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382. The Mediterranean Energy Scene: What Now? What Next?
- Author:
- Silvia Colombo and Ian Lesser
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The paper provides a summary of the key issues raised in the third meeting of the Mediterranean Strategy Group which was convened in Rome to discuss the problem of energy security and cooperation in the Mediterranean from a transatlantic perspective. The meeting looked into the impact of geopolitical and economic variables on energy security around the Mediterranean, including the role and interests of “new” actors such as China, Russia and India. It also examined the outlook for new oil, gas, nuclear and electric power transmission projects, the prospects for alternative energy schemes, and the implications for strategy and policy affecting governments and the private sectors.
- Topic:
- Security, Energy Policy, International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Europe, and India
383. Combining Realism with Vision Options for NATO's new Strategic Concept
- Author:
- Riccardo Alcaro
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Elaborating a Strategic Concept is a delicate undertaking which implies a good deal of resolve, far - sightedness, and realism. Allies should neither search for a new North Star nor give in to the temptation of de facto acceptance of the status quo as the optimal solution. Instead, they should make choices reflecting a synthesis, not just a list, of their security priorities. In particular, they should consider the future of the allied deterrence and defence strategies in a security environment characterised by significant political and technological changes, including by thinking about steps towards withdrawing US nuclear weapons in Europe and creating an integrated missile defence system; learn the lessons from the Balkans and Afghanistan and accord greater priority to stabilisation than to rapid reaction capabilities; recognise that compromises will be inevitable if they are serious about considering Russia as a partner, and start by pausing for a while with enlargement. Allies should also make it clear that they have no ambition of turning NATO into a world gendarme and shift towards cooperative crisis management.
- Topic:
- NATO, Treaties and Agreements, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Russia, United States, and Europe
384. The Turkish-Armenian Rapprochement at the Deadlock
- Author:
- Nona Mikhelidze
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- In October 2009, after intense diplomatic talks and the active involvement of key external actors, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian signed two protocols aimed at restoring bilateral relations. The agreements have however remained unratified due to political obstacles closely linked to historic disputes and the geopolitical constellation in the South Caucasus. As a result, even if rapprochement between Ankara and Yerevan has the potential of producing far-reaching changes in the regional political equilibrium, the status quo remains the most likely scenario.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Diplomacy, Ethnic Conflict, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Central Asia, Turkey, Middle East, Armenia, and South Caucasus
385. After the 2008 Russia-Georgia War: Implications for the Wider Caucasus and Prospects for Western Involvement in Conflict Resolution
- Author:
- Nona Mikhelidze
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Following the war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008 and the ensuing Russian recognition of independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Caucasus has risen again on the Euro-Atlantic security agenda. First, the war highlighted that the “frozen” nature of the South Caucasus conflicts was a chimera, even if the war may have entrenched further the frozen nature of peace processes in the region. Second, the crisis generated new sources of instability for the entire post-Soviet space, not only because it highlighted a new form of Russian revisionism but also because it brought to the fore the limits of Western policies in what Kremlin views as its sphere of influence. The war brought to the forefront the colliding foreign policy agendas of the major external actors in the region. Not only in the run-up to the war, but also in the months and years preceding it, the American and European responses to Russia have been firm in rhetoric but compromising in reality. Russia made it clear that it has it own claims over the South Caucasus, it demonstrated its readiness to embark on military confrontation in order to achieve its goals, and through the war it wished to make crystal clear to the international community that Moscow is the only game in town. Third and related, the war exposed the inability of the West to prevent Russia from moving aggressively to restore its primacy over the former Soviet Union's territory. Thus the August war posed new implications and challenges not only for Georgia, but also for the wider Caucasus and beyond. This new context has induced the West to react and redefine its strategy towards the region and its relations with Russia, it has raised the urgency to engage in conflict resolution issues, and it has highlighted further the need for energy diversification.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, and War
- Political Geography:
- Russia, America, Europe, Moscow, and Abkhazia
386. The Treaty on Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation between Italy and Libya: New Prospects for Cooperation in the Mediterranean?
- Author:
- Natalino Ronzitti
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- On August 30 2008, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi flew to Benghazi to sign the Treaty on Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation between Italy and Libya, concluding the long negotiating process that began under previous Italian governments and was accelerated by the current administration. The Treaty was meant to put an end to the dispute between the two countries and Libya's claims relating to Italian colonialism. In greeting Colonel Muammar Gheddafi, Berlusconi expressed his regret for the colonial period in very strong terms.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Post Colonialism, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Libya, North Africa, and Italy
387. Editorial Note
- Author:
- Nicola Casarini
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- There has been a profound shift eastward in global power. The 2008 US National Intelligence Council study highlighted the unprecedented transfer of wealth from the West to the East which is likely to continue in the foreseeable future. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose East Asia for her first official trip abroad in February 2009. For the first time, the new Secretary of State did not go to Europe for the inaugural tour to meet the traditional transatlantic allies. Clinton's visits to Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China emphasized not only the growing significance of East Asia for the new American administration, but also the increasing mutual interdependence between the two shores of the Pacific. As the Secretary of State told her Chinese counterpart in Beijing, ''We are truly going to rise or fall together.'' The US-China relationship is bound to set the stage for global politics in the next decades and become the central axis around which the Asia-Pacific era will unfold.
- Political Geography:
- China, Beijing, East Asia, and Asia-Pacific
388. China-US Relations, Tending Towards Maturity
- Author:
- Huang Ping, Tao Wenzhao, Wang Rongjun, Yuan Zheng, and Zhao Xingshu
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The China-US relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world, and it is progressively maturing. Non-traditional security threats are expanding the shared interests of China and the US. The two countries have developed more realistic views of each other than they had decades ago, and this is making military relations more practical. The two are also interdependent in the economic realm, whether they like it or not, and therefore must work together to succeed in handling the current economic crisis. Connected to this economic challenge is that of climate change, an issue which the US must handle wisely in its relations with China. In addition, traditional security and peace issues will remain important, some even sensitive and difficult, in relations in the near future. The better relationship which China and the US are moving towards will contribute substantially not only to bilateral relations but also to global peace and order.
- Topic:
- Security and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
389. A Rejoinder: Building 'Positive, Cooperative and Comprehensive' China-US Relations
- Author:
- Ralph A. Cossa
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The US-China relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. As two of the world's largest economies, there can be no solution to the global economic crisis if the two work at cross purposes and many of the region's most complex security challenges - North Korean denuclearisation first among them - require Sino-US cooperation. The good news is that both US President Barrack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao are aware of and accept the shared responsibility and necessity for a cooperative approach toward dealing with the global financial crisis and regional security challenges; both have pledged to develop a "positive, cooperative and comprehensive" relationship and build mutual trust in a way that encourages, rather than worries, friends and allies in the Asia Pacific.
- Topic:
- Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and North Korea
390. China Central? Australia's Asia Strategy
- Author:
- Robert Ayson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- From Australia's perspective, and in spite of the global economic crisis, an increasingly strong China will remain the dominant theme in Asia's evolving distribution of power. Australia has benefited from the prosperity which is the foundation of China's rise. But it continues to value the reassurance that a strong United States can bring to Asia. This favourable status quo seems superior to the alternatives: a cooperative Asian community which may be more aspirational than practicable; an Asian concert which requires an unlikely sharing of leadership between the great powers; or a coalition of Asian democracies which could be especially divisive. But as this comfortable status quo is strained, Australia may need to consider geopolitical options which until now have appeared fanciful and risky.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Asia, and Australia