Nato

Con i suoi 28 Paesi membri, la Nato non potrà mai essere rapida nel senso stretto del termine. Un’alleanza politico-strategica tanto articolata non è in grado di muoversi al passo con gli eventi, come potrebbe invece farlo una singola nazione. Dopo la caduta del muro di Berlino e la dissoluzione del Patto di Varsavia, all’Alleanza atlantica ha avuto bisogno di tre anni, prima di cominciare a parlare di un suo “Nuovo concetto strategico”. Ma la nuova dottrina Nato risale solo al 1999. Vale a dire dieci anni dopo la fine della guerra fredda.

The critical information infrastructure (CII) represents the indispensable "nerves and blood" that allow modern societies to work and live. In fact, without it, there would be no distribution of energy, no services like banking or finance, no air traffic control and so on. The CII allows remote control and management of commodities and services, thus reducing costs, to utility companies and consumers alike, and improving efficiency. But the CII was born and developed with an intrinsic, and potentially disastrous, defect: security was never considered a top priority. Today, organized crime, rogue groups or even states may plan to disrupt or destroy portion of the CII or essential services, thus putting in serious dangers governments and economies around the world. This paper outlines the major elements of the CII and the risks to which it might be subject today and tomorrow.

The palpable insecurity about Italy’s status in American foreign policy calculations, despite Italy’s status as a member of the G-8, its historically critical role in shaping the trajectory of European integration and not insignificant contributions to military operations in Afghanistan and Libya, has been heightened with the reelection of President Barack Obama and the uncertain outcome of the Italian parliamentary elections at the end of February.

The experience of Post-Soviet security cooperation looks unimpressive compared to the successes of NATO and EU. However, the main goal of the first stage of cooperation of the former Soviet republics (1990s) was peaceful disintegration, not integration.

The forms of international intervention have deeply changed since the end of the Cold War. They have assumed a democratic character: recent cases of intervention are mainly carried out by democracies and are justified by democratic principles as the protection of human rights or the promotion of human dignity. Moreover, they are aimed at the democratization of the target-country. This unprecedented democratic attitude has given birth to a new kind of relationship between international intervention and democratization - which in the past was understood only as a domestic political process.

This analysis examines the role of NATO in democratic transition processes. The author argues that a lower level of threat to national security and a more cooperative approach with neighbors help stabilize democratic institutions and structures in countries in transitions. NATO has the tools to increase collaborative security and to assist countries in the development of national security strategies compatible with regional stability. These tools range from military assistance programs, to political dialogue initiatives.

Dall’incontro dei partner della NATO del 4 ottobre sembra essere emerso un assenso generale ad un intervento militare turco contro Damasco senza il coinvolgimento militare del resto dell’alleanza. Lei ritiene plausibile un’azione militare turca senza supporto occidentale? E quali potrebbero essere le reazioni di Iran e Russia?

Nell'ultimo decennio, il quadro di certezze entro cui l'Italia concepisce la sua politica estera e di difesa si è indebolito. Certo la politica italiana rimane inquadrata nella rete di istituzioni internazionali euro-atlantiche. Nondimeno, i tre pilastri di questa rete - la Nato, l'Ue e la leadership americana - mostrano segni di difficoltà che sono destinati ad avere conseguenze per la politica estera e di difesa italiana. La Nato prosegue il lungo processo di trasformazione iniziato negli anni '90 ma in un contesto più incerto.

The limited role of Italy in American foreign policy calculations begs explanation given Italy’s status as a member of the G-8, its economic size, membership in NATO, and its historically critical role in shaping the trajectory of European integra-tion.