In order to more and more bring its voice into the public debate on selected topics, the Machiavelli Center for Political and Strategic Studies launches a new format: the annual thematic conference. This will be a larger event than those we are used to hold (3 or 4 speakers for 90 minutes of length). More speakers, more time available and - hopefully - more impact. All to be repeated every 12 months, for each of the major themes we are identifying.
The new format's debut will take place on Wednesday, July 13, with the Machiavelli Annual Defense Conference. The Chamber of Deputies (to be precise, the Sala Salvadori of the Palazzo dei Gruppi, located at Via Uffici del Vicario 21 in Rome) will host an entire afternoon of speeches, discussions and debate between speakers and audience. The general outline, for this first Defense Conference, will be the increase in military spending: the achievement of 2 percent of GDP, which has been requested for years at the NATO level, must take place (according to the Government and Parliament) by 2028. This news makes it necessary to question how to invest the fresh funds: what are the Armed Forces' needs, what are the development plans, and how they should be framed in the broader context of Italy's foreign and strategic policy.
The conference will start at 2 p.m. with brief introductory remarks by Hon. Guglielmo Picchi, former Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs (2018-2019), and Daniele Scalea, President of Centro Studi Machiavelli. This will be followed by the first panel, "The Military Instrument for Italy," which will feature the Hon. Stefania Pucciarelli, currently Undersecretary of Defense, Air Mshl. Enzo Vecciarelli, former Chief of Defense Staff (2018-2021), and Gianandrea Gaiani, Managing Editor of "Analisi Difesa".
A second panel, "The Armed Forces of the Future," will delve into how each military branch will change in the coming years. Already confirmed participating in this panel is Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff Air Marshal Aurelio Colagrande.
The third and final panel, "Visions and Proposals from the Center-Right Parties," will serve precisely to compare how that political area's formations envision the Defense of the future. The discussion will feature the Defense heads of the three parties: Salvatore Deidda for Fratelli d'Italia, Roberto Ferrari for the League, and Matteo Perego of Cremnago for Forza Italia - all three incumbent MPs.
Mingled into the discussion sessions will be additional speeches: AIAD President Guido Crosetto will speak on military industry; Hon. Raffaele Volpi (former Undersecretary of Defense in 2018-19 and later COPASIR Chairman) on military intelligence; two other talks will come from Adm. Nicola De Felice, Senior Fellow at Centro Studi Machiavelli, and Gen. Antonio Li Gobbi, of Centro Studi Storico-Militari e Geopolitici.
After each panel there is a small space for debate between audience and speakers.
Registration is now open! Participation in the event is of course free of charge but you must register to be accredited.
OFFICIAL PROGRAM (pdf)
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