Articoli

• Introduzione
  LE SOVRANITÀ CONTRASTATE – SIC ET NON. OVVERO IL PRISMA DELLA SOVRANITÀ
  Giuseppe Casale LUMSA
  



• RUSSIAN MILITARY INTERVENTIONS IN GEORGIA AND UKRAINE: RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT OR TERRITORIAL EXPANSIONISM?
  Barbara Pisciotta Roma Tre University
  
  ABSTRACT
  Russia’s foreign policy within its regional area originates primarily from the clear determination to challenge the construction of the post-bipolar European order grounded on American hegemony and the extension of NATO to East Europe. In particular, opposition to America’s strategic interests in the area began to take shape through a plan of integration designed to “reconquer” the territories of the former USSR and/or maintain control over these areas so as to prevent possible threats along the western border of the Federation. For these reasons, despite the fact of taking place seven years apart and in very different international contexts, the Russian military interventions in Georgia and Ukraine display at least three common characteristics: (1) the importance of the ge- opolitical location of the two countries to Russian strategic and military interests; (2) the nationalistic character of the Russian claims; (3) the Russian ambiguous interpretation of the responsibility to protect. Moving from these premises, the article seeks to explain the nature of Russia’s regional claims with reference to its military interventions in Georgia and Ukraine. The aim is to suggest an explanation of the Russian foreign policy based on the nature of the objectives (territorial/normative/hierarchy of prestige), the means employed (violent) and the level of action (regional). The paper is divided into three parts. The first analyses the interventions carried out by Russia in Georgia and Ukraine in order to explain the Russian strategic and military interests in its regional area, the second discusses the nature of the Russian claims (nationalism, revisionism and/or revanchism?) and the third examines the Russian interpretation of the responsibility to protect.
  KEYWORDS: RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY, REVISIONISM, POST-COMMUNIST MILITARY INTERVENTIONS.
  
  
  
• SPAZI OPERATIVI TRANSNAZIONALI E LAND GRABBING
  Teresa Amodio Università degli Studi di Salerno
  TITLE: Transnational operational spaces and land grabbing
  
  ABSTRACT
  The process of globalization, through interconnection, as a characterizing condition, as well as new conveniences, has been able to produce paradoxes and ambiguities. In a logic of reticular construction of flows and relations between territories and econ- omies, it has favoured some geographical contexts and making others extremely marginal. This dynamic has produced new hierarchies, some of which, rather than convergences, have become scenarios of conflict and dispute. According with this theme, the land grabbing phenomenon has been considered, through which some investor countries, benefiting from a contractual asymmetry, acquire fertile land in poor countries, due to speculative, food and energy needs, without consent from the of local communities. These, deprived of primary resources, are forced to undertake internal migrations first and, in the long run, extra-Continental crossings. From a methodological point of view, the research, based on Land Matrix data and supported by thematic maps, involved the analysis of multiple indicators such as the number of contracts concluded, the quantity of land subject to grabbing, the implementation methods, the location geographical nature of the interventions, the involvement of investor countries and target countries, the intended use of the acquired lands. The result was a scenario in which, in the non-colonial era, there was the creation of a transnational type of operating space, characterized by enclaves that cross the states and which are only delineated by the needs of large multinational capital, with a view to sovereignty denied.
  KEYWORDS: FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS, LAND GRABBING, TERRITORIAL AND ECO- NOMIC ENCLAVES.
  
  
  
• LA RICONFIGURAZIONE DELLA CIFRA TERRITORIALE DELLA SOVRANITÀ: IL CASO GEOPOLITICO DELLA PENISOLA IBERICA NELL’UNIONE EUROPEA
  Letizia Gianfranceschi Università statale di Milano
  TITLE: The Reconfiguration of Territorial Sovereignty: The Geopolitical Case of the Iberian Peninsula in the European Union
  
  ABSTRACT
  This paper discusses how the Portuguese and Spanish Europeanisation af- fected the territorial dimension of the Iberian sovereignty with a view to investigating how, in the current age of the crisis of sovereignty, States can find new ways to have a hold on their territory element. By analyzing monographic resources, academic papers and essays it will be possible to show how, unlike previous geopolitical attempts, recent Europeanisation has already modified Portuguese and Spanish sovereignties, thus turning Portugal and Spain into something different from what they had been for centuries. In the case of Portugal, Europeanisation induced the country to give up the oceanic dimension that had made the fortunes of the empire in its glorious times. As regards Spain, howev- er, European membership was followed by the attempt to build “Pax mediterranea” – a privileged space of peace, security and prosperity extending from the European Union to North Africa. Also, from a peninsular point of view important consequences followed the Europeanisation process. Firstly, Portugal and Spain got closer to Central Europe, but they were also automatically included in the regional sub-system of the Southern Europe. This means that Lisbon and Madrid still have a peripheral position with comparison to Brussel and Berlin. Secondly, the choice of integration renewed Iberian Peninsula’s geopolitical mission: being a bridge between continents. Finally, such process boosted the chance of speeding up a new stage of Portuguese-Spanish relation because territorial integration made it possible to create a new Iberian space of political, economic, cultural and institu- tional cooperation; namely, the euroregions.
  KEYWORDS: IBERIAN GEOPOLITICS AFTER 1986, PORTUGUESE-SPANISH RELATIONS AND EU MEMBERSHIP, EUROREGIONS.
  
  
  
• LE ORGANIZZAZIONI REGIONALI NEL MONDO ARABO DOPO IL 2011: I LIMITI DELL’ISTITUZIONALISMO
  Ugo Gaudino University of Kent
  TITLE: The regional organizations in the Arab world after 2011: the limits of insti- tutionalism
  
  ABSTRACT
  : In this short paper I will present the recent debate in IR literature about the role of Arab League as a successful institution in conflict management and mediation in the MENA area. I will argue that the League’s efforts pan out only in few minor crises, above all because of its weak institutional framework and of the harsh rivalries among its members. In the second part I will focus on the more muscular attitude showed by the League during the Arab uprisings, which can be considered as a remarkable sign of the growing clout of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The decision to foster regime change in Libya and Syria and to undergird ruling autocracies in Yemen and Bahrain was a clear- cut and twofold strategy pursued by Saudi Arabia and its allies. I will finally suggest that scholars can benefit from a multidimensional approach in the analysis of regional issues. Drawing upon realism, constructivism and geopolitics produce more outcomes rather than limiting ourselves to read the events through the lens of only one IR theory.
  KEYWORDS: ARAB LEAGUE, SAUDI ARABIA, ARAB SPRING.
  
  
  
• WHO LEADS NATION’S FOREIGN POLICIES? EVIDENCES FROM THE ITALIAN OIL GIANT ENI
  Benedetto Francesco Ballatore Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Foodstuff and Forestry Policies
  
  ABSTRACT
  Who holds the power in international politics? Most people would probably answer it is the largest states in the global system. The context of international relations seems to affirm this perception and, of course, the internal and international strategies implemented by Russia (through its new geopolitics perspectives), USA (with the new President Trump doctrine ‘America First’) and China (which is carrying out a step by step global expansion) seem to put state power back in charge after decades of globalization. Nevertheless, multinational like Walmart, Toyota, Apple, Volkswagen, Samsung Electron- ics, still have a relevant power, considering that: 1) they oversee huge supply chains; 2) they sell products all over the world; 3) they shape international politics to their interests. All these aspects are factual in the energy sector. For example, in Italy, the role of Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (hereinafter ENI) is particularly interesting, if one analyses the company’s activities and asks himself whether the company behaved according to national interests so if its decisions were just a reflection of the state foreign policy, or if the firm acted as a private multinational, so following its capitalistic interests. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze ENI’s energy policies and if and (eventually) how the latter influ- enced Italian foreign policies before and after the company’s privatization process (occurred in 1992 when the corporation became a public limited company).
  KEYWORDS: INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY, MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS, ENERGY SECTOR.
  
  
  
• UNA CHIAVE DI LETTURA PER LA CONTEMPORANEITÀ: LA CYBER-SOVRANITÀ Il modello della Family of Nations al tempo della Società dell’Informazione
  Francesco Tomasselli Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis
  TITLE: A key to reading the contemporary times: Cyber-sovereignty. The “Family of Nations model” in the time of the Information Society.
  
  ABSTRACT
  Considered as an original and independent power, Sovereignty is a quality required for the definition of a State in order to be considered as such. Nowadays, this definition needs to be reframed within a conceptual context, able to keep up with new and changing needs and circumstances that characterize the Information Society. The advent of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has put the typical categories of the Sovereign State into crisis, thanks to the simultaneous affirmation and the spread of the globalization of law. All this has therefore allowed the creation of an advanced season of conceptual rethinking within the International Legal Order. The analysis, carried out in a legal perspective, was based on a study of the documentation produced within the United Nations System and, not least, the Tallinn Manual 2.0 which, right now, is the most complete legal experiment in the cybernetic context. From the analysis of the above-men- tioned documentation, it seems legitimate to conclude that, despite the presence of contrary indications in the international debate, the Doctrine of Sovereignty – although stripped of its original Sanctity – still constitutes a useful instrument to limit some States claims and to guarantee respect for what it constitutes the core of the International Legal Order.
  KEYWORDS: CYBER-SOVEREIGNTY, ICTS, INFORMATION SOCIETY.
  
  
  
• SOVRANITÀ E ANTISOVRANITÀ FINE DEL POLITICO, SOCIETÀ APERTA E ORDINE SPONTANEO
  Francesco Maiolo Università Roma Tre
  TITLE: Sovereignty and Anti-Sovereignty: the end of the political, open society and spontaneous order
  
  ABSTRACT
  The recent revival of interest in state sovereignty, both conceptually and empirically, present conflicting interpretations and value-judgments about the role of the state itself in finding a balance between civil and social rights. State sovereignty has been challenged from multiple perspectives: juridical, economic, moral and philosophical. Liberalism appears to be provided by an anti-sovereignty charge which constitutes a menace to the very existence of the liberal state, while it enhances the uncontrolled forces of the market. Referring to the position of Friedrich August von Hayek and his theory of the social spontaneous order, this essay seeks to shed light on the differences between the latter and the concept of open society, and on their relationship with the thesis of the end of the political as part of an anti-sovereignty political strategy.
  KEYWORDS: STATE SOVEREIGNTY, OPEN SOCIETY, SPONTANEOUS SOCIAL ORDER, THE END OF THE POLITICAL.
  
  
  
• UN VETTORE DELL’INTERDIPENDENZA GLOBALE: LO SMART STATE-BUILDING NELL’EPOCA DELLA SOVRANITÀ DENAZIONALIZZATA
  Giuseppe Casale LUMSA
  TITLE: A vector of global interdependence: Smart state-building in the epoch of denationalized sovereignty
  
  ABSTRACT
  This paper aims to problematize the transformations of sovereignty in the time of global interdependence, despite the formal preservation of Westphalia-based principles. The phenomenon is examined in the light of the function performed by state-building as a vector for the inclusion of target-states in the dynamics of the global economy and its governance regimes. The analysis of the transformations of the exercise of sovereignty elaborated in the field of IR theory defines the general context of the denationalizing effects of contemporary state-building, in light of the role played by transnational economic actors alongside governmental agencies and international organizations. Then the paper examines the conceptual redefinition of the conditions of vulnerability (failure, fragility, resilience) that justify the interventions, moving from the paradigm that postulates the compliance of the objectives of development, political stability, institutional efficacy and security with the independent variables of economic internationalization, in the shadow of hierarchy” guaranteed by foreign states for the involvement of non-state actors. On these bases, the paper problematizes the challenge launched by new state-builders such as BRICS+T, but even so likely to comply with the “light footprint” strategy introduced by Western liberal-democratic state-builders: a “smart state-building” for a more effective and less compromising investment logic, but without giving up the hard tools of state sovereignty. The last part resumes all these factors observing the cases of developmental state-building after the international missions in Cambodia and Kosovo, to point out the effects of an institutionalizated dependence on foreign investment and global markets and of an internalization of the “bifurcation of the world” into the socio-economic environments of target states.
  KEYWORDS: STATE-BUILDING, ECONOMIC GLOBAL ORDER, CONTEMPORARY NATION-STATE SOVEREIGNTY.
  
  
  
PROSPETTIVE


• LA BRI: STRUMENTO GEOPOLITICO CINESE VERSO L’EUROPA CENTRO-ORIENTALE?
  Paolo Sellari Sapienza Università di Roma
  TITLE: The Belt and Road Initiative: a Chinese geopolitical means towards the Eastern and Central Europe
  
  ABSTRACT
  It is now known that BRI is the main global economic and infrastructure project. A design that also becomes geopolitical for the country that launched it in 2013. If Central Asia, through which the ancient Silk Roads wind through as in past centuries, appears as the direct interlocutor of Beijing, Europe it is certainly the main objective. In the context of the old continent, central-eastern countries can play roles of primary im- portance as a gateway to western Europe. The new scenario based on the “17 + 1 cooperation”, a joint Forum through which China tries to create a fundamental link in its great geopolitical project to build the biggest economic cooperation area in the world. Through reliable partner countries linked by a common ideological past, China could face Europe from a privileged window.
  KEYWORDS: BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVES, 17+1 COOPERATION FORUM, EASTERN EUROPE.
  
  
  
• IL RITORNO DELLA COMPELLENZA: ALCUNE IPOTESI SULLA NUOVA DOTTRINA MILITARE AMERICANA
  Orazio Maria Gnerre Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano
  TITLE: The return of compellence: some hypotheses on the new American military doctrine
  
  ABSTRACT
  The article wants to propose a rethinking on the military doctrine put in place by the United States in the face of profound changes in the international policy of the last period. If the semi-hegemonic phase with US traction has produced certain doc- trines of war, this polycentric phase in which we are going shows how, changing power relationships – in a context where the nuclear weapon maintains a strong deterrent role – the application schemes of the war power also change.. This, however, in this case also means returning to old ideas, and expecially to that of “compellence”, which seems to be experiencing new youth in relation to the current conditions of the international scenario.
  KEYWORDS: COMPELLENCE, MILITARY DOCTRINES, UNI-MULTIPOLAR TRANSITION.