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.
[Italiano]:Il volume raccoglie i contributi presentati alla conferenza "Stat.Edu'21 -New Perspectives in Statistics Education". La Conferenza è stata ospitata dal Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche dell'Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II (25-26 marzo 2021). La conferenza è stata organizzata come evento finale del progetto ERASMUS+ "ALEAS - Adaptive LEArning in Statistics" (https://aleas-project.eu) che si è svolto dal 2018 al 2021. Il progetto ha avuto l'obiettivo di sviluppare e implementare un sistema di apprendimento adattivo che offra percorsi di apprendimento personalizzati agli studenti, con lo scopo ultimo di aiutare gli studenti a fronteggiare l'ansia statistica. Stat.Edu'21 ha stimolato riflessioni, discussioni e contributi sul tema di ALEAS e sullo sviluppo di sistemi di apprendimento adattivo in ambito universitario come strumenti complementari ai corsi tradizionali e contribuito lo scambio di buone pratiche. Il volume comprende 12 contributi che propongono riflessioni e studi quantitativi in particolare su 3 temi: la valutazione degli effetti dell'ansia o più generalmente lo studio di diverse attitudini nello studio della statistica, strumenti e metodi per la valutazione dei percorsi di insegnamento e le esperienze di apprendimento basate sulla tecnologia. /[English]: The volume collects the papers presented at the Conference "Stat.Edu'21 -New Perspectives in Statistics Education". The Conference was held at the Department of Political Sciences of the University of Naples Federico II (25-26 March 2021). The conference was the final event of the "ALEAS - Adaptive LEArning in Statistics", an ERASMUS+ project (https://aleas-project.eu) developed in the period 2018-2021 to design and implement an Adaptive LEArning system able to offer personalised learning paths to students, with the purpose to provide them remedial advice to deal with the "statistics anxiety". Stat.Edu'21 aimed at stimulating discussions, solicitations and contributions around the central theme of ALEAS, the development of adaptive learning systems in the field of Higher Education as a complementary tool for traditional courses and promote a community of practice in this field. The volume collects 12 papers reporting reflections and quantitative studies covering mainly three topics: the assessment of the effects of anxiety or more generally of a different attitude in the study of Statistics, tools and methods for the assessment of training paths and technology-based learning experiences.
Il 4 ottobre 2021 si è tenuto, in modalità telematica, il convegno internazionale "Health promotion in urban areas: multidisciplinarity interventions at international and national level", organizzato dal Dipartimento di Scienze e Biotecnologie medico-chirurgiche della Sapienza Università di Roma e ben contestualizzatosi nell'ambito della "Urban Health Rome Declaration" (11 dicembre 2017), che ha definito "gli aspetti strategici di azione per migliorare la salute nelle città attraverso un approccio di tipo olistico, per quanto riguarda la persona, e di tipo multisettoriale, per quanto attiene alle politiche di promozione della salute nell'ambito del contesto urbano".
The invasion of Ukraine will change the economic and political scenarios. Together with the sanctions, it will accelerate the 'de-globalization' process already triggered by the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic. In this paper, we analyze the effects that economic sanctions will have, in particular, on the international monetary system. In recent years, the dominance of the dollar as the default international currency has weakened albeit slowly. However, in the new scenario, alternative systems to SWIFT (particularly the Chinese one) will receive a strong boost as will the use of payments in currencies other than the dollar. As has already happened in other historical periods, the change in the dominant international currency is linked to epochal events and to a change in the technological paradigm: the war and the development of a digital currency in China and then in other countries could form the basis of this turning point. ; L'invasione dell'Ucraina cambierà profondamente gli scenari economici e politici. Assieme alle sanzioni, accelererà il processo di 'de-globalizzazione' innescato dalla crisi finanziaria del 2008 e dalla pandemia. In questo lavoro analizziamo gli effetti che le sanzioni avranno su questi processi, in particolare sul sistema monetario internazionale. Negli ultimi anni il dominio del dollaro come valuta dei pagamenti internazionali è declinato ma lentamente, e i tentativi soprattutto della Cina e della Russia di emarginarlo non hanno avuto grande successo. Tuttavia, nel nuovo scenario i sistemi alternativi a SWIFT, particolarmente quello cinese, riceveranno un forte impulso così come l'utilizzo di pagamenti in valute diverse dal dollaro. Come già successo in altre epoche storiche, il cambiamento della valuta di riferimento degli scambi internazionali è legato a eventi epocali e a un cambio di paradigma tecnologico: la guerra e la valuta digitale cinese e poi di altri paesi potrebbero costituire le basi di questa svolta.
La liberalizzazione del commercio internazionale può promuovere la crescita economica e le opportunità di lavoro sia nei Paesi in via di viluppo sia nelle economie industrializzate. Peraltro, non tutti gli Stati hanno beneficiato in uguale misura di tale liberalizzazione e, in generale, della globalizzazione delle relazioni economiche internazionali. Di conseguenza, questi fenomeni e gli accordi commerciali di stampo liberista che li hanno favoriti continuano a essere oggetto di un acceso dibattito. In tale contesto, uno degli aspetti più controversi è la mancanza di una protezione adeguata dei diritti dei lavoratori nell'ambito dei suddetti accordi. Partendo dall'attuale mancanza di regole specifiche nel quadro giuridico multilaterale degli scambi, l'autore analizza le cosiddette "clausole sociali" contenute negli accordi di libero scambio bilaterali e regionali di nuova generazione, con particolare riferimento ai trattati conclusi dall'Unione europea (UE). Dall'analisi emerge che tali clausole non garantiscono ancora una sufficiente protezione ai lavoratori e che, pertanto, esse andrebbero modificate. ; The liberalization of international trade can foster economic growth and employment opportunities both in developing countries and in advanced economies. However, States have not all benefited equally from trade liberalization and, in general, from international economic relations globalization. As a consequence, these phenomena and the liberalist trade agreements that have favoured them continue to be highly disputed. In this context, one of the most debated aspects is the lack of an adequate protection of workers' rights under these agreements. Departing from the current lack of specific rules in the multilateral trade legal framework, the author analyzes the so-called "social clauses" included in the new generation bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs), with a special focus on the European Union (EU) FTAs. From this analysis emerges that these clauses do not still guarantee a sufficient protection to workers and therefore they should be modified.
This special issue of Moneta e Credito discusses the economic consequences of the Russian-Ukranian war. We aim at focussing on the most topical changes that have been observed already in this preliminary stage of the conflict. Firstly, we investigate the economic sanctions against Russia and their economic and political consequences (Denis Melnik). Second, we analyse the impact of the aforementioned consequences on the regional economies (Joseph Halevi) and Italy, emphasizing the risks for our country due to the sanctions' side effects (Giangrande, Cucignatto & Garbellini). Finally, we discuss the possible changes of the international monetary and payment systems, the international trade and global supply chains triggered by the conflict and the sanctions (Lampa, Esposito & Tori, Fantacci et al.). ; Questo numero speciale di Moneta e Credito è dedicato alla disamina delle conseguenze economiche del conflitto russo-ucraino. Ci proponiamo di evidenziare alcune tendenze che si sono manifestate con forza sin da questa fase preliminare del conflitto. In primo luogo, le conseguenze sulle economie dei paesi belligeranti, con un'enfasi particolare sulle sanzioni economiche ai danni della Russia e le loro conseguenze, sia economiche che politiche (Denis Melnik). In secondo luogo, analizzeremo le conseguenze sulle economie regionali (Joseph Halevi) e in particolare sull'economia italiana, mostrando i principali rischi a cui il conflitto e le sanzioni ci espongono (Giangrande, Cucignatto e Garbellini). Infine, discuteremo i cambiamenti sul sistema internazionale dei pagamenti, su quello monetario e sulle catene globali di approvvigionamento a cui il conflitto ha impresso una drammatica accelerazione (Lampa, Esposito e Tori, Fantacci et al.).
For decades International Relations have seen an uninterrupted increase in the weight of aid policies in defining the number and quality of bilateral and multilateral relations between sovereign States, increasingly replacing the traditional instruments of war and trade. Although aid is an ever-increasing component of States' foreign policies and conditions not only their reciprocal relations but the entire International System, it is struggling to establish itself as an object of historical and political study in its own right. The conceptual definition of aid, which has remained rather vague, charged with a prescriptive and a-political moralising scope, has suffered.The article is dedicated to a (re)-operationalization of the concept of State Aid in the international dimension so as to make it a useful practical tool for historical- political research on the subject. This leads to the definition of a new concept of International Aid Public Policy (IAPP), which goes beyond the traditional concept of Foreign Policy to support a History of International Relations and Institutions that includes the analysis of aid policies between sovereign states, both outgoing (if donors) and incoming (if recipients). ; Da decenni le Relazioni Internazionali vedono un aumento ininterrotto del peso delle politiche di aiuto nel definire numero e qualità delle relazioni bilaterali e multilaterali tra Stati sovrani, sostituendosi sempre più spesso ai tradizionali strumenti della guerra e del commercio. Per quanto gli aiuti siano una componente sempre maggiore delle politiche estere degli Stati e condizionino non solo le loro reciproche relazioni ma l'intero Sistema Internazionale, essi faticano ad affermarsi come oggetto di studio storico politico a se stante. A farne le spese è stata la definizione concettuale dell'aiuto, rimasta piuttosto vaga, carica di una portata moralizzatrice prescrittiva e a-politica. L'articolo si dedica ad una (ri)-operazionalizzazione del concetto di Aiuto di Stato nella dimensione internazionale in modo ...
This paper intends to describe and contextualize one of the most delicate and controversial moments in the economic and political history of Niger of the past few years: the famine and the food crisis of 2005. This phenomenon has triggered a spiral of disputes and critical reactions among International Organizations such as the World Food Programme, the Government of Niger, first of all the President Tandja, and many NGOs, especially Médicines sans Frontièrs (MSF). In general, the close examination of this crisis allows to better understand the internal politics of Niger, often cryptic for international observers, its twilight zones, its elements of strictness, as well as for the contradictions of international aids to rural development and the local responses, extremely different from one region to another. Such a crisis and its consequences have to be investigated within a national context characterized by a civil society, which stands more and more against the political regime, as well as by high-pitched diatribes about the possibility of a third political mandate of President Tandja and by a spreading influence of fundamentalist associations. ; This paper intends to describe and contextualize one of the most delicate and controversial moments in the economic and political history of Niger of the past few years: the famine and the food crisis of 2005. This phenomenon has triggered a spiral of disputes and critical reactions among International Organizations such as the World Food Programme, the Government of Niger, first of all the President Tandja, and many NGOs, especially Médicines sans Frontièrs (MSF). In general, the close examination of this crisis allows to better understand the internal politics of Niger, often cryptic for international observers, its twilight zones, its elements of strictness, as well as for the contradictions of international aids to rural development and the local responses, extremely different from one region to another. Such a crisis and its consequences have to be investigated within a national context characterized by a civil society, which stands more and more against the political regime, as well as by high-pitched diatribes about the possibility of a third political mandate of President Tandja and by a spreading influence of fundamentalist associations.
The Russian-Ukrainian war has further called into question the globalisation model of the last decades, which had already been put into crisis by the pandemic, and has definitively clarified the process of reorganisation of transnational value chains and the strategic dependencies of the European Union in terms of raw materials and intermediate goods. This article provides an examination of the major supply difficulties caused by the conflict in the Italian production system and proposes an alternative industrial policy approach to that characterising national policies and the NRRP. In particular, it puts forward a proposal for the redevelopment of the Taranto steel plant to develop domestic production of neon gas, in order to replace 'strategic' supplies from Ukraine and relocate Italy at the top of the semiconductor value chain, taking advantage of the production capacity currently available to the public sector and its subsidiaries. ; La guerra russo-ucraina ha ulteriormente messo in discussione il modello di globalizzazione degli ultimi decenni, già messo in crisi dalla pandemia, esplicitando il processo di riorganizzazione delle catene transnazionali del valore e le dipendenze strategiche dell'Unione Europea in termini di materie prime e beni intermedi. Questo articolo fornisce una disamina delle maggiori difficoltà di approvvigionamento provocate dal conflitto nel sistema produttivo italiano e propone un approccio di politica industriale alternativo rispetto a quello che caratterizza le politiche nazionali e il PNRR. In particolare, si avanza una proposta di riqualificazione dello stabilimento siderurgico di Taranto che sviluppi la produzione nazionale di gas neon, al fine di sostituire le forniture "strategiche" provenienti dall'Ucraina e ricollocare l'Italia nella parte alta della catena del valore dei semiconduttori, sfruttando la capacità produttiva attualmente a disposizione del settore pubblico e delle partecipate.
Obiettivo della tesi è indagare il concetto di stato di eccezione, in particolare nella sua declinazione internazionale e in quello che la Scuola di Copenaghen chiama "processo di securitizzazione". Si è indagata la relazione tra anarchia internazionale ed eccezione e l'idea che l'eccezione vada intesa come "processo correttivo" e non come un "evento", utilizzando alcune categorie di pensiero ebraico/kabbalistiche ed il "Costruttivismo evolutivo" di Emanuel Adler. Ci si è anche soffermati su come il neoliberismo "tecnologico" potrebbe controllare questo processo. La tesi è divisa in tre capitoli. Nel primo capitolo si cerca di delineare un'attinenza internazionale al concetto di stato di eccezione e si sono approfonditi autori chiave del pensiero sull'eccezione, come Carl Schmitt, Walter Benjamin e Giorgio Agamben. Nel secondo capitolo si è introdotto il concetto affine di "emergenza", per poi introdurre la Scuola di Copenaghen ed il suo concetto di securitizzazione, concludendo con un'indagine sulle origini schmittiane della stessa Scuola. Infine nel terzo capitolo si è introdotta la tematica dell'anarchia internazionale, spostando poi l'attenzione su un discorso di "anarchia umana", utile ad introdurre una discussione "ebraico-kabbalistica" dell'eccezione incentrata sulla categoria del "tikkun" (correzione) e del Costruttivismo di Adler, concludendo con un'analisi sul neoliberismo tecnologico. ; The aim of this thesis is to investigate the concept of the state of exception, in particular its international declination and what the Copenhagen School calls the "securitization process". The relationship between international anarchy and exception is investigated along with the idea that exception should be regarded as a "corrective process" rather than an "event", using some Jewish / Kabbalistic categories of thought and Emanuel Adler's "Evolutionary Constructivism". We also focus on how "technological neoliberalism" could control this process. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter seeks to outline the international relevance of the concept of the state of exception. For this, key authors on the subject have been explored, namely: Carl Schmitt, Walter Benjamin and Giorgio Agamben. In the second chapter the concept of "emergency" and Copenhagen School's concept of securitization were introduced, concluding with an investigation on the Schmittian origins of the aforementioned School. Finally, the third chapter focuses on the theme of international anarchy then shifting attention to a discourse of "human anarchy", useful for introducing a "Jewish-Kabbalistic" discussion of exception centered on the category of "tikkun" (correction) and Adler's Constructivism, concluding with an analysis of technological neoliberalism.
Compared to earlier thinkers who had pleaded the cause of peace in Europe, such as Erasmus, William Penn took an important step forward: he sought institutional solutions to international disputes. Arguing that only dialogue could foster mutual understanding, he was the very first to put forward the idea of a European parliament. Unlike similar proposals of the time, such as those by Crucé or the Abbot de Saint-Pierre, Penn's did not confide the solution of such disputes to diplomacy and the existing dynasties of Europe, it did not envision the creation of an international convention whose members would be heads of state ortheir ambassadors, but of a parliament where each member state would be represented according to the size of its economy. Intended to favor the free exchange of ideas, Penn's parliament anticipated the creation of transnational political parties and possibly included among its members Orthodox Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Thus, Penn's Europe is not a Christian space but a political one, and his proposal stands as a sort of anti-Leviathan undermining the dogma of sovereignty.
The province of Cabo Delgado, in the extreme north of Mozambique, is experiencing a difficult situation of armed conflict linked to the presence of an "Islamist" insurgency launched by the group known as al-Shabaab. The essay reconstructs and analyses the main topics and the most relevant axes of this complex political and social process, by examining in particular: origins and characteristics of the group, the ways in which it was formed, the main reasons underlying the phenomenon, placing them within the socio-economic context of the region. Finally, it discusses some aspects related to military responses to the rebellion, including the role of some international actors. ; The province of Cabo Delgado, in the extreme north of Mozambique, is experiencing a difficult situation of armed conflict linked to the presence of an "Islamist" insurgency launched by the group known as al-Shabaab. The essay reconstructs and analyses the main topics and the most relevant axes of this complex political and social process, by examining in particular: origins and characteristics of the group, the ways in which it was formed, the main reasons underlying the phenomenon, placing them within the socio-economic context of the region. Finally, it discusses some aspects related to military responses to the rebellion, including the role of some international actors.
This paper aims at formulating a critique of the relationship between food crisis and political instability in the Sahel, especially in relation to Fulani herders communities. Scholars have often focused on systems of production and Human-Nature relationships when analyzing these populations of nomadic origins. But nowadays, it is necessary to update the interpretation of these phenomena in the light of new dynamics. Today, international development and governance actors aims at using some neo-Malthusian perspectives, which interpret the Sahel food crisis as an immediate and direct effect of a crisis of production linked to the deterioration of climatic conditions. Thus, they restore in the scientific debate the idea of a direct relation of action/reaction between Nature and Human beings. For instance, they interpret as an adaptive strategy every type of mobility, from the variation of transhumance pathways to the international migration of a new category of subjects ("environmental refugees"), who are supposed to enter Europe to flee food crisis. On the contrary, a deeper interpretation of environmental and food crisis in the Sahel shows that it is not a direct relationship: some political reasons are at stake as elements of instability and vulnerability. In order to understand these dynamics, the paper stems from an "emic" interpretation of these communities' modes of reaction and the way in which they elaborate an idea of "risk" and "vulnerability". In these imaginaries, the food and environmental crisis are often intertwined to the political instability, which need an analysis of how these populations define and put accountability and responsibility for their condition to human, natural or other forces. ; This paper aims at formulating a critique of the relationship between food crisis and political instability in the Sahel, especially in relation to Fulani herders communities. Scholars have often focused on systems of production and Human-Nature relationships when analyzing these populations of nomadic origins. But nowadays, it is necessary to update the interpretation of these phenomena in the light of new dynamics. Today, international development and governance actors aims at using some neo-Malthusian perspectives, which interpret the Sahel food crisis as an immediate and direct effect of a crisis of production linked to the deterioration of climatic conditions. Thus, they restore in the scientific debate the idea of a direct relation of action/reaction between Nature and Human beings. For instance, they interpret as an adaptive strategy every type of mobility, from the variation of transhumance pathways to the international migration of a new category of subjects ("environmental refugees"), who are supposed to enter Europe to flee food crisis. On the contrary, a deeper interpretation of environmental and food crisis in the Sahel shows that it is not a direct relationship: some political reasons are at stake as elements of instability and vulnerability. In order to understand these dynamics, the paper stems from an "emic" interpretation of these communities' modes of reaction and the way in which they elaborate an idea of "risk" and "vulnerability". In these imaginaries, the food and environmental crisis are often intertwined to the political instability, which need an analysis of how these populations define and put accountability and responsibility for their condition to human, natural or other forces.
The main political bodies of the United Nations have been particularly diligent in dealing with the war in Ukraine even if to arrive at the condemnation of the Russian military aggression it was necessary to wait for the resolution ES-11/1 approved on March 2, 2022 by an overwhelming majority of countries members of the General Assembly. For its part, the Security Council met several times and it is no coincidence that a meeting was taking place on 24 February 2022 when President Putin announced the start of the "special military operation" in Ukraine. This dramatic diplomatic coup, mocking in method and substance, had the predictable outcome of the paralysis of the Council's decision-making process, blocked the next day by the abusive veto of the Russian Federation. The equally predictable sloth of the Western permanent members manifested itself first in the failure to contest the Russian veto and then in the completely "useless" recourse to the "Uniting for Peace" resolution in resolution 2623 (2022) adopted by the Council on February 27, 2022. All the main actors at stake did not have the "legal" courage to rely on international law and the United Nations Charter and limited themselves to feeding political propaganda in more or less questionable ways. In this disheartening picture characterized by the absence of authoritative and charismatic leaders on the international scene, the role of the Secretary General of the United Nations is simply not received.
The essay is focused on a specific component of the Italian solidarity toward the victims of Latin American military coups: women's association, as widely known, a plural world. Based on primary sources, it considers the time span included between the first episode of that kind – the Brazilian coup of 1964 – and Chile's 1973 one, an experience that produced a widespread and constant interaction between civil society and political institutions in our country. Through fund raising, counter information and multiple forms of denounce, several female associations in Italy have made their voice heard in support of the victims – women themselves – of political repression in Latin America during the 'long seventies'. It was a decade in which, along with women's enhanced participation in the public sphere, transnational activism began to denounce authoritarian regimes' human rights abuses. ; The essay is focused on a specific component of the Italian solidarity toward the victims of Latin American military coups: women's association, as widely known, a plural world. Based on primary sources, it considers the time span included between the first episode of that kind – the Brazilian coup of 1964 – and Chile's 1973 one, an experience that produced a widespread and constant interaction between civil society and political institutions in our country. Through fund raising, counter information and multiple forms of denounce, several female associations in Italy have made their voice heard in support of the victims – women themselves – of political repression in Latin America during the 'long seventies'. It was a decade in which, along with women's enhanced participation in the public sphere, transnational activism began to denounce authoritarian regimes' human rights abuses.