In this article I provide an appraisal of the neo-Gramscian approach to the study of international relations by focusing on three of its major exponents: Robert Cox, Stephen Gill and Adam Morton. I argue that neo-Gramscians have yet to adequately address some important challenges and criticisms of their method around its overly "top-down" mode of analysis, its neglect of forms of resistance and its excessively global and cosmopolitan account of neoliberal hegemony and especially resistance. I maintain that a return to the letter of Gramsci's writings on hegemony and its national-popular and democratic character would not only allow neo-Gramscians to address more effectively these weaknesses, but also strengthen their approach and align it more effectively with trends in contemporary politics.Keywords: Gramsci; International Relations; Hegemony; National-Popular.
The Gramscian thinking has been increasingly used in the fields of Political Science and International Relations, however, prioritizing its concept of hegemony. In this article, it is proposed both, a more accurate elucidation and a possible transposition of the concept of the historical bloc to the international scenario, having as the main question the following study inquiry: can we transpose the concept of the historical bloc developed by Gramsci for International Relations of the 21st century, taking into account its transnational nature? Methodologically, a deductive, qualitative approach is used, with a literature review based on data collection from secondary sources. It is understood that the notion of the historical bloc coined by Gramsci, followed by the assumptions of critical theorists, helps us to understand the difficulties of the current international relations. The versatility of this concept allows us to endorse a macro view of the many facets of International Relations, whether they are linked to the political, economic, social, and even ideological spheres. Gramsci; Transnational Historical Bloc; International Relations; Hegemony; Critical Theory.
Oggetto della ricerca è lo studio del National Institute of Design (NID), progettato da Gautam Sarabhai e sua sorella Gira, ad Ahmedabad, assunta a paradigma del nuovo corso della politica che il Primo Ministro Nehru espresse nei primi decenni del governo postcoloniale. Obiettivo della tesi è di analizzare il fenomeno che unisce modernità e tradizione in architettura. La modernità indiana, infatti, nacque e si sviluppò con i caratteri di un Giano bifronte: da un lato, la politica del Primo Ministro Nehru favorì lo sviluppo dell'industria e della scienza; dall'altro, la visione di Gandhi mirava alla riscoperta del locale, delle tradizioni e dell'artigianato. Questi orientamenti influenzarono l'architettura postcoloniale. Negli anni '50 e '60 Ahmedabad divenne la culla dell'architettura moderna indiana. Kanvinde, i Sarabhai, Correa, Doshi, Raje trovarono qui le condizioni per costruire la propria identità come progettisti e come intellettuali. I motori che resero possibile questo fermento furono principalmente due: una committenza di imprenditori illuminati, desiderosi di modernizzare la città; la presenza ad Ahmedabad, a partire dal 1951, dei maestri dell'architettura moderna, tra cui i più noti furono Le Corbusier e Kahn, invitati da quella stessa committenza, per la quale realizzarono edifici di notevole rilevanza. Ad Ahmedabad si confrontarono con forza entrambe le visioni dell'India moderna. Lo sforzo maggiore degli architetti indiani si espresse nel tentativo di conciliare i due aspetti, quelli che derivavano dalle influenze internazionali e quelli che provenivano dallo spirito della tradizione. Il progetto del NID è uno dei migliori esempi di questo esercizio di sintesi. Esso recupera nella composizione spaziale la lezione di Wright, Le Corbusier, Kahn, Eames ibridandola con elementi della tradizione indiana. Nell'uso sapiente della struttura modulare e a padiglione, della griglia ordinatrice a base quadrata, dell'integrazione costante fra spazi aperti, natura e architettura affiorano nell'edificio del NID echi di una cultura millenaria. ; The subject of this research is the National Institute of Design (NID) designed by Gautam and his sister Gira Sarabhai in Ahmedabad. My aim is to analyze the phenomenon that blends modernity and tradition in architecture as an expression of the new politics that the Prime Minister Nehru advocated in his leadership after Independence. Indian modernity emerged as a double faced Janus: on the one hand the Prime Minister Nehru promoted a widespread modernization fostering industrial, scientific and technological development; on the other hand Gandhi's ideas aimed to rediscover the local, ancient tradition, crafts and rural life. These orientations shaped postcolonial architecture. The focus is on Ahmedabad, the city which was greatest architectural upheaval, where young Indian architects (Kanvinde, Sarabhai, Correa, Doshi, Raje, Kapadia) could confront themselves with Western modern masters - among them Le Corbusier and Kahn - searching for their own architectural identity. The engines of such great upheaval were two: enlighten clients eager to transform the society and modernize their city; the presence of modern masters, who came to Ahmedabad from 1951, invited from the same customers to design buildings for the city. A new direction for Indian architecture was evident right in Ahmedabad. A city where both the visions for a modern India strongly tackled. The biggest effort of Indian architects was the attempt to reconcile these two aspects, the ones which came from international influences and the ones which arose from the spirit of tradition. NID is one of the best example of this search for a synthesis: it shows Wright, Le Corbusier, Eames, Kahn's legacy but also echoes from Indian architecture such as the pavilion structure, the square grid, open spaces and a perfect merge between nature and architecture.
This volume contains the results of some studies presented by Egyptian and Italian scholars at the International Conference "Peacebuilding between East and West XI-XVI c.", organized in Cairo on, October 27, 2016 by the Egyptian Unity of research, as part of the academic activities of the Bilateral Project "History of Peace-building: peaceful relations between East and West (11th - 15th century)" carried out jointly by the Institute of the Mediterranean EuropeHistory of the CNR (Italy), and the University of Damanhour. The project is totally funded by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT)(1) of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Italian National Research Council (CNR)(2).The purpose of the Bilateral Project - and even of the aforementioned International Conference- is to carry out research in order to examine through the study of different types of documentary and narrative sources; the nature, quantity and quality of peaceful relations between Christians and Muslims in a geographical area extending from the Iberian Peninsula to the Levantin a chronological interval between the eleventh and the fifteenth centuries. Needless to say that since it is an Italian-Egyptian project, the researchers will devote particular attention in their studies to the relations between these two geographical areas.In this book, we can find the first contributions of some scholars of the two Research Units on the important theme of the complex relationships between the Christian world and the Islamic one, which characterized almost all the Middle Ages and much of the Modern Age in the area gravitating around the Mediterranean Sea.The researchers' aim is to focus their studies on episodes, geographical areas, persons and moments which represent incidents and cases of peaceful coexistence and connection, with fruitful exchanges of various kinds of knowledge, even in a general context characterized by military, religious and ideological-cultural conflict. ; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Academy of Scientific Research & Technology ; editors in chief Prof. Ali Ahmed El-Sayed, Dr. Luciano Gallinari, Dr. Abdallah Abdel-Ati Al-Naggar ; Beiträge teilweise italienisch, teilweise arabisch in arabischer Schrift
The growing importance of the external action of the European Union, also determined by the constant expansion of the Union's competences in this area, has led to a considerable downsizing of the international relations life of the Member States. In many areas of international law, the Union has gradually replaced its own states in managing relations with third countries. [.] The choice of the subject dealt with in this work arises therefore from two considerations, one of method, the other of merit. The first coincides with the warned need to attempt a reconstruction of the forms of interaction between Union law and international agreements of the member states according to a single scheme, which takes into due consideration the pertinent rules of international law. [.] As for the considerations of merit, it is now more evident than in the past that the increase in the competences attributed to the European Union, both internal and external, increasingly raises crucial profiles of coordination between Union activities and international obligations of Member States. The forms of interaction between the two sources are the most varied and pose application problems of significant complexity.
