martedì 17 giugno 2025
lunedì 16 giugno 2025
President Meloni attends Confindustria General Assembly
Her speech for translation, language and content
https://www.governo.it/en/articolo/president-meloni-attends-confindustria-general-assembly/28886
domenica 15 giugno 2025
The safety of Italians in Iran and Israel
Keep an eye on developments through news on these and similar sites:
https://ambteheran.esteri.it/it/
https://tg24.sky.it/politica/2025/06/13/iran-farnesina-tajani
https://www.viaggiaresicuri.it/find-country/country/ISR
https://ambtelaviv.esteri.it/en/news/dall_ambasciata/2021/05/sicurezza-in-israele-2/
Some essay topics to consider
1) How are relations between NATO members evolving?
2)
Is
a fully autonomous European defence system both feasible and desirable? What
would it require to be effective?
3)
How
does Italy’s sistema paese work,
particulary in terms of supporting Italian companies and the Italian economy?
What are its main objectives? Is it working?
4)
What
is Italy’s position on the war in Ukraine?
5)
What
is Italy’s position on Israel’s offensive in Gaza and conflict with Iran?
6)
What
are the main challenges to be overcome to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle
East?
7)
How
are Italy and its allies responding to the threat posed by the Houthi? Include
both military overview and diplomatic considerations.
8)
What
is Italy’s strategy in the wider Mediterranean?
9)
How
should Italy, the EU and the wider international community respond to China’s
growing assertiveness?
10)
Several UN reports in 2025 highlight that the world is not
acting fast enough to address climate change, with progress being too slow and
uneven on various fronts. Outline the current
situation and challenges.
11)
Nuclear
proliferation – are we on the verge of losing control?
12)
How
can youth be gven a greater role in the decision-making process regarding international
relations?
13)
Is
Europe losing the race to remain competitive, particularly in high-tech sectors
like ICTs and AI?
14)
Is
democracy on the retreat globally?
16)
How should
the EU and its member states respond to international
violations of women's rights and gender equality, and the rise in gender-based
violence and femicide?
17)
Explain the tensions between the EU and the US regarding trade and
tariffs and Italy’s position?
18)
What are some of the roots of
populism?
19)
What are the lessons of the Assange and Wikileaks case?
20)
What are the main elements of the new UK-EU deal?
21)
The EU and Ukraine have launched a special tribunal to prosecute
Putin’s war crimes. Comment on this iniziative.
22)
How is Pope Leo XIV’s role in international relations evolving and what
challenges does he face?
23)
What is the background to the French-Polish Nancy Treaty?
24)
What are the prospects for US-Chinese trade and cooperation?
25)
What is the legacy of Pope Francis?
26)
The Arctic – opportunities and challenges.
27)
How are international rivals and allies responding to the Trump
administration?
28)
Outline Italy’s presence in space and the opportunities and challenges
that the international community faces in space..
29)
Can a general conflict in the Middle East be avoided?
30)
How does Italy use sports and scientific diplomacy?
31)
In terms of cultural diplomacy, give some examples of current initiatives
(June-July 2025) being undertaken by Italian embassies, consulates and cultural
institutes around the world.
32)
Outline Italy’s National Recovery
and Resilience Plan. How successful has it been so far?
33)
What makes a good diplomat?
34)
With ICTs and AI how is the work of the diplomat changing?
35)
Thomas Jefferson frequently said that “a well-informed
citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.” What did he mean
and what are the challenges in trying to achieve this in today’s technological
world?
mercoledì 11 giugno 2025
lunedì 9 giugno 2025
European tech alternatives?
https://proton.me/blog/european-tech-alternatives
While Europe lacks a direct equivalent to companies like Google, Microsoft, or Facebook in terms of sheer global dominance, it's not for lack of trying. Several factors contribute to this: fragmented markets, differences in laws and regulations across countries, and a cultural preference for localized solutions. However, a European search index called OpenWebSearch is being developed, and there are also European-based search engines like Ecosia and Qwant.
Factors
Contributing to Europe's Lack of Global Tech Titans:
Fragmented
Markets:
Europe's diverse languages and cultural nuances make it challenging to
create a unified, global consumer base like the US.
Regulatory
Differences:
Business laws and data privacy regulations vary significantly across
European countries, adding to the complexity of scaling operations.
Cultural
Preferences:
Europeans often favor localized solutions and are more comfortable with
companies that understand their specific needs and cultural contexts.
Market
Dominance:
The early dominance of American tech giants like Google and Microsoft made
it difficult for European startups to compete on a global scale.
European
Efforts and Examples:
OpenWebSearch:
A project to create a European web index that can be used by various search
engines, potentially offering a European alternative to Google's web index.
Ecosia and
Qwant:
These are examples of European-based search engines that prioritize privacy
and sustainability.
Digital
Markets Act:
This EU legislation aims to level the playing field by restricting the
power of dominant tech companies and encouraging competition.
In
Conclusion:
Europe's
failure to produce global tech giants like Google or Facebook is not simply due
to lack of innovation or talent, but rather a combination of factors related to
market fragmentation, regulations, and cultural preferences. While there
are efforts to create European alternatives, like OpenWebSearch and other
search engines, the dominance of American tech companies remains strong.
sabato 31 maggio 2025
Can the EU impose effective sanctions on Hungary for democratic back-sliding or limit its ability to block proposed EU actions?
Read the rules and summary of the current situation carefully.
but
https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/eng/news/2025/05/28/7212591/
Women's rights, gender equality, gender-based violence and femicide
https://coface-eu.org/time-for-a-game-changing-eu-gender-equality-strategy-post-2025/
https://www.ub.edu/gedis/2025-gender-equality-in-the-eu-summary-of-the-annual-european-report/
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/769542/EPRS_BRI(2025)769542_EN.pdf
https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-approves-draft-law-targeting-killing-of-women/
https://eige.europa.eu/newsroom/eu-gender-based-violence-survey?language_content_entity=en
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/31/violence-against-women-girls-epidemic-uk
https://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/20211564_mh0421097enn_pdf_0.pdf
https://eige.europa.eu/publications-resources/publications/measuring-femicide-italy
https://www.amnesty.eu/news/eu-historic-opportunity-to-combat-gender-based-violence-squandered/
https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/discrimination/womens-rights/
https://www.amnestyusa.org/issues/gender-sexuality/
https://www.istat.it/it/files//2019/11/Violence-against-women-_2014.pdf
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/08/europe/france-spain-femicide-intl-cmd
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-records-rise-in-violence-against-women/a-70647309
https://www.coe.int/en/web/gender-matters/what-causes-gender-based-violence
https://www.concern.net/news/causes-of-gender-based-violence
https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/books/978-88-6969-747-0/978-88-6969-747-0-ch-16.pdf
venerdì 30 maggio 2025
giovedì 29 maggio 2025
Italy has reached the 2% defence spending target ahead of the NATO summit in June. More will be challenging.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/italy-hits-2-defence-target-ahead-of-nato-summit/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_The_Hague_summit
https://www.politico.eu/article/mark-rutte-embrace-5-percent-defense-goal-nato-summit/
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/in-the-vanguard-eastern-europes-spending-efforts/
mercoledì 28 maggio 2025
Italian diplomatic activity
https://decode39.com/10811/meloni-hosts-landmark-eu-us-meeting-amid-trade-tensions/
https://www.specialeurasia.com/2025/05/26/giorgia-meloni-central-asia/
Populism and the decline of democracy in 2025
https://democratic-erosion.org/2025/02/12/anti-democratic-populism-in-former-satellite-states/
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/populism-and-the-decline-of-social-democracy/
https://esna.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/7-Smythe.pdf
https://politicsrights.com/populism-trap-discontents-challenges-democracy/
https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/434333-populism-s-threat-to-democracy-in-the-eu
https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-polisci-041719-102711
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvMFNKWibks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7-W0cb1AiA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfW-qhZkMfo
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BfBT2RwavCc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0GzbTcwbp0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSl4HIONvjc
https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/poland/
giovedì 22 maggio 2025
Assange, Wikileaks and whistleblowing
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxee24pvl94o
https://tg24.sky.it/mondo/2024/10/01/julian-assange-consiglio-d-europa
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68282613
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblowing
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Manning
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden
https://www.wired.it/attualita/media/2020/12/31/casi-assange-snowden-manning-giornalismo/