In the current debate on military capabilities and defence industry, the term “dual-use” means those technologies that can be used to develop systems and equipment for both civilian and military purposes. Changes occurred in modes of technological innovation have brought about a growing interconnection between the civilian, security and defence sectors, especially from an industrial point of view. In this context, “dual-use helicopters” refer to platforms that have been designed in compliance with certain standards and are structurally built so that they can satisfy civilian, military or security users with only minimal adjustments or additions. This volume analyses the use of helicopters by armed forces, law enforcement agencies and emergency services, in three countries: Italy, France and the United Kingdom. Such landscape is diversified and fragmented, with different approaches and above all helicopter fleets made up of diverse platforms of subsequent generations – some with more than 30 years of life cycle behind them. In all three countries, national defence budget’s restrictions have demanded more efficient solutions for the necessary fleet renewal and management in the medium term – a renewal often coupled with a quan-titative reduction. In this respect, the option of a dual-use helicopter becomes interesting in that it ensures greater security, effectiveness and efficiency in use by armed forces. This calls for a common and in-depth reflection on the problem by all actors in the defence and security field.

In view of the Italian Presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) in 2017, the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) conducted a research project on “Major Challenges for Global Macroeconomic Stability and the Role of the G7” together with a major policy think tank in each of the other G7 member countries: Center for International Governance Innovation (CIGI, Canada); Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Information Internationales (CEPII, France); Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW, Germany); Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA, Japan); Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House, United Kingdom); Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE, United States).The project covered the following three subjects, representing major challenges for G7 policy-makers: macroeconomic policy coordination; international trade relations; global financial stability. Each participating think tank prepared a paper addressing all or some of the issues from the perspective of its own country, outlining areas of possible consensus for joint actions to be achieved within the Group and offering independent policy recommendations for the G7 deliberations. The seven papers have been presented at an international conference held in Rome on 27-28 March 2017 and have been discussed by a broad range of experts from academia and international institutions. The proceedings of the conference are presented in this volume. A broad consensus emerged from the T7 papers and the contributions of the discussants on the need to reduce policy uncertainty, preventing a resurgence of financial tensions in capital and foreign exchange markets. Boosting public investment in infrastructures and new technologies; defining a “better trade agenda” with adequate social protections and completing the financial regulatory reform were also indicated as top priorities for the G7.

The Mediterranean is a highly interconnected geopolitical space in which instability, conflict and insecurity have increased dramatically in the last few years. Today, Mediterranean security is even more central to the national interests of Italy, and therefore requires a continuous, systematic and in-depth reflection by the country’s elites and public opinion. The book aims to contribute to this reflection by addressing the issue with a comprehensive and pragmatic approach. The first chapter analyses the “arc of crisis” in the Arab world, linking current instability and conflicts to the socio-economic, religious, political and geopolitical dynamics. The second chapter focuses on the Mediterranean Sea – from the Italian perspective – in terms of trade between littoral states, maritime traffic, and the “blue economy.” The third chapter focuses on the energy-producing North African countries, the Mediterranean offshore fields and European energy policies in this region (with a view not only to energy security). The fourth chapter analyses the positions of NATO and its major member states with respect to Mediterranean security, with a specific focus on the Alliance’s maritime strategy. The fifth chapter discusses the recent EU Maritime Security Strategy relation with the Mediterranean. Finally, the sixth chapter looks at the “Euro-Mediterranean region” from the Italian perspective, a region that is the priority area for use of the military, including its naval component, as evidenced by the series of naval operations conducted in recent years to respond to the migration crisis.

Technological innovation and the military have always been in a state of constant interaction, fostered especially during the post-Cold War period. In this context, the present study focuses on the relationship of Italian, American, British, French and German Armed Forces with Information Communication Technology (ICT). The aim is to analyse in a Euro-Atlantic perspective the path undertaken by the Italian Army to develop Network Enabled Capabilities (NEC) through the “Forza NEC” Program. The acronym NEC refers to the interconnection of different elements of the Armed Forces in a single broad network, making them interact in order to achieve a strategic superiority. The book is composed of three chapters, which offer respectively an analysis of the American case, an overview of recent developments in France, Germany and the UK, and a discussion of the situation in Italy. The volume – which comes four years after the IAI publication The Transformation of Armed Forces: The Forza NEC Program – aims at analysing state of the art of the evolving relationship between technological innovation and the Armed Forces. This evolution is hindered by the fact that efforts to digitize and interconnect land forces and their equipment by using ICT sometimes clash with both operational difficulties and budget constraints. Such a clash poses challenges and roadblocks on the way towards NEC undertaken by the Armed Forces of the countries discussed in this book.

A comparative analysis of the role of EU and US defence procurement regulation as a barrier to transatlantic defence trade.