CRiSSMA (Centro di Ricerche sul Sistema Sud e il Mediterraneo Allargato) è un centro di ricerca dell’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore che collabora, in particolare, con la Facoltà e il Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche.
Gli obiettivi di CRiSSMA si rivolgono alla ricerca di base e applicata, principalmente nel campo storico-culturale, con particolare enfasi sulle politiche istituzionali, socio-economiche, e sui problemi strategici del Mediterraneo e delle sue aree confinanti.
Tra le molte attività del Centro, si ricorda l’organizzazione di eventi culturali e scientifici, forum bilaterali, conferenze e seminari. Tra le pubblicazione a cura del CRiSSMA, la serie «Working Papers» è edita da EDUCatt.

È possibile ordinare copie cartacee on demand compilando il form presente a questo link: Richiesta titoli per privati o librerie.

Indice della serie

29. a cura di Andrea Plebani, Dinamiche geopolitiche contemporanee. Ce.St.In.Geo. geopolitical outlook 2023
isbn 979-12-5535-215-0
isbn digitale 979-12-5535-216-7

Il volume celebra i 15 anni della creazione del Centro Studi Internazionali di Geopolitica – Ce.St.In.Geo mostrando l’impegno continuo dei suoi fondatori nell’approfondire i grandi temi della geopolitica e delle relazioni internazionali.

28. a cura di Andrea Plebani, Dinamiche geopolitiche contemporanee. Ce.St.In.Geo. geopolitical outlook 2022
isbn 978-88-9335-961-0
isbn digitale 978-88-9335-962-7

Oggi, a seguito della guerra in Ucraina siamo ancora più chiamati a ragionare e proporre temi di discussione ai docenti e agli studenti di Ce.St.In.Geo. Così ogni sguardo e ogni gesto va visto e rivisto in moviola sotto le lenti della geopolitica e delle relazioni internazionali. 
La Cina di Xi Jinping che riceve Putin durante le Olimpiadi dichiarando che trattasi di amicizia che “non ha limiti” ma la parola “alleanza” è tabù. 
La Russia di Putin e i suoi rapporti con i Paesi dell’Europa pensando a una ri-globalizzazione selettiva. 
Gli Stati Uniti che sono passati dal concetto di “America First” ai dubbi circa il futuro dell’ordine internazionale liberale. Stati Uniti gravemente responsabili del riavvicinamento fra Russia e Cina. 
I Paesi Europei al centro degli interessi mondiali ma succubi dell’esaltazione del capitalismo anglosassone che rischiano di essere una grande forza senza peso anche a causa dell’affaticamento dei nostri modelli democratici. 
Ed oggi la guerra, con la consapevolezza che dalle guerre si esce con la vittoria politica e non con la vittoria sul campo solo se si determina una maggiore coesione politica europea. 
Questi e altri temi sono stati la bussola che ha guidato la rotta di Ce.St.In.Geo. per il suo tredicesimo viaggio. 
(dalla Prefazione di Maurizio Primo Carandini) 

27. a cura di Andrea Plebani, Dinamiche geopolitiche contemporanee. Ce.St.In.Geo. geopolitical outlook 2021
isbn 978-88-9335-835-4
isbn digitale 978-88-9335-836-1

«Eppure, cosi come avvenuto in passato, [la competizione geopolitica] non ha cessato di influenzare le dinamiche e gli equilibri globali. Per quanto sempre più distante dalle prime pagine dei giornali, l’agone geopolitico ha continuato a esercitare i propri effetti, in alcuni casi con ancora maggior intensità rispetto al passato, determinando con il proprio moto perpetuo la vita e le possibilità di intere comunità.
È anche sulla base di tali considerazioni che il presente volume si inscrive all’interno di quella che per oltre undici anni è stata la missione prima del Centro Studi Internazionali di Geopolitica: gettar luce su quei processi che più contribuiscono a definire gli equilibri del sistema internazionale e alimentare un dibattito pubblico che, purtroppo, pare sempre più appiattito su logiche legate a interessi estemporanei e limitati a orizzonti di breve (se non brevissimo) periodo.
Il trait d’union che lega i nove contributi di questa raccolta è la volontà di guardare a teatri di crisi e fenomeni destabilizzanti con un approccio non appiattito sul momento, ma capace di orientarsi all’interno di coordinate spazio-temporali ampie e profonde.» (dall’Introduzione)

26. a cura di Andrea Plebani e Riccardo Redaelli, Dinamiche geopolitiche contemporanee. Ce.St.In.Geo. geopolitical outlook 2020
isbn 978-88-9335-679-4
isbn digitale 978-88-9335-682-4

Muovendo da questi assunti, il presente volume mira a dar vita a una rappresentazione di alcune delle dinamiche geopolitiche più significative della presente fase storica. Prendendo spunto dal ciclo di incontri tenutisi in tutta Italia tra 2018 e 2019 (cfr. Appendice 1) per celebrare i dieci anni di attività del Centro Studi Internazionali di Geopolitica (Ce.St.In.Geo. – https://cestingeo.org/), esso si pone l’obiettivo di guardare
al sistema-mondo nel suo complesso e di ragionare sulle specificità di una delle sue regioni più complesse e geopoliticamente rilevanti: quella mediorientale.

25. Eleonora Ardemagni, The Huthis: Adaptable Players in Yemen’s Multiple Geographies
isbn 978-88-9335-465-3
isbn digitale 978-88-9335-492-9

For years, the perception of Yemen in the West reflected the languages and images use to promote an “exoticized” Orient; a narrative of this remoted land fixed in a primitive “traditional” past, characterized by black veiled women, mysterious villages castled on impossible dry mountains, warlike but gallant tribesmen. All to the benefit of Western tourists and their modern “carnets de voyage”.
Not surprisingly, the reality of that country has always been rather different. Both during the Cold War and after it, Yemen – for decades divided in two different opposite regimes – played the role of a perfect peripheral arena for regional confrontation and proxy wars. Something which over-emphasized its marked domestic tensions and fissures, with local political actors who have recurrently competed for authority and legitimacy.
Especially since 2001, the pace of such complex political interplay has considerably accelerated across the wider Middle East, a region inflamed by multiple crises which are dramatically altering its geopolitical equilibriums. The combination of local conflicts and geopolitical rivalries is in fact deeply transforming the wider Middle East’s sociopolitical and religious landscapes, drawing new spheres and boundaries between the people dwelling within it.

24. a cura di Riccardo Redaelli, Mediterraneo 2035. La trasformazione degli scenari geopolitici
isbn 978-88-9335-312-0
isbn digitale 978-88-9335-374-8

Il convegno intende avviare una riflessione serrata e strutturata su temi cruciali come l’evoluzione geopolitica del bacino Mediterraneo e delle sue aree prospicienti, mi limito a registrare, fatta salva l’impostazione giustamente specialistica dei contributi, il valore trasversale dell’argomento, e ad esprimere il mio interesse, in particolare, per il tentativo di evidenziare i possibili ruoli che i diversi attori regionali e internazionali (statuali e sub-statuali) potranno assumere in futuro.

23. a cura di Riccardo Redaelli, The Post-skhirat Political And Security Scenario. Libia’s Local And Traditional Authorities
isbn 978-88-9335-072-3
isbn digitale 978-88-9335-075-4

The history of the post-Qaddafi Libya is a tale of squandered opportunities, internal strife and external interferences. However, all these difficulties did not completely eradicate hope. Hope in a future able to reverse the legacy of hatred and instability left by the civil war and in the promises set forth by a “spring” whose importance – despite all the difficulties that followed the 2011 events – is still strong and vivid in the minds of the population.

22. a cura di Bezen Balamir Coskun – Elena Maestri Valeria Fiorani Piacentini, The Southern-Eastern Mediterrean: Convergences and divergences – The EU, the GCC and Turkey
isbn 978-88-8311-922-4
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-208-1

The European Union energy policies are mainly shaped by the need of securing energy demands and increasing concerns about the climate change. The main aim of these policies is to reduce the dependence on the imported energy by improving efficiency and diversifying both energy types and energy resources. Currently, the EU imports oil and gas mainly from Russia, Central Asian and North African countries. However, the uncertainty about the accessibility of oil from these major sources has paved a way for the EU to develop a more robust energy security strategy as well as reconsidering the GCC states and Iran as alternative energy suppliers. Against the backdrop of these factors, this policy analysis essay evaluates the energy-related rapprochement between the EU and the Persian Gulf states. It is argued that given the EU’s concerns regarding energy security, the EU’s more active engagement in the region could be considered as a way of easing some of the Union’s concerns in energy sector. Another argument in this regard is that 10 establishing a more sustained political and strategic engagement with the Persian Gulf in energy sector would be beneficial for the EU’s in order to overcome some political and security challenges that may affect the European energy security. Within this context, the main EU and GCC policy documents and statements as well as policy analysis reports on the EU-Persian Gulf rapprochement in energy sector is analysed and interpreted here. Even though it has references to Iran the main focus of the analysis is the EU-GCC relations in the energy sector. Hence answers for the following research questions will be sought: How is enhancing energy policy cooperation with The Persian Gulf states enable the EU to relieve some of its energy related concerns? To what extend the EU could engage in the energy sector in the Gulf region? What are the limitations and prospects for an active EU involvement in Persian Gulf in terms of sustainable interregional and bilateral partnership between the EU and the Gulf states? In the first section of the article, main energy security concerns of the EU and recent attempts to develop a common energy strategy in Europe will be reviewed. In the second section, bilateral and regional level dialogues between the EU and the Gulf states will discussed with their energy related repercussions. factors that makes the Gulf region an alternative source for meeting the EU’s external energy demands will be examined. In the last two sections, prospects and challenges faced by the EU regarding its engagement in the Persian Gulf energy sector will be discussed.

21. a cura di Antonio Alizzi e Varleria Fiorani Piacentini, Nel paese dei cedri Gli studenti dell’Università Cattolica raccontano
isbn 978-88-8311-878-4
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-391-0

Le cittadinanze, i ruoli socio-istituzionali ricoperti, le tradizioni collettive, le condizioni economico-culturali e le esperienze di ciascuno non minano, nell’essere umano, la voglia di vivere in pace nel suo ambiente. Piuttosto “producono”, a valle, tante identità e sensi di appartenenza che si esprimono in linguaggi comuni, in usi e costumi simili, in bisogni e attese condivise. Le incomprensioni e le conflittualità tra i gruppi e le comunità, spesso, sorgono proprio qui, a valle: i linguaggi sono numerosi e differenti, gli usi e i costumi non assimilabili, i bisogni e le attese confliggenti. Le sofferenze, le recriminazioni, i contrasti però sono destinati a non spegnersi e a rimanere irriducibili se, oggi più che mai, non si torna a monte: agli uomini di buona volontà, credenti e non credenti, tocca testimoniare agli altri che il desi- 18 derio di pace non appartiene solo ad alcuni ma a tutti e che, per sua natura (ed è un bene) esso è poliedrico quando si esplicita. Se la sua multiforme espressione diventa un presupposto della riflessione, allora la diversità tra gli uomini e gli Stati non sarà più guardata con perplessità e con timore come avviene adesso, ma con interesse e “curiosità”. Da questo interesse e da questa curiosità per l’altro scaturiranno apertura e dialogo.

20. Paolo Maggiolini, The hashemite emirate of transjordan politics and tribal culture
isbn 978-88-8311-828-9
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-275-3

The aim of this paper is to analyze the course of state building during the Mandate period as a dynamic process which gave rise to a new socio-political field, both modern and traditional at the same time: the Hashemite state of Transjordan (1923). The state-building process was not only a direct consequence of the interaction between Hashemite and British interests in the Near East, but rather the result of the interaction and effective overlap of these elements with the particular socio-political tribal system of Transjordan. Firstly, the paper will describe the local socio-political structure of Transjordan during the 19th century. It was during that period that the process of intertwining and overlapping between the logic of the ‘tribe’ and that of the ‘state’ began. Secondly, the paper describes the particular administrative structure of the Hashemite Emirate of Transjordan, which was based on a division between tribal administration and modern European administration. Thirdly, the paper describes how British colonial policies worked with the Hashemite method of rule and how the Muslim and Christians tribes of Transjordan reacted, raising the first political national movement and signing the National Pact (1929-1936). Finally, the paper describes the achievements of the British-Hashemite and National Pact.

19. Hend Alsudairy, Elena Maestri and Beatrice Nicolini, Communication with the ‘other’: Arab Dimensions, Cultural Mediation and Bows
isbn 978-88-8311-802-9
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-274-6

Reading texts in local languages and translating them represent an essential instrument to know other cultures and to engage in a fruitful dialogue with the ‘Other’, leading to mutual understanding, respect and constructive interactions in many scientific fields. That is a reality, well espressed by Dr. Hend Al-Sudairy in the first article of this Working Paper, through the focus on literary translation and the cross-cultural borrowing between the Arab world and the European continent. The article by Elena Maestri puts emphasis on the Other’s language as expression of a different cultural dimension, which needs to be understood and interpreted in all its forms of communication. The article by Beatrice Nicolini is focused on the Swahili civilization and culture. Within an ‘interlinked cluster’ like the Indian Ocean, the Swahili civilization arose at the confluence between the continental world of East Africa and the maritime worlds of the Indian Ocean, which is visible in every aspect of their culture.

18. Annemarie Profanter and Stephanie Ryan Cate, Elena Maestri and Valeria Fiorani Piacentini, with an Introduction by Hatoon Al Fassi, Saudi arabia and women in higher education and cultural dialogue. New perspectives
isbn 978-88-8311-750-3
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-273-9

This volume collects some female educational perspectives, with special focus on Saudi Arabia. Identity in the region is a vital issue and the archaeological and historical Park-Museum emerges as a possible pathway towards building identity through education: it is one of the promising projects, as presented in this volume, which, if adopted in Saudi Arabia by the Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, can also contribute effectively to strengthen cultural links between our peoples. The objective is to promote a positive interaction and to correct some stereotypical images of the “Other”, while spreading the awareness that there are questions of common concern, in which intercommunication between women from different countries and cultural environments can enhance the sense of mutual interdependence and the urgent need of more synergic efforts to give the appropriate answers. The conflict between the “traditional factor” and modernity is debated in the media, in conferences/workshops and in universities, both in Saudi Arabia and in the West, and it is re-evoked in this Working Paper.

17. Valeria Fiorani Piacentini, Le realta sistemico-strutturali della Repubblica
di Turchia
isbn 978-88-8311-727-5
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-390-3

The aim of this study is to analyse the systemic-structural realities of the Republic of Turkey, special focus on the traditional factors which have always conditioned Turkey’s life and history, evaluating impact and interaction with the political-institutional and social-economic Middle Asiatic framework. Such an approach inevitably poses a central query: is it possible the reformulation of these terms in a Central Asian Paradigm? Divergence or Diversity? A query yet to be resolved.

16. Anna Lissa,The City Of Many Times. The Representation Of Jerusalem in David Shahar’s Short Stories
isbn 978-88-8311-644-5
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-277-7

Many critics have acknowledged that David Shahar is “among the greatest narrators of Jerusalem”. We can fairly assume that the greatest part of landscapes he evokes and describes are Jerusalem’s landscapes: the new city or the old city, the perspectives from outside the city, and among them the most lovely and charming ones are taken from the Olives Mount. For him, “Jerusalem was not a conceptualized romantic myth, but a natural habitat which he had known ever since he had known himself. This paper will appraise the representation of the city, with its metaphorical meanings, in some short stories of David Shahar: where Jerusalem is represented at a crossroads between sacred time, namely the time of the creation of the world, and historical time, mostly the Mandate Period (1917-1948) in Palestine, when the author was a child: the city itself fluctuates between sacred and profane space. Other motifs are interwoven into this main one: the connection between the representation of the city and feminine characters, and the family saga that will become the central theme of the cycle The Palace of Shattered Vessels.

15. Frauke Heard – Bey, From Tribe To State. Political Structure in Five States Of The Gcc, vol. II
isbn 978-88-8311-602-5
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-211-1

At the beginning of the 20th century the population of Eastern Arabia was estimated at some 760,000 people. Almost all of them belonged to one of the 260 or more tribes, whose names were enumerated in the Gazetteer as a result of field work conducted between 1904 and 1907. This area is now covered by five modern states. They are the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the State of Kuwait, making up five of the six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council . All five states are members of the UN and many other international organisations; they have secured their particular roles on the world stage. For the purpose of tracing the process of transition from tribe to state the seven individual emirates, which now constitute the federal state of the UAE, should also be considered as states in their own right because many parallels can be seen, for instance, between Kuwait or Qatar and Dubai or other emirates in the ways in which authority of a tribal sheikh has developed into the use of executive and administrative power.

14. Valeria Fiorani Piacentini–Elena Maestri, From Tribe To State. Perspectives on Identità, Social and Cultural Dynamics in Eastern Arabia, vol. I
isbn 978-88-8311-546-2
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-210-4

Modernization, progress, efficiency, growth, production do not clash with principles such as social justice and economic progress, as they do not clash with the search for identity, translating social resistance into new forms: the perceptual and collective identities in public and domestic spaces, the process of identification, the phenomenon of continuity and change of identity. The emergence of a modern Administration, a Bureaucracy, and the development of oil can be considered the two major processes that affected the authority system and the new state structures formation within tribal systems in the Arab Gulf region and Eastern Arabia. The social bases of power were transformed and the traditional economy was wiped out. The search and exploitation of fresh sources of wealth and new markets caused the Arab Gulf tribal leaders to forge particularly close links with the expanding Western world, which earned them a privileged position and a reorganised social rank – a sort of institutional formalisation of their new power and role, including bureaucratic-patrimonial positions (of a fiscal nature too), which did not imply any prejudice to their patrimonialism and the local traditional power-system based on the tribal structure. The studies collected in this volume and in the following one explore from different perspectives some implications of such a crucial socio-cultural phase and epoch in Arabia, by shedding light on specific and particularly significant issues and realities.

13. Maurice Borrmans, Dialogues, rencontres et points de contact entre musulmans et chrétiens dans une dimension historique
isbn 978-88-8311-501-1
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-209-8

L’Islam, religion dont Muhammad est le prophète-fondateur, en Arabie, au début du VIIème siècle, s’est presque aussitôt opposé aux deux monothéismes qui l’ont précédé, se proposant d’en faire une re-lecture critique. En effet, le Coran, qui en est le «livre sacré», se présente souvent en forme polémique vis-à-vis des Juifs et des Chrétiens, tout en recommandant aux Musulmans de s’adresser aux «Gens du Livre» avec sagesse et de la manière la plus courtoise. Nombreuses sont les hypothèses qui sont avancées pour interpréter les motifs ou les causes de ce malentendu initial (ou fondamental) ou d’un dialogue manqué (ou «raté») entre les premiers Musulmans et les autres Monothéistes, étant donné que l’Islam naissant a prétendu corriger le Judaïsme des Juifs et le Christianisme des Chrétiens pour les ramener au pur Monothéisme des origines, celui d’Abraham, le héraut du «premier Islam».

12. Adel S. Al-Dosary-Mohammad Mir Shahid, Principles For The Rejuvenation Of An Islamic City in The Modern Context. The Case Of Medina Of Tunis
isbn 978-88-8311-475-5
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-272-2

The project aims to look at some of the contemporary issues facing the ‘Islamic city’, and in this context, the study ponders on the historical transformations of Islamic cities with focus on the time phase from where the decline started. The attempt is to ascertain the causes and factors responsible for this rapid and unprecedented change, as also the patterns of change over a period of time. Consequently, the study has tried to identify some of the negative aspects of transformations incurred during this period, as it is the negative patterns, which are of concern to us. This was mainly done through study of a carefully selected case study of the ‘Medina of Tunis’. Finally, the study has recommended a set of abstract principles to guide future growth with emphasis on control and checking of negative transformations and attempt is to look for solutions for balancing the situation in a way, to retain and rejuvenate the essence of Islamic city in the contemporary context.

11. Mashary A. Al-Naim, The Home Environment in Saudi Arabia and Gulf States. The Dilemma of Cultural Resistance Identity in Transition, vol. II
isbn 978-88-8311-439-7
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-271-5

The questions which this chapter tries to highlight are: What was the situation when people in traditional Gulf environment moved from the old city to the new suburbs? To what extent did they maintain or change their identity in the new home environments? We will concentrate on one of the cities (Hofuf, Eastern Saudi Arabia) to build a clear picture of how people regenerate their images in the home environment. This study is concerned with the continuity and change of identity of Hofuf’s home environment. The city, as have we said, underwent continuous change in the twentieth century. This brought the issue of identity to the centre stage. Generally the present chapter aims to implement a diachronic study of the development of the house form in Hofuf (as an example of the Gulf city) in the twentieth century, and specifically between 1904 and 1975. The emphasis will be on the ways that the people of Hofuf followed in order to absorb the new concepts and to redefine themselves in the home environment. We will also consider some aspects of the contemporary home environment, especially the production of the fereej system.

10. Mashary A. Al-Naim, The Home Environment in Saudi Arabia and Gulf States. Growth of Identity Crises and Origin of Identity, vol. I
isbn 978-88-8311-437-3
isbn digitale

This book reflects the interplay of these various aspects. It provides fresh evidence and overviews that, in turn, lead to specific case studies, such as that of Hofuf. All in all it provides new, fresh “thoughts”, to stimulate further research and new studies, to shed new light and enable this region to be explored from north to south: a major cultural, economic, demographic, urban study. This is extraordinary given the international significance of the Gulf: no longer and not only a lake of globalised, westernised economic opportunities, but still a route to many other places, a bridge between the Mediterranean basin and the Indian Ocean, between Arabia, Africa and the Asian continent, where its cities have always been prominent centres of power and civilisation, which determined the fortunes of the world revolving around it for millennia. We are facing a well-documented identity and culture no longer neglected or ignored vs. a Westernised modernity. We are confronted with solid and well-documented reality, which provides a new impending model of “home environment” and identity.

9. Gunther Hauser, The Mediterranean Dialogue. A Transatlantic Approach
isbn 978-88-8311-425-0
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-276-0

When Iron Curtain fell and Soviet systems in Europe collapsed, both EU and NATO set steps and measures to integrate new transformation states in Central and Eastern Europe as well as successor states of the former Soviet Union into the Euro-Atlantic stabilisation process. During the early 1990s, EU, NATO, and OSCE initiated respectively enhanced Mediterranean Dialogue processes as integral parts of cooperative approaches to security. These processes are based on the recognition that security in Europe is closely linked with security and stability in the broaderMediterranean region.

8. Ioannis Th. Mazis, Greece’s New Defence Doctrine. A Framework Proposal
isbn 978-88-8311-382-6
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-394-1

Generally speaking, the drafting of a Defence Doctrine follows the drafting and adoption, on the part of a government, of a National Security Policy, which includes the statement of the country’s Defence Policy and, consequently, its Defence Doctrine. In order to clarify the theoretical premises of the aims underlying the drafting of the Defence Doctrine, a set of definitions must be presented in detail. It should be stressed that this framework proposal, by its very nature, cannot be considered to imply a detailed presentation of the country’s New Defence Doctrine. It simply aims to outline the essential parameters which, in the eyes of its authors, should be considered by the country’s political leadership so that the final drafting of this Chart will be both complete and effective in view of protecting our national interest in all its aspects.

7. Mashary A. Al-Naim, Political Influences And Paradigm Shifts in The Contemporary Arab Cities: Questioning The Identity of Urban Form
isbn 978-88-8311-370-3
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-389-7

Searching for social and urban identity in contemporary Arab cities can be seen from the debate that took place in the beginning of the twentieth century when Arab intellectuals questioned the local situation and tried to adopt western culture. This debate goes back to the beginning of the nineteenth century when Mohammed Ali (the governor of Egypt) took over after French withdrawal from Egypt. What we are trying to say here is that the crises of identity in the contemporary Arab cities need to be understood through the political and cultural situations that influenced the formation of modern Arab cities and architecture. In general the study addresses four paradigms that Arab urbanization has passed through. These paradigms are closely linked to the political events that took place in the region. This is because, as Stewart (2001) said: “in the Arabic-Islamic cities there is an interconnection between spiritual and political”. In this sense, it is difficult to understand what happened in the Arab towns without understanding the connection between religion and politics. In this study a number of examples are from the Arab cities presented, but there is a special reference to Saudi urban experience, especially when we come to the modernization of the Arab town in the second half of the twentieth century.

6. Mirachian Laura, Syria and its Neighbourhood
isbn 978-88-8311-359-8
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-388-0

Due to its traditional low degree of communication with the outside world, Syria is hardly known to the general public, although academicians and scholars highly value its cultural depth and are regular visitors to its cultural heritage which dates back centuries and millenniums. Syria had been populated thousands of years when the Romans arrived. Subsequent cultural layers can be traced everywhere in the Country and the cities of Damascus, Aleppo and others look literally as books of history. The image of the Country has also been affected by its longstanding dispute with Israel. The overall perception in the West is that of an hardliner Country, difficult to understand and difficult to handle. This is partially true, as Syrians developed a deep sense of collective consciousness and dignity and are not willing to give it up. They are historically familiar both with the West and the East and they have the advantage of belonging to the Mediterranean family. This will help them to make the right choices when confronted with the challenges of this millennium.

5. Elena Maestri, The GCC Region Political Balances And Global Dimension
isbn 978-88-8311-327-7
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-297-5

Human development, education, regional integration, and non-oil industrialisation are the main topics tackled in this paper, with reference to the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region, and with special emphasis on Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. It is clear that in the region an evolutionary change can only be conceived within the framework of integrated regional, economic and human development. Considering the new challenges of globalisation, the GCC is called to play a more active role in the promotion of a collective and co-operative approach to security, taken as a multidimensional concept.

4. Renaud Bellais, La Maîtrise des Mers face aux Défis de la Mondialisation
isbn 978-88-8311-320-8
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-387-3

Le présent rapport a pour objectif d’évaluer la pertinence de la notion de “maîtrise des mers” au-delà des implications de l’après-guerre froide et ses implications pour la France. La question est abordée à partir des différentes activités maritimes – aussi bien civiles que militaires, publiques que privées – de manière à souligner les enjeux existants (ou pouvant apparaître) et les missions qu’elles engendrent (ou pourraient engendrer) pour les pouvoirs publics et notamment pour la Marine Nationale.

This report aims at evaluating the relevance of the notion of dominance of the seas beyond the post-Cold War period, and its implications for France and Europe. The issue is analysed from various points of view (civilian, military, public, private) to underline current or emerging stakes and challenges. Our work eventually analyses the resulting missions for public services, especially the French Navy.

3. Taleh Ziyadov, The Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline And its Potential Impact on Turkish-Russian Relations
isbn 978-88-8311-308-6
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-278-4

Turkish-Russian relations have been undergoing fundamental changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The emergence of oil rich independent states in the Caucasus and Central Asia intensified the historical rivalry for the geopolitical dominance and has attracted both regional players. Each player had its own agenda with regard to vast oil and gas resources of the Caspian basin and its transportation to the West. Russia proposed the Baku-Novorossiysk route, which was to pass through Russian territory, thus seizing full control of both Azerbaijan’s oil resources and its domestic policy. Turkey, on the other hand, supported the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, which was to bypass Russia and go through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

2. Ioannis Theodor Mazis, The Mediterranean Geopolitical Structure and the Matter of Resolving the Cyprus Issue in Accordance with the Annan Plan with an essay on The New Geopolitical Reality and its Ideological Requirements
isbn 978-88-8311-289-8
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-393-4

This paper focuses on the question of discovering the keystone of the South-Eaest (SE) Mediterranean geopolitical shell which is located on the crucial security problem faced by the state of Israel as well as on the question of how the Greek and Greek-Cypriot sides will cope with the impetuously immediate resolution of the Cyprus Issue in accordance with the Annan Plan on “a Comprehensive Settlement of the Cyprus Problem” which creates a new strategic image for Cyprus with significant medium and short term repercussions for the entire SE Mediterranean geopolitical complex – and the Greco-Turkish & Turk-Cypriot relations.

1. Valeria Fiorani Piacentini, Elena Maestri, The Many Shores of the Gulf. Human Security within an Islamic Order. Education in the “Arabian Debate”
isbn 978-88-8311-288-1
isbn digitale 978-88-6780-392-7

The paper is largely based on the authors’ speech at the Gulf Economic Forum “Facing Challenges & Emerging Opportunities”, Muscat (Oman), November 2002, and on Valeria Piacentini Fiorani’s intervention at the 14th International Conference on the Persian Gulf “Regional Developments in the Aftermath of Iraq Occupation”, Tehran (Iran), February 2004. Within such prestigious contexts of regional and international debate and discussion on the synergies and the potential of the Gulf States, the topic of education and human resources development emerged as a pivotal one, opening up the way to new thinking and ideas on the role of leadership as well.