Partnership with NATO Defense College

Since 2011, IAI and NATO Defense College (NDC) collaborate on several initiatives aiming at stimulating debates on themes concerning Euro-Atlantic security, the role of the Alliance and its relations with the European Union. In order to promote a better and wider exchange of views on these themes, the partnership is also opened to the involvement of other international entities, institutions and governmental agencies, as well as private actors, think tanks and academics.

The latest workshop, entitled “NATO and the challenges of cyber defence”, took place on 17 November 2022. The panellists analysed the national approach to cyber defence of different NATO member states (Italy, Germany, Spain and the United States), including the function of their respective civilian and military institutions responsible for the cyber domain. The workshop also considered the posture of the Atlantic Alliance with respect to cyber defence, the role of cyberspace in the new Strategic Concept, and future challenges NATO will have to face in the cyber domain.

On 1 July 2021, in partnership with the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, IAI and NDC organised a workshop entitled “Warfare and Geopolitics in Europe’s Southern Neighbourhood: Implications for NATO”. A report of the event summarises the main issues raised during the discussion, presenting the changes that shaped the current situation in NATO’s Southern neighbourhood, as well as Allies’ interests and priorities in the area.

In June 2021, IAI and NDC organised in partnership with the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo an event which addressed the issue of the space domain: "NATO in Space: Challenges and Opportunities of a New Domain". During the workshop, speakers and participants discussed the relevance of space for geopolitics and economics, NATO’s ability to face threats emerging in this domain, and existing strategic and industrial perspectives.

On 27-28 February 2020 a workshop organised in partnership with the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo focused on “Military Technology: Risks and Opportunities for the Atlantic Alliance”. Topics discussed did range from the major trends and innovations in military technology, to the gaps in the Allied procurement, as well as the European defence initiatives and their impact on the transatlantic relations. They have been summarize in the event’s report. 

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Atlantic Alliance, on 17-18 January 2019 IAI and NDC brought together over 30 experts and professionals for a brainstorming on the theme "NATO at 70: politics, capabilities and partnerships". The event, held in partnership with the Compagnia di San Paolo, was introduced by the keynote speech of Antonio Missiroli, the NATO's Assistant Secretary-General for Emerging Security Challenges.

In 2018 the IAI and the NDC, in partnership with Elettronica and Rivista Italiana Difesa as media partners, organized the international workshop “NATO-EU cooperation to project stability”. The workshop was held at the Italian Ministry of Defence’s Centro Alti Studi per la Difesa, and on the basis of the debate was also published a paper on the addressed topics. 

In 2017, IAI and NDC organized an international conference highlighting the role performed by NATO in tackling crisis and instability in Europe’s southern neighbourhood, particularly in the Mediterranean region. A report has constituted the follow up to this event, so that the most interesting suggestions and outcomes of the debate have been spread. The conference was organized in partnership with Elettronica as well as with Rivista Italiana Difesa as media partner.

In 2016, a workshop organized at IAI by the Institute and the NDC stimulated an in-depth discussion among high-level practitioners and experts on the topic of Anti Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) capabilities, ahead of NATO’s Warsaw Summit. Also on this occasion, a report has been published to let the main findings of the debate circulate.

Previously - in 2011 and 2013 - two public conferences were organized in Rome in cooperation with the NATO Defense College Foundation.