Navigating New Geostrategic Challenges. EU-US Cooperation and Italy's Role

This book provides an analysis of the main challenges and opportunities for cooperation between the United States and the European Union in key sectors, amidst increasing geo-economic rivalry among major powers, and also includes a special focus on Italy's role within the Euro-Atlantic partnership. The intertwining of economic interests with geopolitical ambitions has led to a growing reliance on trade and investment as strategic tools in the competition between major powers and in the pursuit of geopolitical objectives. In light of these developments, the United States and the European Union have explored new strategies in their respective trade and investment policies, but also worked together to establish closer, often unprecedented, forms of bilateral cooperation. Moving from the assessment of Italy's role and positioning within the wider geopolitical landscape and its transatlantic ties, the book analyses the strategic dialogue between the United States and the European Union. The study, in particular, focuses on the limits and the potential of their respective trade and investment policies, in response to the reconfiguration of economic relations and to the growing weaponization of finance and trade. These issues, which are strategic in a context of shifting global powers, increased multipolarity and fragile value chains, are analysed with regard to four macro-themes: industrial policy, control of foreign direct investment, export control of dual-use technologies and materials, and restrictive measures and sanctions. The book is divided into six chapters. The first two chapters analyse the relationship between perspectives on cooperation and energy partnerships across the Mediterranean and into sub-Saharan Africa (Chapter 1) and the Gulf (Chapter 2), examining the necessity of proposing alternative models for energy partnerships by promoting investments and cooperation aimed at local development. Chapter 3 focuses on political and security developments linking the Sahel and the Mediterranean regions, and unpacks Italy's evolving role in navigating the geopolitical complexities of the two regions. Chapter 4 addresses the Gulf political dynamics, especially in light of the war on Gaza, the war in Yemen, the interconnected Red Sea crisis, and a renewed sense of polarisation across the region after a few years of (often contested) normalisations. Chapter 5 centres on the role of global actors (China, Russia and the United States) in an increasingly interconnected great power competition spanning from the Sahel to the Gulf through the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Chapter 6 integrates insights across regions and domains to identify strategies for Italy and the EU to act in line with their strategic objectives without resulting in negative effects on the governance and local development of their partners.