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      • Milan
        • 10 October 2008
         
         

        The global financial emergency: how to overcome it

          The current financial crisis has lasted longer and been more damaging than expected, revealing the extent of market failure. The rule-free market era is over. No longer does anyone believe the “solid” economy – especially real estate – will turn into a “liquid” economy, thanks to deregulation. Widespread digital technology – a fundamental resource in globalization – does not help sell “toxic” shares: uncertainty about their worth only worsens the crisis.

        • Rome
          • 30 September 2008
           
           

          Religion and politics in the global era

            The upshot of this debate was that the church has every right to participate in a public debate, but the state must remain secular. Laws cannot respect only certain citizens’ beliefs, but must hold true for everyone. Therefore, a new balance must be struck between religion and politics, especially on those issues that touch people in the XXI century so closely.

          • Cernobbio
            • 29 September 2008
             
             

            The Italian health system: sustainability, quality and responsibility

              Demographic waves, technological innovation and citizens’ expectations: these are today’s major challenges. And, in the years to come, healthcare will become an increasingly important issue in all major countries with advanced economies and welfare systems. In the Italian system, the healthcare challenge is particularly crucial as it represents the largest public expenditure after pensions. Healthcare and pensions absorb all those resources that could be made available for other social policies.

            • Rome
              • 23 September 2008
               
               

              Values: an obstacle or an opportunity?

                Affirming values in an abstract way is a facile exercise; practicing and respecting values demands commitment and clear terms of reference. Such guidelines can only exist within a context of confrontation between secular values and religious ethics, the meeting point of the two representing a universal value system.

              • Rome
                • 23 September 2008
                 
                 

                A human security approach in Afghanistan: can the Euro-American community benefit?

                  The concept of “human security” revolves around bettering overall conditions – not just security but economic conditions – for people in a crisis or post-conflict area. It demands, therefore, the setting of different priorities as regards more traditional concepts of national security, state building and nation building.

                • Rome
                  • 16 September 2008
                   
                   

                  Italy, Europe and Israel: building a privileged partnership

                    Bilateral relations between Italy and Israel have intensified recently, producing some promising results, though, for the big strategic questions and economic issues, broader EU involvement is key. Partially due to 9/11, interest in the underlying motives behind problems in the Middle East and Mediterranean region has grown, and increased attention has revealed the importance of social factors and domestic policy. Such an approach highlights the singular characteristics of Israel, a country which stands out as a sort of outpost for the West in the region.

                  • Milan
                    • 21 July 2008
                     
                     

                    Italy’s banks and the national interest

                      Without denying the status of banks as fully-fledged businesses yet reaffirming their intrinsic difference to any other type of entrepreneurial undertaking, participants at this roundtable discussion called for banks to go back to conducting “traditional” banking activities.

                    • Rome
                      • 16 July 2008
                       
                       

                      Fiscal federalism in Italy: improving efficiency and modernizing the country

                        It is by now an increasingly widespread view that the implementation of the new framework of financial relations between the State and local administrations foreshadowed by the constitutional reform of 2001 represents an unavoidable priority in the political agenda of the coming months.In the current economic and financial climate, the task of finally giving substance to fiscal federalism in Italy is an opportunity not to be missed if we are to embark on a new and more modern approach to public administration and policies by bringing citizens into closer contact with the authorities respons

                      • Rome
                        • 15 July 2008
                         
                         

                        Human rights and politics: facing the issue from a US and an Italian perspective

                          Human rights were defined as fundamental inalienable rights of all individuals. The tradition of human rights trace back to the ancient world and was codified by Roman Law, to be then claimed as the basis for political independence by feudal entities and eventually enshrined in the Magna Charta of 1215. In its modern meaning and in relation to governments, the concept of human rights posits that governments have a duty to do no harm but also actively protect fundamental rights.There are various structural problems hindering the promotion of human rights worldwide.

                        • Rome
                          • 1 July 2008
                           
                           

                          The American economy today and its global implications

                            Discussion here touched on the significant slowdown of America’s economy. Theories to explain this turn of events abound: from the real estate bubble to the sub-prime housing crisis, to more general imbalances. Participants focused on the financial sector, but the dynamics of prices – both for the producer and for the consumer – were also a subject of interest.

                          • Rome
                            • 1 July 2008
                             
                             

                            Italy, Europe and the U.S. The Transatlantic link and its future

                              This conference was launched in memory of all that Giovanni Agnelli gave to strengthen relations between the United States and Italy. Discussion went on to focus on two specific demands: one the one hand, the importance of safeguarding the positive aspects of transatlantic relations’ long history and, on the other, the need to constantly adapt policy and discussions to novel challenges.These early years of the twenty-first century have already shown clear signs of change – in some cases radical change – in areas such as the very structure of the international system.

                            • Rome
                              • 25 June 2008
                               
                               

                              Italy’s identity, culture and language

                                Form and beauty, joy and endurance in the face of suffering, a sense of what’s real, a dislike for certain forms of rhetoric, a dissociation from abstraction and the rejection of a “psychological tradition”: these are some of the distinctive traits that over the centuries have contributed to shaping the Italian identity. To be clear, we are talking of the identity that fascinated both well-known and unknown figures of the European fashionable set and led them – almost overwhelmed by some kind of categorical imperative – to undertake the celebrated “Journey through Italy”.

                              • Rome
                                • 11 June 2008
                                 
                                 

                                The global crisis: values and the marketplace in Europe and Italy

                                  Globalization, the erosion of the classic hallmarks of national sovereignty, the technological revolution and the financialization of the economy: all these scenarios have been at the center of public debate for some years now, both in Italy and abroad. But how can we stem the tide generated by global phenomena of a largely unforeseen magnitude? How do we face up to the risks and exploit the opportunities that arise from a precipitate transformation?

                                • Rome
                                  • 1 June 2008
                                   
                                   

                                  What does Russia Think? Politics of ideas and policy choices

                                    The international workshop focused particularly on the debate currently underway inside Russia, which sees various schools of thought playing a key role despite the regime’s tight control over political dissent and the media. There was a broad consensus among the participants regarding the main achievement of Putin’s presidency, namely, that of having consolidated the position of the central State and of having exploited energy revenues to increase the economic – and, in part, political – influence of the country on the international stage.

                                  • Venice
                                    • 16 May 2008
                                     
                                     

                                    Italy’s future: multi-ethnic integration, women, youth

                                      This seminar focused on the fact that Italy has three important and strategic crisis areas to deal with simultaneously, namely, immigrants, women and youth. Indeed, it has failed to find the best ways of putting these three significant pools of talent to good use. It was noted that women, for instance, achieve the best results throughout schooling, yet once they enter the workplace they experience various drawbacks such as lower salaries, higher unemployment, less career advancement and a very low level of representation in senior positions.

                                    • Venice
                                      • 16 May 2008
                                       
                                       

                                      New scenarios for business: the spread of knowledge and consumer promotion

                                        The wiki model, the gift economy and coopetition: these three seemingly obscure concepts harbor features of the most advanced contemporary social relations models. Representing relational systems that were developed on the internet, today they have spilt over into the real world – into the economy and the businesses that are key players in them.

                                      • Venice
                                        • 16 May 2008
                                         
                                         

                                        Freeing up growth: how to ensure productivity and competitiveness in Italy

                                          The seminar, part of a series dealing with major issues and devoted to the National Interest, examined several crucial points for the promotion of economic growth and the raising of productivity levels at a historical moment marked by the risk of recession and by profound transformations in international economic equilibria. It was observed that to unshackle Italy’s growth, governments and the political sphere must be capable of mobilizing coalitions that are favorably disposed to reforms, highlighting the widespread benefits that they can generate.