Workshop syllabus

The Eastern Mediterranean has become a major hotspot of energy and an important hub for geopolitical competition, driven by several offshore discoveries in the last decades. The workshop will be focused on the main aspects and trends related to energy landscape and energy exploitation in the Eastern Mediterranean, intending this latter as a region of transit. The workshop will be structured into two parts: firstly, seminars and briefings will be delivered online by expert speakers and academicians, focusing on geopolitical and international legal issues on energy dynamics in the East Med. Several case studies will be proposed (e.g. Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Egypt) in order to go in depth in the different stage of cooperation, tensions and competition among States in the region. During the second part, a simulation will be conducted in order to apply theories, concepts and scenario analysis debated during the first part of the workshop. Students will be enrolled in a simulation context in the East Med, representing a Member State in an international organization, with the aim to negotiate on energy issues according to their country position. A crisis will be introduced during the simulation, in order to evaluate a possible strategy of crisis response and recovery. The simulation’s final goal will be the composition of a document, agreed by all the Member States in the assembly. A background guide and detailed studies will be distributed to the students before the simulation, in order to give them the possibility to be prepared for the workshop activities. 

Instructors' bio profiles

• Alessia Chiriatti is head of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI)’s Educational Programme. She worked as adjunct professor at Università degli Studi di Perugia and as research fellow in Political Sciences and International Relations at the University for Foreigners of Perugia. She obtained her PhD from the University for Foreigners of Perugia, with a thesis on Turkish foreign policy in Syria and Georgia (2014). She is member of the International Advisory Board of Novus Orbis: Journal of Politics and International Relations and member of the Editorial Committee of The International Spectator.

• Luca Franza is head of the Energy, Climate and Resources Programme at Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). He is associate fellow at the Clingendael International Energy Programme (CIEP) in The Hague (The Netherlands) and lecturer in the Energy Master of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) – SciencesPo. He earned a PhD at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands), with a thesis on the political-economic impact of transformations in long-term gas contracts between the EU and Russia. He is also co-chair of the T20 task force on sustainable energy and climate" e "member of the Sustainability Advisory Board at Edison SpA.

IAI

The Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) was founded in 1965 on the initiative of Altiero Spinelli, and is currently among the most influential think thanks in Italy and Europe. The Institute's main objective is to promote an understanding of the problems of international politics through studies, research, meetings and publications. The Institute participates in major research networks and develops research activities on very many topics: EU, politics and institutions, Eastern Europe and Eurasia, Security, Defence, and Space,  Global Actors, Mediteranean and Middle East, Multilateralism and global governance, Energy, climate and resources, Italy's Foreign Policy. The Institute coordinates and participates in several research projects, organizes series of conferences in Italy and abroad, and publishes working papers, journals, and newsletters (such as The International Spectator, OrizzonteCina, and AffarInternazionali). The Istitute overviews students' internship programmes.
SIS and IAI signed a Partnership Agreement: the agreement aims at fostering the collaboration between the respective researchers, develop common projects and research programs, cooperate in teaching and dissemination activities, increase the educational opportunities of the SIS students.