Academic seminars on European and Transatlantic Security

Since 2022, IAI has held every year an academic seminar on Europe’s security, NATO and European defence, in light of the Russia-Ukraine war and considering an international security environment increasingly multipolar and tense. In this context, particular attention is paid to Italian foreign and defence policy, with respect to three traditional dimensions: European, transatlantic and enlarged Mediterranean ones.

Every yearly seminar brings on these issues an academic, multidisciplinary, wide-ranging reflection with a long-term perspective. It is a closed-doors meeting under Chatham House Rule and participation is exclusively in person, in order to encourage a frank and critical discussion. The seminar takes place in a roundtable format, it is traditionally divided into two sessions, and features an interactive and inclusive debate among participants.

The initiative involves Italian academics and IAI researchers from different research programmes, aiming for a broad and diversified participation of Italian universities – and recently European ones – including PhD students and young professionals in this sector.

The first academic seminar took place at IAI on 13 October 2022, focusing on “Russia-Ukraine war: implications for international relations and euro-atlantic security”, which has been the theme also of the event’s second edition on 4 July 2023. The third meeting took place on 25 September 2024, titled “NATO and Italian defence policy in a multi-polar world”, while the forth and most recent academic seminar has been organised on 17 July 2025 on “The defence of Europe in a multi-polar international system”.

Funding: Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione Centro Studi sul Federalismo