Securing Europe: France’s Defence Strategy Amidst Rising European Industry Growth and Defence Readiness

In the past years, the Mediterranean Sea has become a theatre of both tragedy and lifesaving efforts, as the ongoing migration crisis has prompted a surge in sea rescue operations. Amidst this complex landscape, the Iuventa case stands out as a pivotal case study, representing the challenges faced by humanitarian NGOs engaged in saving lives at sea. This paper explores the legal framework governing sea rescue operations and analyses the legal intricacies and landmark decision of the Iuventa trial before the Italian Court.

Comments Off on Securing Europe: France’s Defence Strategy Amidst Rising European Industry Growth and Defence Readiness

The Iuventa Case and the Criminalisation of Sea Rescue Operations

In the past years, the Mediterranean Sea has become a theatre of both tragedy and lifesaving efforts, as the ongoing migration crisis has prompted a surge in sea rescue operations. Amidst this complex landscape, the Iuventa case stands out as a pivotal case study, representing the challenges faced by humanitarian NGOs engaged in saving lives at sea. This paper explores the legal framework governing sea rescue operations and analyses the legal intricacies and landmark decision of the Iuventa trial before the Italian Court.

Comments Off on The Iuventa Case and the Criminalisation of Sea Rescue Operations

(De)-escalation in the Iran-Israel Conflict: An Analysis of the April 2024 Incidents and their Aftermath

The Iran-Israeli conflict is a long-standing part of Middle Eastern politics that is rooted in a history of mutual hostility and mistrust. After decades of low-intensity hybrid conflict characterised by retaliatory strikes on and through proxies, mutual accusations of supporting terrorism, and other types of covert and hybrid warfare, a recent series of escalations culminated in the direct Iranian attack on Israeli territory on 13 April 2024, and Israel’s subsequent response on 19 April 2024. This exchange raised concerns over the possibility of region-wide conflict between the two states. The global community, including the U.S., the EU, and the UN have called for de-escalation to prevent further deterioration in the region’s security and stability. This paper looks at the events leading to the aggravation of the conflict, the responses from Iran and Israel, and the reactions from international players. It assesses the strategies employed, examining both military actions and diplomatic efforts, as well as the global and regional perceptions, and considers the possibilities for future (de)escalation. Ultimately, the research offers insights into the intricacies of the Iran-Israel conflict and its implications for regional stability in the Middle East.

Comments Off on (De)-escalation in the Iran-Israel Conflict: An Analysis of the April 2024 Incidents and their Aftermath

Space Domain Awareness and the EU’s Securitization of Space

Since the EU introduced the 2021-2027 Space Programme, it has assumed an entrepreneurial role in coining new concepts and terms to frame its increasingly versatile space activities. As the EU’s action in space gradually developed to increase new projects, so did the terminology employed in the EU’s official document addressing space affairs. In particular, the EU conceptual framework for space expanded to include comprehensive notions such as Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space Domain Awareness (SDA) that add to the more pragmatic ones of Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) and Space Traffic Management (STM). This paper analyses how diverse notions have come to be in some of the EU’s space-related programmatic documents and how they relate to one another. Such an analysis is key to understanding the current trends of the EU’s action in space, trends which in turn imply restructuring the space policy governance.

Comments Off on Space Domain Awareness and the EU’s Securitization of Space

Climate Justice and its implications on the EU Defence System: a legal analysis

The effects of climate change have become a solid reality that cannot be ignored for human life on Earth. Europe's shifting climate landscape sees a surge in legal battles, highlighting the deepening understanding of the link between environmental well-being and human rights.  This paper analyses the legal framework of so-called climate litigation, where organisations and interest groups litigate a lack of climate action on the part of governments, and its implications for and application to the Defence and Security sector. Indeed, due to the increasing number of legal challenges against governments and institutions for their inaction on climate change, there has been a growing awareness of their role in protecting citizens from increasingly frequent climate events. This awareness has impacted all areas of public governance, including defence. In fact, even the defence sector, faced with this worrying reality, has had to change itself and its practices to comply with the legal framework, which is composed not only of laws but also of judgments that are increasingly openly determining how the state and institutions have a duty to protect their citizens, through comprehensive action, from the reality of climate change.

Comments Off on Climate Justice and its implications on the EU Defence System: a legal analysis