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Two years after the fall of the Caliphate the Arab world has still been unable to express a stable regional order built upon the material and political/moral ruins left. The end of the territorial dimension of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) could have represented a turning point to re-discuss and re-arrange a new concert of powers in the region. On the other hand…read more.

NATO is the most successful political-military alliance in history, and yet it is time to focus once again on the purpose of the transatlantic relationship that is at risk of whittling due to inertia and complacency. NATO’s old quip “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down” today it is evidently out of touch with reality. Russia is considered by some a potentially interesting partner a part of the US public is not sure about staying…read more.

The 2011 uprisings failed in spreading democracy. They did, nevertheless, reshape regional relations leaving three traditional powers of the area – Egypt, Syria, Iraq – as barely functional states. The Gulf countries – Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE – are leading a potential endless counter-revolution effort. The latter has ignited a toxic circuit of proxy wars that is re-orienting regional foreign policy with a compass driven by altered perceptions of threats and opportunities. The hope that, at the end…read more.

It is easy to dismiss defeat as uninteresting and unappealing, preferring instead the more intoxicating analysis of victory; yet wisdom is more often learned from defeat because errors have more power in questioning assumptions and ossified ideas. A short analysis of the decision-taking process of the Soviet leadership that led to the invasion of Afghanistan on December 1979 shows…read more.

The asymmetry level of terrorist threats affecting the different cities of Europe urges the development of sophisticated interpretative tools. Such tools are meant to encode complex hazards in engineering models of reality.
In 2015, an antiterrorism project was developed to define operative guidelines of intervention devoted to the prevention of disastrous consequences for human life and built heritage in case of a religiously motivated terrorist attack, perpetrated in an urban church of Italy. Thus, the “I.T.A.W.” database was created with the purpose of collecting significant information…read more.

On the 23^rd of March 2011, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) launched its Unified Protector Operation in Libya, enforcing the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973. Achieving its End State, the Operation has officially ended. But, did it? Libya remains in a state of distress where its governance is contested between various actors, namely, the Presidential Council headed by Fayez Al-Sarraj and…read more.

Although the Islamic State has lost nearly 98% of the territory it once controlled, the group is ripe for a comeback in Sunni-majority areas of Iraq and Syria. This resilience is explained by its capability to keep a substantial war chest; when it controlled territory, it amassed billions of dollars through extortion, taxation, robbery, and the…read more.

NATO’s Resolute Support Mission is currently engaged in training, advising and assisting the Afghan security forces and institutions, in order to strengthen the state-building process and to enhance military capabilities of the national army to react against destabilising threats. The RSM’s presence is not limited to Kabul but is felt in different regions of the country (also in the Kandahar southern region and in the western region bordering Pakistan, where the…read more.

The dialogue between NATO and Industry focused on the promotion of an Industrial advisory role in a pre-competitive (or non-competitive) mode is over fifty years old. In this period many things have happened: we have seen the creation of organizational structures and procedures, witnessed moments of intense activity, moments of flatness…read more.

In 2005 British General Rupert Smith wrote that “War no longer exists”. He continued: “Confrontation, conflict and combat undoubtedly exist all around the world. […] Nonetheless, war as known to most non-combatants, war as battle in the field between men and machinery, war as a massive deciding event…read more.

The reaction of the Arab armies to the 2011 uprisings is a subject is a subject that has been frequently examined, but the evolution and reform of Arab armies is a neglected topic.  In times of global interdependence, the Atlantic Alliance must be ready to understand and interact with the changing Middle East….read more.

Over a year now the Turkish-American agreement over the so called Manbij Roadmap is in a stalemate. US President Donald Trump’s announcement in December 2018 to withdraw American troops from Syria even further complicated the situation. Just after Ankara’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 air missile system, US Syria envoy James Jeffrey arrived in Turkey for July…read more.

On 20 June 2019, after “Fatih”, the second Turkish drill ship “Yavuz” left the Dilova port to sail into the Mediterranean Sea. According to Turkish media, Yavuz shall start from July on its petroleum and gas exploration works in the Eastern Mediterranean. While Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez celebrated the launch with the words “Now we’re also part of the game”, the Turkish action prompted harsh reactions from Greece, the EU and the US that see in Ankara’s “illegal” drilling action a…read more.

When the European leaders made the solemn commitment of enlarging the Union towards the Western Balkans at the Thessaloniki EU Council in 2003, the general mood about the region was rather positive. Politicians, diplomats and analysts thought that the Western Balkans would have joined NATO and the EU within 15 years, following the same path of Central Europe…read more.

It is common knowledge that the world situation is characterised by increasing geopolitical tensions, local wars, a somewhat unpredictable behaviour of the three superpowers (US, China and Russia) and the ever present, even if discontinuous, terrorist threat. Most countries are therefore facing a raising number of real or perceived threats, while the continuous technological evolution, occasionally disruptive, makes those threats even more difficult to predict and counteract.
This geopolitical quandary has generated a bigger attention to defence and security issues and an increase in the demand for military equipment…read more.

The dissolution of the Communist regimes gave rise to new political institution and provided a pathway for the rise of independent nation states. However, this transformation was not smooth and without obstacles. Countries of the region faced a triple transition from war to peace, from Socialism to democracy and market economy and from humanitarian aid to sustanaible development. This is not comparable with any of the Central or Eastern European experience…read more.

The sixth NATO Industry Forum (NIF) was held in Berlin by November 2018. The purpose, following the launch of the Framework for NATO Industry Engagement in 2013 was to assess progress in the interaction NATO-Industry, increase the Industry awareness of NATO priorities, and improve its participation in establishing requirements and developing capabilities. Recognizing the frenetic pace…read more.

India’s long and continuous history with, and current legitimate interests in, Afghanistan precludes an exit strategy after the Western forces leave. This sentiment has become even stronger as the regime in Afghanistan changes and the US drawdown nears. Bereft of a regular involvement in the decision-making processes relating to the future of Afghanistan, India has crafted its own strategy, elaborated below, to deal with the post-2014 situation. It is based on continuing to develop its soft power strengths while looking…read more. 

Out of all the various geopolitical tensions and conflicts facing the transatlantic community and the Russian Federation on the world stage, the Ukrainian crisis – even if lately gradually overlooked and side-lined by the international media – continues to represent one of the main conundrums and sources of discord between an ever less cohesive West…read more.

The article is a five-point reflection on the New Silk Road (i.e. BRI or OBOR). First point: It is, first of all, an indispensable missing land link in global trade missing for 300 years. Thus it is a very positive development. Why should anybody be against? Second point: The old continental theories of Mackinder and Spykman are of very limited relevance…read more.

In May 2018, the US accused China of pointing lasers at US military aircraft multiple times near Djibouti in East Africa, in what an analyst describes as “an act just short of war.” [See Daniel Brown, “These are China’s laser weapons that have reportedly been targeting US planes in ‘an act just short of war”,’ Business Insider, May 4, 2018] Beijing denied these allegations which come at a time of contentious Sino-US rela- tions and looming trade war. According to some sources…read more.