Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the current president of Turkey, began his political career in the ’70s. He founded the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP) party, of Sunni Islamic inspiration, and held the position of mayor of Istanbul. Conservative since the very beginning, in 1998 he was arrested for inciting religious hatred. In 2003 he became prime…
Charlie Wilson’s War is a 2008 film loosely based on the true story of a Texas congressman. Wilson is best known for leading the US Congress into supporting Operation Cyclone, the largest-ever Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) covert operation which, under the Carter and Reagan administrations, supplied military equipment like the Redeye to the Afghan Mujahedeen…
Trump has decided to launch 59 Tomahawk missiles from two US aircraft carriers off the coast of the Mediterranean to strike the Syrian military base of Al Shayrat. The reason for this is the reaction to the massacre of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, Syria, where last Tuesday more than 80 people, including 28 children, were…
In the aftermath of the latest attack in London, the Italian capital city is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, which gave birth to the European Union. On this occasion it is perhaps timely to explain to Europeans the benefits and future of the EU. The 27 European leaders have signed a…
I have decided to write an open letter. I am speaking to the people of Europe, to the people of the European Union and, in particular, to the Eurosceptics. It will impress you, perhaps, but I feel the need to talk to those who dispute the way in which the European Union is being held together…
The Stanford experiment in 1971 is one of the most famous experiments in social psychology: its dramatic results lead to the need of forcing its interruption after only six days. Some boys, without a past of deviance, were divided into two groups to simulate a prison activity; in no time the guards became sadistic and…
History repeats itself, it’s nothing new. Are we able though to recognize the eternal return of the same? Have we become capable to realize when something terrible or awesome is outlining in front of us? Finally, are we able to learn from our mistakes in order to avoid making them again? The Brexit, President Trump,…
In Syria and Iraq, the strategic set ups and the most influential players are changing, but the conditions that facilitated Isis emergence and proliferation are still the same. Suffice it to think about the aftermath of the wars wanted by the United States in the Middle East in the Bush era, or else having a…
The question is whether Donald Trump understands that being the President of the United States is not the equivalent to being the CEO of a company, the owner of a skyscraper or the captain of a ship. Being the President is a complex job that requires in-depth knowledge of the internal and international balances. These…
Trump and Putin, Putin and Trump. The weird couple is making the entire world talk. The issues: NATO and Europe, the Middle East, but also China and Asia. Their speeches sound like a spartition of the world ‘Risico’ – style. Donald Trump has just sworn as 45th President of the USA. The protests worldwide have…
