It was remarked during this AJF Breakfast meeting that the Mediterranean has been an area of ongoing interest throughout the history of Aspen Institute Italia, particularly during the 1990s, with specially-themed conferences dealing with the subject, and over the last decade, with a focus on the impact of the socio-political prospects of the region on access to energy resources. Acknowledged as a place of encounter and of conflict for thousands of years, the participants also noted its role as a trading space, a “liquid plain” hemmed in by numerous borders, to use Braudel’s description. It was observed that the proliferation of energy infrastructure and trade has bound up the countries of the area in a network of relations that is an indispensable resource for their integration.
At the very heart of the Breakfast meeting debate was the Arab Spring, forming as it does a dynamic backdrop to a process of ongoing and uncertain change. Libya, the starting point for the discussions and Italy’s primary energy partner, was pointed to as an example of the monumental breaks with the past currently unfolding. The participants felt that the challenge ahead is to promote the country’s transition from its position as a subsistence economy fueled by oil revenues to one where the entire Libyan population plays an active economic role. It was suggested that the development of countries on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, as with that of other nations where Italian industrial groups are active, could be boosted by the provision of further education programs for senior executives in the said countries, such as the Masters courses offered by the Scuola Enrico Mattei. Another of Italy’s strengths identified by the participants was the recognized ability of Italian managers to communicate with others from different cultural backgrounds, an adeptness often noted at Aspen Junior Fellows events.
It was stressed that every aspect relating to energy (from exploration together with deal terms, through to industrial exploitation operations) needs to be viewed from a long-term perspective. Discussion was accordingly broadened to a consideration of the major global trends that impact on the geopolitics of energy. Among the issues highlighted in this regard were: the difficulty of predicting the unfolding geopolitical scenarios between the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean; the need to interpret the conduct of certain countries – such as Iran, Iraq and Pakistan – in light of their respective cultures and religions; the crisis in European governance; and the role of China, an age-old embodiment of excellence that has historically swung wildly between prosperity and crisis. A further aspect focused on during the debate was the effect of a country’s foreign policy on the trade relations of its large multinational companies, particularly in the energy sector. Lastly, the discussion concluded with participants endorsing the importance of corporate social responsibility towards local communities as pivotal to the balanced development of industrial activities, especially in the field of energy.