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Mediterranean Strategy Group 20

From

26
11:30 am November 2019

To

27
1:00 pm November 2019

Organized by the Policy Center for the New South in partnership with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Compagnia di San Paolo, and the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), the Mediterranean Strategy Group 20 will take place on November 26th & 27th, 2019 in Naples, Italy, under the theme: New Military Dynamics in the Mediterranean.

In fact, the strategic environment in and around the Mediterranean is evolving rapidly, with new security challenges and the prospect of protracted crises and conflicts. Against this backdrop, littoral states and others are acquiring new military capabilities. What are the key developments in the military balance affecting the security of the Mediterranean as a whole? Looking ahead, what are the trends in modernization, defense-industrial and training relationships? To what extent are major outside actors playing new roles in defense trade?

In Libya, Syria and elsewhere, sustained instability and conflict have been fueled by an influx of weaponry from abroad. Chaotic conditions and porous borders have facilitated a highly destabilizing trade in small arms and light weapons affecting security across a wide region. At the same time, irregular forces and terrorist movements in the Levant are acquiring a greater capacity to strike at longer range with missiles and drones. What is the outlook? How is the arms flow into and around conflict zones shaping the capability and behavior of non-state and criminal actors, including terrorist networks? What are the lessons from Libya, Syria and other cases?

The military balance in the Eastern Mediterranean has acquired new significance, with heightened risks and new flashpoints. From Russia’s role as a supplier of defense equipment to Turkey and Egypt, to the increasing capability and reach of proxy groups targeting Israel and others, the security landscape is being reshaped by the proliferation of new technologies and shifting defense-industrial relationships. The naval and air forces of multiple actors are operating in close proximity against a backdrop of mounting tension over offshore energy resources and other issues. What are the looming dangers? What opportunities for risk reduction?

As elsewhere, technological change is affecting the military balance across the wider Mediterranean region, including the presence of powerful actors from outside the region. The proliferation of drones, more advanced missiles (and missile defenses), fifth generation aircraft, and burgeoning capabilities for cyber warfare are all part of the equation. What technologies are likely to be transforming in a Mediterranean context? What new geopolitical, military-to-military and defense-industrial relationships may emerge?

The Policy Center for the New South will contribute to the discussion and will be represented by its Senior Fellow, Mr Alfredo Da E Abreu Valladao.

Speakers
Alfredo Da Gama e Abreu Valladão
Senior Fellow
Alfredo G. A. Valladão is Senior Fellow at Policy Center for the New South and Professor at the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) of Sciences Po Paris, who focuses on international affairs, geopolitics, global economics, Brazil and Latin America. Alongside these positions, he is President of the Advisory Board at EU-Brazil association in Brussels, Member International Advisory Board of CEBRI (Brazilian Center for International Relations – Rio de Janeiro), Member of the Comité des Rencontres Internationales de Genève (RIG), Director of the Latin America Research Chair at CESEM-HEM in Morocco and a columnist for Radio France Internationale (RFI). Former member of the Board of Trustees of UNITAR (2009-1015), and former Director of the Mercosur Chair of Sciences Po (199 ...