Giovanni Andornino

The Political Economy of Italy's Relations with China

Sino-Italian bilateral relations are eminently economic in their focus, with trade and investments working as the main drivers of engagement. Two distinctive features have marked economic interaction in recent years: a pattern of asymmetrical competition, and an asynchrony of opportunities in bilateral trade and investment flows. Between 2009 and 2011, however, Sino-Italian relations underwent important changes. Against the background of the global financial crisis, China might become a key source of foreign investments for Italy. In addition, Chinas efforts to promote domestic demand under the twelfth Five-Year Plan might create unprecedented opportunities for Italian exports.

Sino-Italian Relations in a Turbulent Mediterranean: Trends and Opportunities

This essay analyzes Sino-Italian relations against the background of the increasing salience of the West Asia and North Africa region in Rome’s and Beijing’s strategic calculus. As China projects westward through its New Silk Road strategy, culminating at the intersection of the Mediterranean Sea and Europe’s core, the spectrum of Italy’s foreign policy options opens to innovative forms of cooperation with China to meet the challenges emanating from the European Union’s southern and southeastern neighborhoods. An integrated study of the dynamics of Sino-Italian bilateral relations and of the mounting strategic exposure both countries have across West Asia and North Africa underscores the urgency of consolidating the societal foundations of the strategic partnership ten years after its launch.

Strategic Ambitions in Times of Transition: Key Patterns in Contemporary Italy-China Relations

Current relations between Italy and China are heir to a unique pattern of exchanges of ideas as well as private, public, and symbolic goods. Contrary to the dynamics—and narratives—of China’s encounters with other Western powers, which induced transformations in Chinese institutions and society through often violent competition, Italian intercourse with traditional and modern China has been largely immune to geopolitical rivalry and confrontation.

Tra modernità e postmodernità. Cartografia di una cornice meta-teorica chiave per la politica contemporanea

Proceeding from the awareness of a widespread and increasing sense of uncertainty among citizens (especially) in Western societies, the essay attempts to trace the reasons why intellectuals generally appear to be failing to produce far-sighted and reassuring interpretations of current events and potential happenings. The crucial source of analytical confusion is identified in the choice of a distorted or obsolete interpretative frame, leading to misperceptions and unjustified expectations. In particular the author concentrates on portraying three meta-theorical contexts: radical postmodernism; «moderate» postmodernism and classical modernity. Subsequently, once proved the inadequacy of each of them to serve as a neat lens to comprehend recent life-world changes, an original, amended model is conceived. A humanistic reasonable, rather than strictly rational version of modernity could indeed be an appropriate frame in which to locate and read today’s many challenges.