Category Archives: International Security

The Hamas Attack of 7 October and Israel’s Military Response

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On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an attack on the State of Israel, firing rockets from the Gaza Strip and breaching the Gaza “border” by air, sea and land. This attack resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths,[1] as well as the abduction of hostages in the Gaza Strip. The incident – and Israel’s subsequent military response – had a profound impact on the international community and occupied a significant part of the Italian parliamentary debate on foreign affairs in 2023, which continued in 2024.

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Italy and the United Nations Security Council: Strengthening the Securitization Trend

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Italy has traditionally been very vocal about matters regarding the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), with a recent peak between 2017 and 2018, when Italy shared a seat with the Netherlands as a non-permanent member of the Council.[1] This special interest has first and foremost concerned the reform of the UNSC membership and working methods. In this respect, in 2023, the Italian Government reiterated its well-established positions on the need for a more “representative, democratic, transparent, accountable and effective” UNSC[2] and against the use of the veto.[3]

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Of Castaways and Pirates: Migrants’ Rights from Departure to Arrival

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The victory of the right-wing coalition at the general elections of September 2022 brought the topic of migration back to the center of the Italian political debate. In the first half of the year the Parliament had discussed migration issues with a theretofore unknown positive attitude: the shock caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine nourished the sympathy for those displaced by the war and led to the welcoming of tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees and the financing of support initiatives. However, the steady rise in the number of migrants reaching the country’s shores, as compared to those arrived in the period immediately after the conclusion of the 2017 agreement between Italy and Libya, led the newly elected President of the Council of Ministers, Ms. Giorgia Meloni, and her center-right coalition to adopt a tighter approach.

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Violations of International Humanitarian Law and Issues of Accountability in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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Not surprisingly, in 2022, the Italian Government(s)[1] extensively dealt with several international humanitarian law (IHL) implications of the Russia-Ukraine war: firstly, the systematic violations of the rules on targeting that protect civilians and civilian objects against the effects of hostilities; secondly, the forcible transfer of civilians from occupied territories under the law of belligerent occupation; lastly, the prospects for accountability for serious violations of IHL. These aspects are explored in the following analysis.

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The Reaction to the Russian Federation’s Invasion of Ukraine and the Debate on the Provision of Weapons to the State Victim of Aggression

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At the beginning of 2022, when the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation started, several factors would have led one to question Italy’s ability to condemn the unlawful use of force. Italy was heavily dependent on gas supplies from Russia by virtue of a decades-long policy of cooperation in the energy sector (a situation that changed radically in the space of a year).[1] Some parties with governmental responsibilities in both the executive led by Mario Draghi and the subsequent one led by Giorgia Meloni,[2] had also shown over time that they had a network of relations with the Russian leadership.[3] Furthermore, the presence of a strong pacifist movement within public opinion had led some analysts to doubt whether the country would adopt a firm political stance towards the Russian Federation involving the supply of weapons or some form of participation in the conflict.[4]

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On Some International Agreements Concerning Nuclear Weapons in Light of the New Challenges Posed by the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

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The year 2022 was undoubtedly marked by a strong prominence of the debate related to nuclear weapons, driven by a series of institutional events such as the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the plenary United Nations (UN) meeting against nuclear testing and the first World Conference of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

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Recognition, Fact-Finding Missions and Humanitarian Aid in Afghanistan

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Recognition of the Taliban Government of Afghanistan did not feature prominently in the Italian parliamentary debates of 2022, unlike the previous year.[1] In fact, despite an explicit request for recognition by the Taliban,[2] the alarming news on egregious violations of human rights, especially women’s rights, in Afghanistan further reduced the Taliban’s already slim chance to see their own Government recognised.

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The Non-Recognition of the Separatist Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk and of Their Subsequent Accession to Russia with Kherson and Zaporizhzhia

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On 21 February 2022, at the end of a TV speech to the nation, the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin, signed the act of recognition of the separatist republics of Luhansk and Donetsk. On 23 February, before the Chamber of Deputies (644th Meeting, XVIII Legislature), the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr. Luigi Di Maio, made an urgent Government briefing on this issue.

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The Russian Aggression Against Ukraine: Issues of Recognition, Sanctions and the Supply of Weapons

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During 2022, in the context of the conflict in Ukraine, three main topics of discussion emerged in the Italian parliamentary practice: the recognition of the self-proclaimed “republics” of the Donbass, the issue of sanctions against the Russian Federation, and, finally, the question of the legality and political expediency of supplying arms to Ukraine. All these topics are explored in the ensuing analysis, highlighting the position taken by the Italian Government on each of them. 

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The Non-Recognition of the Taliban Government of Afghanistan

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Following the so-called Doha Agreement,[1] in April 2021 the final phase of the withdrawal of the United States (US) Army and all North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces on Afghan territory began. In May 2021, the Taliban launched their offensive, conquering in a rapid succession most capitals of the country’s provinces. The peak of the Taliban military attack occurred on 15 August 2021, the day of the conquest of Kabul. The subsequent escape of the President of Afghanistan, Mr. Ashraf Ghani, to the United Arab Emirates marked the capitulation of the Armed Forces of Afghanistan, the end of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which had been established in 2004, and the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan by the Taliban.

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