Head of the programme: Alessandro Marrone
Research team: Elio Calcagno, Federica Di Camillo, Maria Vittoria Massarin, Nicolò Murgia, Karolina Muti, Michele Nones, Gaia Ravazzolo, Paola Tessari; Vincenzo Camporini, Salvatore Farina, Pietro Serino and Stefano Silvestri (scientific advisors)
IAI has worked and published on defence, security and space since the mid 1960s. The Defence, Security and Space (DSS) Programme deals with these research topics in an integrated manner by adopting a cross-cutting and interdisciplinary approach.
The Programme systematically considers three complementary aspects. The first aspect is politico-institutional, and focuses on policies, governance and regulations promoted by governments, international organisations and institutions. The topics covered include among others the EU defence industrial initiatives, European space governance, NATO’s strategic posture, and the regulations on the security and resilience of critical infrastructures.
The second aspect is operational, and encompasses the concrete action of the armed forces, security and civilian actors, in five domains: land, naval – including the underwater dimension – air, space and cyber. A variety of threats and risks are considered, from high-intensity conflict scenarios, hybrid warfare, terrorism and stability operations, to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) events and natural or man-made disasters.
The third aspect is technological & industrial, and includes a broad spectrum of military, dual use and civil technologies, the dynamics of the aerospace, security and defence market in Italy and the Euro-Atlantic area, as well as European, transatlantic and enlarged Mediterranean cooperation.
The DSS Programme considers these aspects within three geopolitical contexts, which substantially reflect what scientific literature traditionally defines the three circles of Italy’s foreign and defence policy.
The European context analysed by the Programme includes both multilateral institutional frameworks, for example the EU or ESA, and the multiple bilateral, trilateral or mini-lateral relationships that characterise defence and space sectors in Europe, within and beyond the European Union.
The transatlantic circle materialises at a multilateral level in NATO and at a bilateral level in the relations between Italy and the United States, which concern in various ways the politico-institutional, operational, and technological-industrial aspects.
The context of the enlarged Mediterranean instead reflects the geopolitical concept, developed by Italy, of a large and diversified area strongly interconnected from a security, economic, energy and demographic point of view. In this region, the Programme focuses in particular on Italian military operations abroad, maritime security, partnership in the defence, security and space fields.
In addition to these three consolidated geopolitical contexts, the Indo-Pacific and Arctic regions are increasingly important for the Programme.
Such transversal and integrated approach enables to grasp the overall picture while delving into morespecific issues, always keeping in mind the defence, security and space policies of Italy.
For example, in recent years, publications have covered: critical infrastructures’ protection, cyber and electromagnetic threats to space, artillery, Italy and the Atlantic Alliance, strategic implications of the war in Ukraine, European defence market, NATO and space, hypersonic missiles, military helicopters, underwater dimension, naval combat systems, dual-use capabilities, short range air defence, EU Strategic Compass, the nexus between space and defence, CBRN risks and threats, cyber defence, big data and artificial intelligence, missile defence, G2G agreements, EU directives on the defence market, main battle tanks, Italian missions abroad.
The Programme relies on a research team composed of nine researchers, including junior and senior, and four scientific advisors.