Lo “spazio comune” trasforma la politica – The “common space” transforms politics

La “politica” che conosciamo non lavora nello “spazio comune”: eppure è quello, dentro la rivoluzione tecnologica in atto, che la trasforma.

Abbiamo già scritto, e ribadiamo, che la sostenibilità intesa in senso complesso parte dalla coesione delle società, dalla ri-appropriazione dello “spazio comune”. Le democrazie liberali, oggi, hanno il compito strategico di uscire dalla dicotomia tra pubblico e privato e devono lavorare, colpite al cuore dalla grande questione sociale, a rafforzare il “comune” dimenticato in anni di competizione esasperata tra i sacerdoti dello Stato e i sacerdoti del mercato.

Per quanto ovvio, la ri-appropriazione dello “spazio comune” chiede realismo, chiede di mediare tra istanze planetarie e necessità territoriali in quella “glocalità” che ci sembra essere la nuova frontiera della globalizzazione e della politica. In sostanza, mettere al centro lo “spazio comune”, dunque le relazioni per la coesione sociale, significa rafforzare l’idea di “società aperta” che, come i fatti degli ultimi trent’anni dimostrano, o è diventata società in balia di una globalizzazione selvaggia o si è chiusa in chiave autarchica.

Se lo “spazio comune” trasforma la politica, due sono gli elementi che occorre sottolineare, e che approfondiremo. Il primo elemento riguarda la necessità che ogni società adotti strumenti di immunizzazione che permettano di mantenere uno sviluppo autoctono e non necessariamente omologato a ciò che vorrebbero gli incontrollati (e incontrollabili) flussi planetari. Ne vengono, evidentemente, nuove politiche in tutti i campi: la società aperta ha bisogno del respiro del mondo ma deve rimanere soggetto storico e strategico. Il secondo elemento, partendo dalle necessità di immunizzazione, che sono normali in un mondo regolato, riguarda il giudizio storico sulla situazione in continua evoluzione: fare politica significa dialogare (verbo profondo e complesso) tra sistemi e non continuare, come si è fatto per anni e come accade ancora oggi in maniera esasperata, a fabbricare nemici in un mondo inter-in-dipendente.

English version

“Politics” we know does not work in the “common space”: yet it is that, within the technological revolution in progress, transforms politics.

We have already written, and we reiterate, that sustainability understood in a complex sense starts from the cohesion of societies, from the re-appropriation of the “common space”. Liberal democracies, today, have the strategic task of breaking out of the dichotomy between public and private and must work, struck at the heart by the great social question, to strengthen the “common” forgotten in years of exasperated competition between the priests of the State and the priests of the market.

As obvious as it may be, the re-appropriation of the “common space” requires realism, it asks to mediate between planetary flows and territorial needs in a “glocality” that seems the new frontier of globalization and politics. In essence, putting the “common space” at the center, therefore relations for social cohesion, means reinforcing the idea of an “open society” which, as the events of the last thirty years show, has either become a society at the mercy of a wild globalization or closed in an autarchic key.

If the “common space” transforms politics, there are two elements that need to be emphasized, and that we will deepen. The first element concerns the need for every society to adopt immunization tools that allow it to maintain an indigenous development that is not necessarily homologated to what the uncontrolled (and uncontrollable) planetary flows would like. Obviously, new policies are emerging in all fields: the open society needs the breath of the world but must remain a historical and strategic subject. The second element, starting from the immunization needs, which are normal in a regulated world, concerns the historical judgment on the constantly evolving situation: doing politics means dialoguing (profound and complex verb) between systems and not continuing, as has been done for years and as still happens today in an exasperated way, to fabricate enemies in an inter-in-dependent world.

Riflessioni collegate

• Pensiero liberale e questione sociale – Liberal thinking and social question
• Glocalità e generatività dei territori – Glocality and generativity of the territories
• Dentro al paradigma politico – Inside the political paradigm
• Per una glocalità sostenibile – For a sustainable glocality
• Complessità, politica e società aperte – Complexity, politics and open societies
• (Progetto di civiltà) Il pensiero complesso per strategie glocali
• (Progetto di civiltà) La scelta morale: porre al centro la relazione
• (Progetto di civiltà) Ri-pensare il discorso morale
• (Progetto di civiltà) Nel profondo dell’ “on life”
• (Progetto di civiltà) Megacrisi, vincolo glocale e assenza della politica
• (Progetto di civiltà) Non basta più parlare di cambiamento
• (Progetto di civiltà) La questione glocale
• (Progetto di civiltà) Luoghi di vita, glocalità e rivoluzione tecnologica
• (Progetto di civiltà) Informalità progettuale e giudizio storico
• (Progetto di civiltà) Le città-laboratorio come vincolo complesso
• (Progetto di civiltà) La politica può rifondarsi nelle città

FROM GLOBAL THINK TANKS – DAILY NEWSLETTER

with The Science of Where Magazine

Around the world: Algeria-Niger-Nigeria-Europe, ASEAN-Indo Pacific, Asia, Central African Republic, China-Middle East, Colombia-Venezuela, Morocco, Myanmar,  Russia-Ukraine, USA-China 

Topics: Cities, Climate Change & Sustainability, Cybersecurity, Defense-Intelligence-Military-Security-Space, Digital & Tech

AROUND THE WORLD

Algeria – Niger – Nigeria – Europe

• July 28, 2022. DW. To move away from relying on Russian energy, the European Union are increasingly turning to Africa for natural gas imports — and Algeria, Niger and Nigeria are looking to cash in. Algeria, Nigeria, Niger sign MOU on gas pipeline to Europe

ASEAN – Indo Pacific

• July 28, 2022. I Gusti Bagus Dharma Agastia, East Asia Forum. Three years after its formulation, progress on fulfilling the objectives set out by the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) remains slow. The AOIP lacks the teeth to deal with the increasing great power rivalry that has come to characterise the Indo-Pacific, so it simply continues to be an aspirational document. Improving the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific

Asia

• July 28, 2022. Krishna Srinivasan, IMF blog. The global economic outlook has darkened, and growth across Asia and the Pacific is poised to slow further amid the continuing impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other shocks. Asia’s Economies Face Weakening Growth, Rising Inflation Pressures

Central African Republic

• July 28, 2022. DW. The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday unsealed a  warrant for the arrest of former Central African Republic government minister and rebel leader Mahamat Nouradine Adam. ICC wants former Central African Republic government minister arrested

China – Middle East

• July 29, 2022. Passant Mamdouh Ridwan, East Asia Forum. The introduction of the Health Silk Road (HSR) and Digital Silk Road (DSR) in 2015 as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) shows the expansion of China’s diplomacy from infrastructure and construction into the health and technology sectors. Multiple areas of cooperation increase China’s leverage and promote the longevity of the BRI framework beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. China’s Health Silk Road in the Middle East

Colombia – Venezuela

• July 29, 2022. DW. Colombia’s new left-wing President Gustavo Petro will reestablish diplomatic relations with Venezuela when he takes office on August 7. Colombia′s new leftist president to repair ties with Venezuela

Morocco

• July 28, 2022. Clotilde V. Minster, Nabil Samir, Jean-Francois Arvis, World Bank blogs. Access to safe and efficient transportation services is a challenge for many workers worldwide. For minimum wage or informal workers, commuting between home and work can easily turn into a nightmare.  Challenges that commuters face involve juggling between several means of transport, ensuring transport is as cheap as possible, planning for unexpected disruptions, coordinating schedules with other household members, and worrying about possible safety and/or harassment issues, all while making sure that they are not late to work. These challenges are even more pronounced for women who bear the brunt of household chores and childcare. Spatial accessibility to the workplace has become a mental burden for workers and industry executives alike. Traditionally, ease of commuting has often been the focus of national travel surveys, which, unfortunately, are mostly not available in many countries like Morocco.  When public transportation is unavailable, firms have trouble keeping their workers: Morocco case study

Myanmar

• July 29, 2022. Nicholas Coppel, The Strategist. The execution of four political activists by Myanmar’s military junta reveals the regime’s desperation. Myanmar has endured decades of military rule and brutal oppression, but these were the first death sentences carried out in 34 years. They were announced on 25 July in a brief report on the bottom of page 2 of the Ministry of Information–controlled newspaper, The Global New Light of Myanmar. Myanmar executions expose regime’s desperation

Russia – Ukraine

• July 29, 2022. Alexandra Ivanova, DW. In the five months since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, statements by Russian representatives have repeatedly shifted the goalposts with regard to Moscow’s war aims. DW has this summary of the main changes. Ukraine: How Russia′s war aims are changing
• July 29, 2022. DW. Russian missile attacks have hit outlying areas of Kyiv for the first time in weeks. And UK military intelligence says Russia’s Wagner Group may be in charge of some front-line sectors. DW rounds up the latest. Russia-Ukraine updates: Russian missiles hit outskirts of Kyiv
• July 28, 2022. Karolina Hird, Grace Mappes, Layne Phillipson, Katherine Lawlor, George Barros, and Frederick W. Kagan, ISW. The Russian grouping in Donetsk Oblast is likely seeking to capitalize on recent marginal gains southeast of Bakhmut by continuing to attempt to advance in that area. Russian forces may be de-emphasizing attempts to take Siversk in order to concentrate on Bakhmut, but it is too soon to tell.Russian forces continued efforts to advance northward on Bakhmut from recently gained positions around Novoluhanske and the Vuhlehirska Power Plant while pursuing southwestward advances along the T1302 highway from recently captured positions in Berestove. By contrast, Russian forces have been struggling to make concrete gains around Siversk and have not made any confirmed advances toward the city since the capture of the Luhansk Oblast Administrative border in early July. Russian command is likely, therefore, seeking to maintain momentum around Bakhmut, potentially at the expense of continued pressure on Siversk. Russian forces remain unlikely to take Bakhmut itself, despite recent incremental advances in its direction. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, July 28
• July 28, 2022. Francis Shin, Damir Marusic, and Tyson Wetzel, Atlantic Council. After making slow but steady gains in eastern Ukraine recently, Russia has inched closer to its recalibrated goal of seizing the entire Donbas region. Even though its military has sustained heavy losses—and while the Kremlin’s current objectives are much smaller than its initial goal of capturing Kyiv and overthrowing the government—the chances of escalation in this war persist. The Ukrainians’ successful use of Western-supplied, high-precision weapons such as the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) might compel the Kremlin to boost its aggression.  Climbing the escalation ladder in Ukraine: A menu of options for the West

USA – China

• July 29, 2022. Yang Sheng, Xing Xiaojing and Bai Yunyi, Global Times. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden spoke via telephone for over two hours on Thursday at a juncture of increased tension between China and the US due to the security situation around the Taiwan Straits and US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s reported plan to visit the island of Taiwan. Xi criticizes US rivalry policy in candid talk with Biden, warns over Taiwan question but both sides emphasize cooperation

TOPICS

Cities

• July 28, 2022.  Sarah Wray, Cities Today. The Baltimore Office of Broadband and Digital Equity’s function is being transferred from the Mayor’s Office to the Office of Information and Technology as the city tries to keep its goal to close the digital divide by 2030 on track. Baltimore restructures Digital Equity Office amid ‘bottlenecks’
• July 25, 2022. Sarah Wray, Cities Today. A new online ‘atlas’ details urban artificial intelligence (AI) projects across the globe, with a focus on alignment with ethical principles. Atlas maps how cities around the world are using AI

Climate Change & Sustainability

• July 28, 2022. Sujata Manandhar, Sulochana Nepali, World Bank blogs. Nepal is becoming a hotspot of climate-related hazards with the rapidly changing climate.  Last year, the flood in the Melamchi River was caused by the intense rainfall triggering the cascading hazards resulted in the loss of lives, the devastation of riverside settlements, infrastructures, and local livelihoods. It caused substantial economic damage to the Helambu-Melamchi- Panchpokhari Thangpal riverside communities and the Melamchi Water Supply System.  Transforming Nepal’s hydro and agrometeorological services to build resilience

Cybersecurity

• July 29, 2022. Phil Muncaster, Infosecurity. Spanish and Romanian police have joined forces to take down a gang suspected of earning at least €3m ($3.1) from internet scams. Euro Police Bust €3m Internet Fraud Gang
• July 29, 2022. Phil Muncaster, Infosecurity. Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operators are evolving their tactics yet again in response to more aggressive law enforcement efforts, in a move that is reducing their profits but also making affiliates harder to track, according to Coveware. RaaS Groups Forced to Change Tack as Payments Decline
• July 29, 2022. Phil Muncaster, Infosecurity. Security researchers have discovered yet another supply chain attack campaign using malicious npm packages, this time targeting Discord users. Malicious Npm Packages Designed to Steal Discord Tokens
• July 28, 2022. Danny Bradbury, Infosecurity. Police in Spain have arrested two people on suspicion of hacking the country’s Radioactivity Alert Network (RAR). Spanish Police Arrest Alleged Radioactive Monitoring Hackers
• July 28, 2022. Danny Bradbury, Infosecurity. Ransomware thieves are demanding £500,000 after an attack against Wooton Upper School in Bedfordshire, said press reports this week. Ransomware Group Demands £500,000 From School
• July 28, 2022. Danny Bradbury, Infosecurity. The US government’s cybersecurity agency has signed an agreement with its Ukrainian counterpart to work more closely together on cybersecurity. US Expands Cybersecurity Partnership With Ukraine
• July 29, 2022. Lesley Seebeck, The Strategist. Despite information security figuring in the defence and national security consciousness since well before the end of the Cold War, we remain in the early days of cyber. For some years after September 2001, when concerns over cyber were overtaken as a national security priority by terrorism, cyber tended to be seen a secondary concern, most worrying when it merged with other threats like cyberterrorism. It’s still early days for cyber

Defense – Intelligence – Military – Security – Space

• July 29, 2022. Vivienne Machi, Defense News. The U.S. State Department has approved a potential sale of over $8 billion worth of F-35 aircraft to Germany, moving closer to providing Berlin with new fighter aircraft for nuclear deterrence missions. State Department approves $8.4 billion F-35 sale to Germany
• July 29, 2022. Wang Qi and Cui Fandi, Global Times. By saying it is “fully prepared” for military conflict with the US and warning that the South Korean military would be “annihilated” in the event of “preemptive strike,”  North Korea has been showing a tougher tone recently following US and South Korea’s intensive military exercises and verbal threats. Chinese experts urged the US and South Korea to ease military pressure on Pyongyang and respect its security concerns to avoid further escalation of tensions. US, SK urged to ease military pressure, address NK’s concerns as Pyongyang says ‘nuclear deterrence’ is ready
• July 28, 2022. Xu Keyue and Zhang Changyue, Global Times. Recently, a series of positive signals have been released in China-India relations including the “constructive and forward-looking” 16th Corps Commander-level talks held earlier this month.  India should work with China to solve bilateral difficulties amid recent positive signals: experts
• July 28, 2022. Naval News. The Cochin Shipyard ceremonially handed over the first indigenous aircraft carrier “Vikrant” to the Indian Navy on 28 July 2022. Indian Navy accepts delivery of Indigenous Aircraft Carrier “Vikrant”
• July 28, 2022. Naval News. JFD, the underwater capability provider serving the commercial and defence diving markets and part of James Fisher and Sons plc, has supported three international submarine rescue operations in the first quarter of 2022. JFD completes 3 consecutive Submarine Rescue Exercises in Quarter One 2022
• July 28, 2022. Theresa Hitchens, Breaking Defense.  Lt. Gen. Chance “Salty” Satlzman, the current Space Force deputy chief of operations, has been nominated by the White House to replace Gen. Jay Raymond as service chief when he retires this fall, the service confirmed today. Saltzman, father of multi-domain ops, to replace Raymond as Space Force chief
• July 28, 2022. Tim Fish, Breaking Defense. New Zealand has been relatively protected from the security challenges that the world has been facing for the past few years. The emergence of an era of Great Power Competition and the strategic realignment process being undertaken by the US and its allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific have somewhat passed New Zealand by. More proactive posture on table as New Zealand begins new defense review
• July 28, 2022. Theresa Hitchens, Breaking Defense. Private company World View Enterprises sees an expanding market for stratospheric platforms like its Stratollite balloons, especially for providing persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) for the military services from eye-watering heights, according to CEO Ryan Hartman. Way up in the air: World View looks to expand customer base for its ‘Stratollite’ balloon
• July 28, 2022.  Megan Eckstein, Defense News. Planners of this year’s Rim of the Pacific naval exercise inserted first-of-kind events to challenge navies large and small, seeking to create a multinational force that is more lethal and can better sustain itself in operations. At RIMPAC 2022, new efforts to boost sustainability, lethality of combined force in the Pacific
• July 28, 2022. Joe Gould, Defense News. Radha Plumb, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the Pentagon’s No. 2 acquisitions and sustainment official, pledged to find ways to bring down the costs of the systems it buys. Biden pick for Pentagon acquisitions role vows to cut weapons system costs
• July 28, 2022. Leo Shane III and Bryant Harris, Defense News. Senate Democrats on Thursday proposed a $792 billion defense spending package that would dramatically boost the White House’s military spending plans for fiscal 2023 but still didn’t total enough to satisfy congressional Republicans. Nearly 9% boost for defense spending next year under new Senate plan
• July 28, 2022. Colin Demarest, Defense News.  The massive efforts being waged by U.S. military services to realize Joint All-Domain Command and Control are disconnected, likely hobbling the Pentagon’s overhaul of battlefield communications, according to the principal cyber adviser for the Air Force and Space Force. They’re ‘all different’: Air Force adviser says services diverge on JADC2
• July 28, 2022. Zamone Perez, Defense News.  Thales Defense and Security has acquired full ownership of Advanced Acoustic Concepts in an effort to improve its position in the U.S. defense market. Thales makes deal meant to bolster foothold in US defense market
• July 28, 2022. Patrick Tucker, Defense One. The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the CHIPS Act, which has been lauded as essential to bringing semiconductor and microchip manufacturing back to the United States; the bill now goes to the President’s desk. But experts warn that even after passage, the United States must overcome severe challenges that hurt U.S. competitiveness in the chip-making market, even as it faces increasingly stiff competition from other countries—including China.  After ‘Critical’ CHIPS Act, More Needed To Build Domestic Production, Experts Say​​
• July 28, 2022. Jacqueline Feldscher, Defense One. With August recess just a week away, the Senate still has one big item on its to-do list: approving Finland and Sweden’s request to join NATO. Schumer ‘Committed’ To Vote On Finland, Sweden Joining NATO Before Recess, Aide Says
• July 28, 2022. Elizabeth Howe, Defense One. U.S. Army leaders are keeping a list of the arms and gear that it sends to Ukraine with every intention of going to Congress for reimbursement. And wherever possible, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said Thursday, the Army plans to backfill with even newer equipment. The Army Is ‘Running a Tab’ of Equipment Sent to Ukraine
• July 29, 2022. Marianne Hanson, The Interpreter. So it’s to be full speed ahead with nuclear-propelled submarines then? This is a momentous policy decision, but it looks like it will be taken with no real debate, despite the change of government. Can we please have a real debate on nuclear submarines?
• July 29, 2022.  John Harvey, The Strategist. After the cancellation of the Attack-class submarine program in favour of nuclear-powered boats (SSNs), Australia’s new government must urgently consider the $100-billion-plus question of what a sovereign capability should look like. What would an Australian sovereign submarine capability look like?
• July 28, 2022. Katherine Walla, Atlantic Council. As China intensifies its aggressive messaging around Taiwan, the island must “make the first move” in shoring up its defenses and protecting its national security, said former US Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper at an exclusive Atlantic Council Front Page event on Tuesday. Former US Defense Secretary Esper’s five-point plan for Taiwan to deter China

Digital & Tech

• July 28, 2022. Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Benjamin Larsen, Yong Suk Lee, and Michael Webb, Brookings. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have become increasingly widespread over the last decade. As the use of AI has become more common and the performance of AI systems has improved, policymakers, scholars, and advocates have raised concerns. Policy and ethical issues such as algorithmic bias, data privacy, and transparency have gained increasing attention, raising calls for policy and regulatory changes to address the potential consequences of AI (Acemoglu 2021). As AI continues to improve and diffuse, it will likely have significant long-term implications for jobs, inequality, organizations, and competition. Premature deployment of AI products can also aggravate existing biases and discrimination or violate data privacy and protection practices. Because of AI technologies’ wide-ranging impact, stakeholders are increasingly interested in whether firms are likely to embrace measures of self-regulation based on ethical or policy considerations and how decisions of policymakers or courts affect the use of AI systems. Where policymakers or courts step in and regulatory changes affect the use of AI systems, how are managers likely to respond to new or proposed regulations? How does information about AI regulation affect managers’ choices?