I cambiamenti climatici, la guerra e la crisi economica affamano il mondo. L’Onu: “Basta scuse: i combustibili fossili sono un vicolo cieco”.
Italy has perhaps been the swiftest country in the European Union to look southwards toward Africa in its efforts to wean itself from Russian gas.
Western nations are indeed imposing economic and political sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in late February 2022. Italy is potentially among the hardest hit as it imports about 29 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas from Moscow every year —a figure second only to Germany which accounts for over 40% of its gas demands. Replacing Russia as its main gas supplier will be no mean feat.
The war in Ukraine has raised fears of a major economic impact across the African continent, calling into question its post-pandemic recovery trajectory.
Regions such as the Horn of Africa and West Africa are particularly vulnerable to food crises and food insecurity, whose warning signs are growing globally.
However, the economic implications of the war are multifaceted: while new opportunities for partnerships in the energy sector are emerging, questions arise about the prospects for a green transition in the continent.
Ridimensionamento della presenza militare in Iraq e Afghanistan in favore di nuove missioni in Africa, in particolare nel Sahel. Questa è la rotta tracciata dal Parlamento italiano il 17 gennaio. Nonostante le Camere sciolte il nostro governo ha “urgentemente” approvato il dispiegamento di truppe in Niger, Libia, Tunisia, Marocco e Repubblica Centroafricana per un totale di oltre 83 milioni di euro per il 2018 (di cui 65 fra Niger e Libia).
Since the war in Ukraine broke out in Europe, its consequences and side effects have been reverberating across African countries. Rising food and energy prices, supply disruptions, and inflationary pressures have created additional challenges on the road for a post-pandemic economic recovery the continent painstakingly embarked upon, in what UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called a 'perfect storm'.
The war in Ukraine has turned the European green deal into a cornerstone of the EU’s long-term security agenda. Europe is taking extraordinary measures to disconnect itself from Russian gas and to shield itself from the fallout of the conflict. It should think big, not small, and pursue more stable, secure, and ultimately strategic energy partnerships with its southern neighbours.
The green deal through a security lens“The answer to this concern for our security lies in renewable energy and diversification of supply”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resumed the West and Russia’s intense rivalry, echoing the Cold War era. In this conjuncture, many African countries find themselves in a familiar position of non-alignment, not wanting to be forced to take sides in a conflict in the global North. In particular, some African countries have played an important role in global diplomacy, specifically regarding their votes in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Russian president Vladimir Putin has made it apparent for the past several years that he is ready to move on from the democratically based international order that has shaped global governance norms since the end of World War II.
The effectiveness — or, for that matter, the existence — of Russia's soft power has always been a controversial topic, dividing both academic and policy researchers. Now, with Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, talking about Russia’s soft power may sound like fiction – even more so from Europe’s perspective. However, this is not the case when it comes to Africa.
The outbreak of the war in Ukraine has put global food security at stake.
“I condemn Russia’s offensive against the Ukrainian people in Donbas. We must (…) impose peace on Russia so that Ukraine regains its full sovereignty.” Such were the blunt words against the Kremlin pronounced by French far-right politician and Vladimir Putin’s long-time ally, Marine Le Pen.
6 aprile 2022. A Ouagadougou, capitale del Burkina Faso, è un torrido mercoledì della stagione secca e la sala banchetti di Ouaga 2000, quartiere delle istituzioni politico-finanziare del paese, è insolitamente gremita. Fuori, decine di uomini, donne e bambini, in maggioranza semplici cittadini burkinabé, cercano di forzare l’entrata per ascoltare il verdetto della giuria militare chiamata a pronunciarsi sull’assassinio di Thomas Noël Isidore Sankara, il padre della Rivoluzione del Burkina Faso (1983-1987).