Suchergebnisse

While the field of foreign policy has generated an impressive amount of research, there is still much to be explored and explained of the way in which regime types (totalitarian and democratic) influence the dynamics of state behavior at the international level. The present study examines in a comparative way the characteristics that influence the process of foreign policy making in totalitarian and democratic states. This can help achieve a better understanding of their foreign policy decisions and also help reveal valuable patterns in their decision making process. For the purpose of the present study, the United States of America and the People`s Republic of China were chosen as representative cases of the above mentioned highly contrasting regimes. The foreign policy and diplomatic relationship of the two countries is analyzed on the period between the 1940s and the 1970s using comparative foreign policy analysis, their differences providing a fertile ground for comparison.

Having consolidated his power in the late 1920s, Joseph Stalin long focused on internal affairs: the Five Year Plans, collectivization of agriculture, rapid industrialization, and modernization of the Red Army. Despite his penchant for domestic policy, from the summer of 1936 Stalin's Soviet Union was increasingly drawn into foreign affairs. This article explores Stalin's foreign policy on the eve of the Second World War. The Soviet Union's multiple failures in forging an anti-Fascist alliance with Britain and France, most notably in the Spanish Civil War, will be explored as the prelude to Stalin's eventual decision, in August 1939, to authorize the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

Questa tesi di dottorato, partendo dall'assunto teorico secondo cui lo sport, pur essendo un fenomeno periferico e non decisivo del sistema politico internazionale, debba considerarsi, in virtù della sua elevata visibilità, sia come un componente delle relazioni internazionali sia come uno strumento di politica estera, si pone l'obiettivo di investigare, con un approccio di tipo storico-politico, l'attività internazionale dello sport italiano nel decennio che va dal 1943 al 1953. Nello specifico viene dedicata una particolare attenzione agli attori e alle istituzioni della "politica estera sportiva", al rientro dello sport italiano nel consesso internazionale e alla sua forza legittimante di attrazione culturale. Vengono approfonditi altresì alcuni casi relativi a «crisi politiche» che influirono sullo sport e a «crisi sportive» che influenzarono la politica. La ricerca viene portata avanti con lo scopo primario di far emergere, da un lato se e quanto coscientemente lo sport sia stato usato come strumento di politica estera da parte dei governi e della diplomazia dell'Italia repubblicana, dall'altro quanto e con quale intensità lo sviluppo dell'attività internazionale dello sport italiano abbia avuto significative ripercussioni sull'andamento e dai rapporti di forza della politica internazionale. ; The argument of the present work is that sport is a peripheral and not vital phenomenon in the international political system, but because of its high public visibility it has to be considered both as a part of international relations and a foreign policy tool for governments and diplomacy. The present PhD study aims at inquiring, in a historical-political approach, into the international role of sport in the decade 1943-1953. It will give particular attention to the actors and institutions of the "sporting foreign policy", to the Italian re-entering into the international sport arena and its soft power; in addition, attention will be drawn to some particular "political crises" that touched the sporting activity and to some "sporting crises" obliging the intervention of the government and diplomacy. The final aim of the study is to understand if and how sport was consciously used as a foreign policy tool, and at what degree of intensity the international activity of the Italian sport was influenced by the development and the balance of power in international politics.

In recent years, thousands of foreign fighters have left over 100 countries to join armed groups, especially jihadist groups, in Syria and Iraq and in other theaters of war. The phenomenon has also affected Italy, although to a much lesser extent than in other European countries. The foreign fighters of Italy are, in fact, about 130. What are the socio-demographic characteristics of these individuals? Where did they live before they left? Were they part of extremist networks in Italy and in Europe? What role did they play in the conflict area? How many have already returned? Are there common profiles? These are just some of the questions that this ISPI Report tries to answer. Through a detailed analysis of the profiles of foreign fighters linked to Italy, on the basis of original data, the peculiarities of the entire national contingent are highlighted for the first time, also thanks to the comparison with other Western countries.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative marks the culmination of several years of deepening relations between Italy and China. While many observers have emphasised the international implications of the first G-7 country formally adhering to Chinese President Xi Jinping's signature foreign policy agenda, more attention needs to be devoted to the domestic politics and political economy rationales underlying Italy's choices. This article argues that the contentious foreign policy move made by Rome's populist government in 2019 is premised on a trade-off between international status and greater bargaining power on critical trade and investment negotiations.

The chapter aims to provide an overview of the main challenges of foreign policy analysis in contemporary politics. After introducing the ways in which foreign policy analysis is addressed in the internationalist political literature, with a focus on policy formulation and decision-making understood as public policy, the authors focus on some of the main challenges that foreign policy scholars are called upon to face. In particular, the themes of (de)globalization and (dis)information are deepened, pointing out the reinforcement of the state and the risks connected to an increasing cognitive confusion.