A Boutique Think Tank

Hide and Seek, Hide and Fire: Hamas and the Tunnel Threat

CHIARA BOLDRINI INSIGHT #27 • APRIL 2024 Since October 7, over 1500 underground shafts and passages have been encountered by the IDF in their operations against Hamas[1]. The use of […]

The Wind is Shifting in Turkish Politics: Considerations on the 2024 Municipal Election Outcomes

JACOPO FRANCESCHINI COMMENTARY #46 • APRIL 2024 Turkey’s Municipal Elections Background Context Almost one year after the last presidential elections, on March 31st, 2024, Turkey’s voters returned to the municipal […]

Status Quo or Change? The Battle for Turkey’s Municipal Elections

RICCARDO GASCO & SAMUELE C.A. ABRAMI COMMENTARY #45 • MARCH 2024 Turkey’s May 2023 presidential elections saw the reappointment of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his AKP (Justice and Development Party) […]

Vulnerable Depths: Securing Global Communications in the Wake of the Red Sea Undersea Cable Sabotage

JACOPO FRANCESCHINI COMMENTARY #44 • FEBRUARY 2024 The strategic importance of the Red Sea for global politics and economy has become evident after the Houthis, a Yemeni armed group backed […]

The Mediterranean’s Resurgent Role in Shaping Global Affairs

JACOPO FRANCESCHINI COMMENTARY #43 • FEBRUARY 2024 Introduction The Mediterranean is cyclically a region considered of secondary importance on the world stage. Given its millennia-long history, it is erroneously thought […]

Three Years and a War Later: Israel-Morocco Normalization at the Time of the Conflict in Gaza

LORENA STELLA MARTINI INSIGHT #26 • DECEMBER 2023 Is the current war in Gaza questioning the process of normalization between Rabat and Tel Aviv, launched by the Abraham accords in […]

The Symbolic Weight of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Rise of Antisemitism and Islamophobia Worldwide

GIACOMO MARIA ARRIGO COMMENTARY #42 • DECEMBER 2023 The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has undeniably been a source of tension and strife, not just within the region but also globally. The conflict, […]

Book “Revolutionary Times. Mediterranean Perspectives” (Aracne 2023)

theSquare is officially on paper: our first book is out! “Revolutionary Times. Mediterranean Perspectives”, edited by Giacomo Maria Arrigo and Jacopo Franceschini, brings together contributions from all members of our […]

The Three Heads of the Cerberus Heatwave: Risk Society, ISIS, Wildfires

IBRAHIM AL-MARASHI COMMENTARY #41 • SEPTEMBER 2023 During the heatwave that ravaged the Mediterranean in mid-July 2023, named Cerberus, the beast of the underworld in Dante’s Inferno, temperatures reached 40 Celsius […]

The Central Sahel’s Powder Keg: The Inexorable Ascendancy of Jihadist Groups in the Shadow of a Renewed International Competition

ALESSANDRO BOLPAGNI INSIGHT #25 • JUNE 2023 It was on 13 January 2013, President Francois Hollande announced in a speech from the Elysée Palace the imminent deployment of French troops […]

The EU’s Externalisation of Borders in Libya: Historical Path and Main Consequences

FILIPPO MARINONI & GIULIA D’ALEO [DOSSIER]Geography of the externalisation of the European Union’s borders.Who are the border guards of the EUand what are the risks that this practice brings with […]

TAVOLA ROTONDA – Elezioni in Turchia. Il punto degli esperti sul campo

24 maggio 2023, ore 18:00 CEST Solo su Youtube

Turkey’s Elections 2023: Everything Could Change but Turkey’s Status in International Politics

JACOPO FRANCESCHINI COMMENTARY #40 • MAY 2023 The presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14th, 2023, in Turkey, see President Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan struggling to achieve a certain electoral victory after twenty […]

The Bumpy Road to Gender Equality in the MENA. Some Data-based Reflections

LORENA STELLA MARTINI COMMENTARY #39 • MAY 2023 Gender equality has several, almost countless facets that could be analysed in a given context. For this reason, wondering whether gender equality […]

The Cost-Benefit of Sustainable Mobility and the Supply of Lithium

MATIAS SHOCRON COMMENTARY #38 • MARCH 2023 Sustainable solutions became the most prominent principle of public policies and private solutions. Transportation is one of the main polluting sectors, therefore, green […]

The EU’s Externalisation of Borders in Morocco: Historical Path and Main Consequences

FILIPPO MARINONI [DOSSIER] Geography of the externalisation of the European Union’s borders. Who are the border guards of the EU and what are the risks that this practice brings with […]

EU-Abraham Accords Cooperation: Opportunities for Tackling CO2 Emissions

MATIAS SHOCRON COMMENTARY #37 • DECEMBER 2022 While the Abraham Accords countries look for economic benefits in the current challenging crisis, they forgot that the solution was brought in Kyoto […]

Deconstructing the Role of the Military in the Middle East. The Case of Turkey’s Tutelary Regime at the Turn of the Millennium

ANNALISA GUARISE INSIGHT #24 • NOVEMBER 2022 INTRODUCTION One of the most glaring features of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is surely the persistence of authoritarian regimes. Despite […]

CONFERENCE – “Le ripercussioni della guerra in Ucraina sulla stabilità del Mediterraneo”

10 ottobre 2022 Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Aula Magna – Ore: 12:30-14:30 Largo A. Gemelli, 1 – Milano (MI) PROGRAMMA Introduzione Riccardo REDAELLI, Direttore MIMES Moderatore Jacopo FRANCESCHINI, Coordinatore della ricerca, […]

Why China Stays on the Sidelines while Russia Invades Ukraine

FEDERICA PIZZO COMMENTARY #36 • SEPTEMBER 2022 Since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine, China has largely stayed on the sidelines while the international community is calling Beijing to […]

Analytical Considerations on Byung-Chul Han’s Theoretical Perspective on the Concept of “Power” Based on the Influence of Friedrich Nietzsche

LUCA PREZIOSI INSIGHT #23 • SEPTEMBER 2022 The description of the theoretical perspective of Byung-Chul Han’s thought (concerning the concept of ipse-centric power) and its divergence from Friedrich Nietzsche’s thought has […]

Gender and Revolutions in Tahrir Square: Shame as a Political Tool

SOFIA MARTINELLI INSIGHT #22 • SEPTEMBER 2022 Starting from the 25th of January 2011, and throughout the “18 days” in Tahrir Square, men and women were united under the single desire […]

The Concept of “Power” in Byung-Chul Han’s Theoretical Perspective

LUCA PREZIOSI INSIGHT #21 • JULY 2022 The ipse-component The theoretical intention of the South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han is to think of a «flexible concept of power» that sets itself […]

The Controversial Path of Women’s Rights in Turkey: Gender and Policies in the Age of AKP

ANGELA ZICCARDI INSIGHT #20 • JUNE 2022 One year after Turkey’s decision to withdraw from the “Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic,” commonly known as […]

Cyprus Conflict: Changes in Nationalism and Militarism After the Opening of Green Line, and Possible Future Scenarios

NAZIM SULEYMANOV INSIGHT #19 • JUNE 2022 Cyprus is the third largest among the Mediterranean Sea’s three thousand islands. Nicosia, the divided city, serves as the capital of both the […]

The Political Economy of Submarine Cables: The Quantum Cable Project in the Mediterranean Sea

PIERLUIGI DE ROGATIS INSIGHT #18 • MAY 2022 The literature on the political economy of submarine cables is exceedingly scarce and inconsistent. Therefore, this paper aims to address some of […]

Evolution of Turkish Female Migrants in Germany: Once Guest Workers, Now German Citizens?

NAZIM SULEYMANOV COMMENTARY #34 • MAY 2022 Although it is not possible to talk about a comprehensive concept of migration in the literature, based on the history of humanity, it […]

The CPEC and the Chinese disinvestments in the Gwadar Port

FEDERICA PIZZO INSIGHT #17 • APRIL 2021 When it comes to infrastructure, environmental issues, food and energy security, Asia in general and South Asia, in particular, are affected by a […]

Why does China want to gain influence in the Gwadar Port, Pakistan?

FEDERICA PIZZO INSIGHT #16 • APRIL 2021 Back in history The relationship between China and Pakistan has always been defined by their leaders as “a friendship for every season; higher […]

Syrian Environmental-Related Migrations as a Direct Cause of 2011 Uprisings: Reliable Assessment or Determinism?

FILIPPO MARINONI INSIGHT #15 • DECEMBER 2021 The present paper aims to critically investigate about the hypothesis that climate and environmental changes, and in particular the harsh 2006 – 2010 […]

The Securitisation of Migration Policy in the EU: the Driving Forces Behind it From the 1970s Until Recent Days

ALESSANDRO CASTELLANI INSIGHT #14 • NOVEMBER 2021 INTRODUCTION Migration has entered the EU security agenda in the last decades but has quickly become a leading concern and a cardinal policy […]

Claiming Existence Through Smartphones

MARIE FIGOUREUX COMMENTARY #33 • SEPTEMBER 2021 In July 2021, the Palestinian film “So they know we existed”[1] travelled the world, in opposition to the Palestinian people enclosed in an open […]

LGBTIQ Refugees: Overlooked in the European Union’s Asylum System?

CLARA LHULLIER COMMENTARY #32 • JULY 2021 Throughout the years, the European Union has increasingly created legal mechanisms to guarantee the protection and rights of different minorities. This includes those […]

Football Chants as a Form of Protest Movement

MARIE FIGOUREUX COMMENTARY #31 • JULY 2021 In this period, the eyes of the European continent, and beyond, have been focused on the European Championship and the international competition. More […]

International Actors’ Rule of Law Development Approaches in Post-Qaddafi Libya: When Top-down “Best Practices” Meet the Legacies of Protracted Conflict

IRENE LIZZOLA INSIGHT #13 • JULY 2021 Despite the long-lasting efforts made by the international community to re-establish stability, rule of law and a process of political and inter-communal reconciliation […]

The Drivers and Prospects of Biden’s Foreign Policy towards the Middle East

FEDERICO BORSARI COMMENTARY #30 • JUNE 2021 In a July 2020 conversation hosted by the prominent U.S. Think Tank Hudson Institute, which came amid a tense electoral campaign for the presidential elections, […]

Cybersecurity in Health Sector

JACOPO FRANCESCHINI COMMENTARY #29 • JUNE 2021 Healthcare sector is becoming increasingly more exposed to attacks and threats coming from the cyberspace. Digital technologies are utilized and are specifically developed […]

Comments on the Recent Israeli-Palestinian Affairs

DOSSIER • JUNE 2021 PAOLO BRANCA (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan) Frankly, after all that has happened and continues to happen in the Holy Land, I do not believe […]

Establishing a Bosniak Islamic Tradition: A Religious or Political Act?

ADNA CAMDZIC INSIGHT #12 • MAY 2021 In recent years, the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina (IC in BiH) has consolidated its socio-political role in the country, mainly after the enactment of the 2004 Law on Religious […]

Turkey’s Gold

GIOVANNA LOCCATELLI COMMENTARY #28 • MAY 2021 Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the architect of Yeni Türkiye, the “new Turkey”. In the city of Istanbul, a growing number of pharaonic projects […]

The Parting of the Red Sea. How the Horn of Africa is Becoming a Proxy for Gulf Rivalries

ELISA MARRA COMMENTARY #27 • MAY 2021 Mounting internal antagonism, as well as the urgency of diversifying oil-based economies, are the main drivers pushing Gulf powers to forge new alliances […]

Critique of Orientalist Reason: Edward Said and the Dialectic of Enlightenment

GIACOMO MARIA ARRIGO COMMENTARY #26 • APRIL 2021 Edward Said’s Orientalism (first edition, 1978) is still provoking the debate on what Orient is (or, better, whether such a thing has ever existed) […]

Gulf Reconciliation and Geopolitical Challenges

AYOUB EL HASNAOUY INSIGHT #11 • APRIL 2021 In a Middle East fragmented by wars and political tensions, a glimmer of hope arose on January 5th, 2021 when the Qatari […]

Citizen Activism in Iran: Between Government Practices of Controlling and Bottom-Up Mobilization Strategies

EMILY TASINATO INSIGHT #10 • MARCH 2021 According to Sohrab Razzaghi, executive director of a Netherlands-based independent civil society organisation (CSO), the Volunteer Activists Institute[1], civil society in Iran “has various facets […]

Outsmarted & Unfunded: Europe’s Counter-Drone Industry

ELISABETH GOSSELIN-MALO INSIGHT #9 • MARCH 2021 As the technology and capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) increase, the countermeasures to protect against them have struggled to keep pace. This […]

“Gnostic Jihadism. A Philosophical Inquiry into Radical Politics” by Giacomo Maria Arrigo

Giacomo Maria Arrigo, theSquare‘s Managing Director, has published the book Gnostic Jihadism. A Philosophical Inquiry into Radical Politics (Mimesis International, 2021). This book explores the radical Islamist mindset by adopting […]

Drawing and Redrawing the Outlines of Libya’s Future

CARMELA MAZZARIELLO COMMENTARY #25 • FEBRUARY 2021 As the tenth anniversary of the outbreak of the anti-Gaddafi revolution approaches, Libya finds itself in the middle of a fragile resumption of […]

Twenty-Five Years Later, the Legacy of Dayton Peace Agreement

MICHELE TURZI COMMENTARY #24 • FEBRUARY 2021 Last 14th of December marked the twenty-five years anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement, signed at the Paris Peace Conference to mark the […]

Does Italy Still Hope to Play a Core Role in the Libyan Crisis?

RICCARDO GASCO COMMENTARY #23 • JANUARY 2021 For almost over a century now, Italy and Libya share important economic, political and cultural ties that have survived several crises and critically […]

Beyond the Streets, Towards New Initiatives: the Recent Evolution of the Algerian Hirak

SARA ZANOTTA INSIGHT #8 • JANUARY 2021 The Algerian protest movement known as Hirak emerged on February 22, 2019, to oppose the candidacy of Bouteflika – who had been the Algerian president […]

The Power of Humanitarian Diplomacy: Qatar’s Role in the Region

ALTEA PERICOLI COMMENTARY #22 • NOVEMBER 2020 The changing meaning of humanitarian diplomacy The nature of humanitarian crises is changing, and a growing number of them are frequently protracted. In […]

Spinoza: the Enemy or the Rebel?

EMANUELE COSTA COMMENTARY #21 • NOVEMBER 2020 The intense political news-cycle of the year 2020 has offered us virtually unlimited occasions for philosophical reflection. From a pandemic which radically challenged […]

The Kurds of Iraq, the EU, and the US. What Future?

GIULIA VALERIA ANDERSON INSIGHT #7 • NOVEMBER 2020 Who are the Kurds of Iraq? This study tries to answer to this question by identifying the characteristics of the Kurdish people […]

Secret Services in the Arab-Muslim World: Vectors of Political Change?

CHIARA LUTTERI COMMENTARY #20 • OCTOBER 2020 February 7th, 2020. Patrick Zaky, 27-year-old Egyptian student is arrested at the Cairo airport, upon arrival from Bologna, where he is pursuing a […]

Which Future for Libya After Al-Sarraj’s Resignation?

MANUEL D’ELIA COMMENTARY #19 • OCTOBER 2020 In a short televised speech, the head of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez Al-Sarraj announced his upcoming resignation by the end […]

Russia and Turkey: 100 Years of Diplomacy or Stagnation?

ILAYDA NIJHAR INSIGHT #6 • SEPTEMBER 2020 The Russo-Turkish alliance celebrated its centennial of diplomatic relations in June 2020 against the backdrop of relatively troubled relations in recent years. The […]

The Lebanese Paradox: Between Systemic Collapse and Lack of Alternatives

FRANCESCO MAZZUCOTELLI (University of Pavia) COMMENTARY #18 • AUGUST 2020 Was the August 4 tragic blast in the port of Beirut the final piece in the crisis of the Lebanese […]

Moroccan Jews: Saving a Shared Heritage

CHIARA LUTTERI INSIGHT #5 • JUNE 2020 “Shalom Alaykoum, Salam Lekoulam”: with this bizarre mélange of Jewish and Arabic salutations, visitors of the memorial museum of Essaouira are welcomed into […]

The Resurgence of the Islamic State in Iraq during Covid-19

GIULIA VALERIA ANDERSON COMMENTARY #17 • JUNE 2020 With the entire world fighting a global pandemic, the Islamic State (IS) has not abandoned its idea to partially gain control of […]

COVID-19 and the Impact of Technologies on the Justice System

MATTIA FALDUTI COMMENTARY #16 • MAY 2020 Modern justice systems are composed of rituals and practices. Some of them are imposed by law, some others are habits or routines. Legal […]

Iran at the Time of Covid-19: Between Misinformation, Economic Downturn and US Sanctions

EMILY TASINATO INSIGHT #4 • MAY 2020 Iran has become the epicentre of the Covid-19 crisis in the Middle East. As reported by official figures, at the end of April […]

Abortion, Islam and Muslim Majority Countries: Beyond a Unitary Vision

LORENA STELLA MARTINI COMMENTARY #15 • APRIL 2020 Tackling the issue of abortion in Muslim majority countries is extremely difficult for many reasons; first and foremost, much depends on the […]

Coronavirus and Mediterranean As A Site of Epidemics

IBRAHIM AL-MARASHI COMMENTARY #14 • MARCH 2020 In Parag Khanna’s article, “Covid-19 Is Traveling Along the New Silk Road,” for Wired magazine, he compares the 14th-century Black Death pandemic to the […]

The Freedom of Opinion and Expression in Turkey

EMILY TASINATO COMMENTARY #13 • NOVEMBER 2019 “You can imprison me but you cannot keep me here [….] because, like all writers, I have magic. I can pass through your […]

Islamic Feminism: When the Quran Meets Gender Equality

LORENA STELLA MARTINI INSIGHT #3 • NOVEMBER 2019 New economic and sociopolitical dynamics sparked by globalization have increasingly put the condition of women and the traditional patriarchal order in Islamic […]

Egypt: A New Revolution?

MANUEL D’ELIA COMMENTARY #12 • OCTOBER 2019 One of the leading countries of the Arab springs broken out at the end of 2010 is againin turmoil. Since the Egyptian entrepreneur […]

A Conversation with Paolo Branca on Italy, Islam, and Integration

Interview by GIACOMO MARIA ARRIGO COMMENTARY #11 • OCTOBER 2019 Paolo Branca is Professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic Language at the Catholic University of Milan. He is member of […]

Does European Islam Exist? The Italian and Spanish Case

EMILY TASINATO INSIGHT #2 • SEPTEMBER 2019 According to the data collected in 2017 by the Pew Research Center[1], Muslims are a relatively small minority in Europe, accounting for roughly […]

Mourning Rituals in Shi‘a Islam: From the Battle of Karbala to Tatbir

LORENA STELLA MARTINI COMMENTARY #10 • JUNE 2019 In the last few years, the sectarian Sunni-Shi‘a divide has been exploited both from inside and outside the Middle Eastern region to […]

The Mahdi of Sudan — Part 2

FILIPPO DONVITO COMMENTARY #9 • MAY 2019 On June29,1881, two years after the end of the slaves’ revolt, Muhammad Ahmad, a poor Sufi from the region of Dongola in Northern Sudan, publicly […]

Populism Will Change Europe at the Forthcoming Elections

MANUEL D’ELIA COMMENTARY #8 • MAY 2019 Europe is going through one of the toughest periods since its foundation. In a climate of heightened mistrust, continuing recriminations and growing divisions, […]

Ethics of Data: Populism and Deregulation

MATTIA FALDUTI COMMENTARY #7 • MAY 2019 Data science impacts relevant fields as Finance, Social Media, Commerce, Media and Politics. Particularly discussed are, for instance, targeting advertisement and personal interests’ analysis […]

Spain General Elections: Between the Catalan Crisis and the Rise of Vox

EMILY TASINATO COMMENTARY #6 • APRIL 2019 “Spain will be ungovernable until the political conflict with Catalonia is resolved. The problem of Catalonia is a problem of state. The problem […]

The Mahdi of Sudan — Part 1

FILIPPO DONVITO COMMENTARY #5 • APRIL 2019 In the first half of the XIX century, Egypt started a process of territorial expansionism and growing political influence in the Levant. Under […]

Is Democracy the Real Winner of Last Turkish Local Elections?

VALERIA GIANNOTTA COMMENTARY #4 • APRIL 2019 31 March elections are the most debated ones in the recent Turkish political history. As the first held in a full presidential system, […]

Women of Isis: An Overview of Gender Female Roles Within the Caliphate

LORENA STELLA MARTINI INSIGHT #1 • APRIL 2019 More than a year after the declaration of the defeat of Da‘esh in Iraq and while the battle against its last strongholds […]

The Kurds Could Write a New Chapter of Their Path Towards Self-Determination, On Condition They Settle Outstanding Issues

MANUEL D’ELIA COMMENTARY #3 • APRIL 2019 The struggle of Kurdish people for self-determination is century-old. It is rooted in the mismanagement of the decolonization process in the Middle East […]

Arab Spring, Christian Winter. Coptic Christian Identity-Building in Egypt During the Uprising of 2011

MARIE FIGOUREUX COMMENTARY #2 • MARCH 2019 In the West, the Arab Spring was often depicted a positive, democratic wave passing through the Arab world. The Arab Spring was then […]

Geophilosophy of the Mediterranean Sea: An Introduction to theSquare

GIACOMO MARIA ARRIGO COMMENTARY #1 • MARCH 2019 It’s impossible to ignore the Mediterranean Sea. Mare Nostrum is still today the fulcrum of relevant geopolitical movements: refugee flows, Arab uprisings, Israeli-Palestinian […]

theSquare – Mediterranean Centre for Revolutionary Studies is a boutique think tank devoted to the study of revolutions in the Mediterranean region. It’s an independent, non-partisan and non-profit centre based in Milan. It is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research organization: it combines policy-oriented research with an equally significant theoretical approach, adopting geopolitics, economics, philosophy, history, and other methodologies. Therefore, contrary to the majority of think tanks, theSquare studies both the theoretical and practical side of the topic, focusing on ideologies, practices, causes and consequences of all kind of revolutions and analyzing the evolution of disruptive groups and cultural, social and political breaking phenomena.

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theSquare Centre – 949920 (Attività di organizzazioni con fini culturali e ricreativi), via Sant’Eufemia, 4 – Milano (MI) / C.Fisc.: 97849700154.