissner, Nils Fabian Müller
- Publication Date: 12-2019
- Content Type: Working Paper
- Institution: Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract: Heterogeneity among countries in the European Union has continuously grown through enlargement processes or the outbreak of specific crises. After reaching important outcomes such as the European Monetary Union or the Schengen Agreement, in the face of the “big bang” enlargement of 2004 both national and European Union representatives subsequently committed to the motto “united in diversity”, confident that the European project would progress and deepen. Nevertheless, the crises in the euro area posed a number of new internal and external challenges to the overall European integration process as well as the EU’s political unity in terms of member states sharing the same rights and obligations, making permanent forms of differentiated integration more likely. Against this background, the paper presents a new collected dataset to outline how the EU narrative of political unity changes during times of increasing political differentiation and consequent differentiated integration. As such, it conducts a narrative analysis in two selected cases, the period between 2000 and 2004 preceding the big bang enlargement as well as the years of the crises in the euro area between 2010 and 2014. Although the existing narrative of political unity in the EU has changed in response to the crises under the more sceptical phrase “divided in unity”, our analysis shows that differentiation is not a threat to political unity.
- Topic: Foreign Policy, Politics, Regional Integration, Institutions, Integration
- Political Geography: Europe, France, Poland, Germany, Italy, European Union
- Author: Nicola Bilotta, Lorenzo Colantoni
- Publication Date: 12-2018
- Content Type: Working Paper
- Institution: Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract: The electrification of Sub-Saharan Africa has traditionally suffered from a lack of adequate investments, given the scarcity of domestic funds and the higher regional risk perceived by foreign investors. And yet, electrification of the continent has accelerated lately, driven by innovative financing instruments that fit the African framework. Such tools as aggregation, securitization and guarantee instruments reduce risk premiums, thus increasing the attractiveness of the sector and making it easier for international institutions to provide back-up funding for private, local and decentralized projects. Critical in this regard has been Africa’s FinTech system, which enables forms of mobile payment and micro-credit access, resulting in innovative business models. Such sets of tools will be then fundamental to maintaining the current trends and, eventually, reach the long-awaited universal access to energy for those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Paper prepared in the framework of the IAI-Eni Strategic Partnership, December 2018.
- Topic: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Natural Resources, Foreign Direct Investment, Sustainable Development Goals
- Political Geography: Africa, Europe
- Author: Cornelius Adebahr
- Publication Date: 12-2018
- Content Type: Working Paper
- Institution: Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract: Europe and Iran had begun to invest in a closer commercial relationship just when the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018. Since then, Washington has re-imposed its stringent economic sanctions, targeting Iran’s oil exports as a major source of government revenue but also banning financial transactions with the country. This poses an enormous challenge for the EU, which had intended to use the 2015 agreement as a stepping stone to promote regional cooperation and, ultimately, a more comprehensive relationship with Iran. Paper produced in the framework of the IAI-FEPS project entitled “Europe and Iran in a fast-changing Middle East: Confidence-building measures, security dialogue and regional cooperation”, December 2018.
- Topic: Foreign Policy, International Trade and Finance, Bilateral Relations, Sanctions, Transatlantic Relations
- Political Geography: Europe, Iran, Middle East, North America, United States of America, European Union
- Author: Francesca Capano
- Publication Date: 12-2018
- Content Type: Working Paper
- Institution: Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract: Concerns over migration, economic growth and the rise of populism seemed to overshadow the threat of terrorism in many European countries during 2018. While the number of attacks and alleged plots in Europe have declined considerably compared to previous years, experts have long warned that measuring the terrorism threat on the basis of successful attacks was a “mistake”.
- Topic: Security, Terrorism, Prisons/Penal Systems, Radicalization
- Political Geography: Europe, Italy
- Author: Karim Makdisi
- Publication Date: 12-2018
- Content Type: Working Paper
- Institution: Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract: Refugee movements are not a new phenomenon in the Middle East and North Africa. The history of the region has been shaped by waves of displacement and refugee crises, and the most recent, the dramatic case of Syria, is still in process. This paper investigates refugee movements in the region and their impact on regional dynamics by focusing on two important case studies: Lebanon and Turkey. It explores each country’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis in detail, while addressing the role of relevant stakeholders, such as international organizations, civil society and government, in humanitarian relief efforts as well as in refugee protection and management.
- Topic: Humanitarian Aid, Migration, Refugees, Syrian War, Mobility
- Political Geography: Europe, Turkey, Middle East, Lebanon, Syria, European Union