Università Roma Tre

Strategic Studies

Instructor: Niccolò Petrelli
C.F.U. 8

Presentation and Course Aims
What is national strategy? What is the link between foreign policy objectives and defense choices? How is military power developed? What is the connection between technological innovation, industry and national defense? The course aims to introduce the topics of strategy, defense policy and development of military power focusing in particular on the Italian case. The aim of the course is therefore to lead students to familiarize with the concept of national strategy and with the actors and dynamics of defense policy, to inform them about some of the fundamental issues concerning the development of the Armed Forces, and to present a framework reference theorist for the analysis of national defense policies.
At the end of the course students will be in possession of:

1. Basic knowledge of strategic theory, Italian defense and military policies within the framework of NATO and the EU.
2. Analytical tools necessary for an informed discussion of the themes of strategy and defense in the context of the post-Cold War international political system.

The course starts with an analysis of the concept of strategy in its various forms, providing a general overview of strategic theory. Subsequently, it introduces a series of analytical tools aimed at understanding the dynamics of formation of the strategy at the national level, the problems linked to it and the actors involved. Particular attention will be devoted to the Italian case through the study of the mechanisms and methods of development of the national security strategy (SSN), of the national security architecture and of the defense policy on the basis of primary sources, first of all the White Book of Defense of 2015.
In the second part the course moves to analyze military affairs. The main theories developed in the defense field from the mid-90s and the main enabling technologies are examined in detail. This is followed by an analysis of the main challenges related to the transformation, development and modernization of the armed forces. It focuses on the Italian armed forces in the Euro-Atlantic framework, with particular reference to the potential and risks posed by the application of ideas related to the theories of the Revolution in Military Affairs, the Network-Centric Warfare. Last but not least the course tackles the topic of the industrial aspects of Italian defense policy.
The course closes with an analysis of the future trajectory of EU defense policies based on analysis of technological-industrial-military trends of the last twenty years.

Teaching Approach and Evaluation Criteria
The course is divided into lectures. Their format however, is similar to that of a seminar , ie it involves continuous interaction between teacher and students. Before each class, students are required to take the readings assigned by the teacher in order to conduct an informed discussion on the topics covered in the classroom. The course teaching material is half in Italian and half in English, whose knowledge is therefore essential.

Assessment:
25% participatione to class discussions
25% presentations
50% final exam

Week 1 – Basic Concepts

1. Introduction: the Study of Strategy

2. The Concept of Strategy

Colin Gray, The Strategy Bridge: Theory for Practice (Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012), 17-32.*

3. Strategy: A Multifaceted and Multilevel Concept

Colin Gray, The Strategy Bridge: Theory for Practice, 33-47.
Peter Layton, ‘The Idea of Grand Strategy’, RUSI Journal 157/4 (August 2012), 56-61.

Week 2 – From Strategy to “Grand Strategy”

4. Strategys Development

Colin Gray, The Strategy Bridge: Theory for Practice, 58-74

5. Strategy's execution

Colin Gray, The Strategy Bridge: Theory for Practice, 74-91.

6. How Strategy Works

Richard K. Betts, ‘The Trouble with Strategy: Bridging Policy and Operations’, Joint Force Quarterly (Autumn/Winter 2001–02), 23-30.

Week 3 – Strategy and National Security in Italy: Architecture, Organization and Process

7. How Strategy works: Planning

P. H. Liotta and Richmond M. Lloyd, ‘From Here to There: The Strategy and Force Planning Framework’, Naval War College Review, 58/2 (Spring 2005).

8. Strategy and National Defense: The Italian case

Federica Di Camillo e Lucia Marta, ‘Una Strategia di Sicurezza Nazionale Per l’Italia: Elementi di Analisi’ Quaderni Istituto Affari Internazionali, 34 (2009), 7-23.

9. Organization (I): The Supreme Defense Council

Riccardo Bellandi, Il Consiglio Supremo di Difesa (Bologna: Dipartimento di Diritto Pubblico, 2012), 279-327.

Week 4 – Strategy and National Security in Italy: Architecture, Organization and Process (II)

10. Organization (II): Intelligence, Strategy and National Security

Alfonso Montagnese & Claudio Neri, L’evoluzione della sicurezza nazionale italiana (Roma: Sistema per le Informazioni e la Sicurezza della Repubblica, 2016), 1-9, 10, 16-17.

11. National Strategy and Defense in Italy

Federica Di Camillo e Lucia Marta, ‘Una Strategia di Sicurezza Nazionale Per l’Italia: Elementi di Analisi’ Quaderni Istituto Affari Internazionali, 34 (2009), 41-54.

12. From National Security to National Defense

Libro Bianco della Difesa 2015, capitoli 1 e 2.

Week 5 –Technology and Defense Transformation

13. National Defense: Implications for the Armed Forces

Libro Bianco della Difesa 2015, capitoli 3 e 4.

14. The Origins of the RMA-IT

Michael G. Vickers & Robert C. Martinage, The Revolution in War (Washington DC: Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment, 2004), 1-24

15. RMA's Technologies

Michael G. Vickers & Robert C. Martinage, The Revolution in War, 24-42.

Week 6 – The Next RMA? (I)

16. The Future of the It-RMA
Michael G. Vickers & Robert C. Martinage, The Revolution in War, 42-68

17. The Robotics Era

Robert O. Work and Shawn Brimley, 20YY Preparing for War in the Robotic Age (Washington DC: CNAS, 2014).

18. Artificial Intelligence

Michael C. Horowitz, Gregory C. Allen, Edoardo Saravalle, Anthony Cho, Kara Frederick, and Paul Scharre, Artificial Intelligence and International Security (Washington DC: CNAS, 2018).

Week 7 – The Nexy RMA? (II)

19. The Cyber Revolution

Joseph S. Nye, Cyber Power (Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School).

Jacquelyn Schneider, Digitally-Enabled Warfare: The Capability-Vulnerability Paradox (Washington DC: CNAS, 2016).

20. Autonomous Weapons Systems

Paul Scharre and Michael C. Horowitz, An Introduction to Autonomy in Weapons Systems (Washington DC: CNAS, 2015).

21. FORZA NEC: General Features

‘Le nuove esigenze militari e la Network Centric Warfare (NCW)’ in Michele Nones e Alessandro Marrone, La trasformazione delle Forze Armate: il programma Forza NEC (Roma: IAI, 2011), 31-42.

Tommaso de Zan, ‘L’Italia e il programma Forza NEC’, in Alessandro Marrone, Michele Nones e Alessandro R. Ungaro, Innovazione Tecnologica e Difesa: Forza NEC Nel Quadro Euro-Atlantico (Roma: IAI, 2015), 119-134.

Week 8 – The Transformation of the Italian Armed Forces: FORZA NEC

22. The Transformation of the Italian Army

‘Il Caso Italiano’, in Michele Nones e Alessandro Marrone, La trasformazione delle Forze Armate: il programma Forza NEC (Roma: IAI, 2011), 58-76.

23. The Transformation of the Italian Air Force

AAVV, Il ruolo dei velivoli da combattimento italiani nelle missioni internazionali: trend e necessità (Roma: IAI, 2014), 61-65, 83-110

24. The Transformation of the Italian Navy

AAVV, La Sicurezza nel Mediterraneo e l'Italia (Roma: IAI, 2014), 140-147.

Luca Peruzzi, “Italy seeks naval power to match strategic need”, Janes Defense International (2017).

Week 9 – Technology, Industry and Defense in Italy

25. Research, Technological Innovation and Defense in Italy

Luisa Riccardi, ‘Difesa, ricerca ed innovazione tecnologica’, Tecnica, Professione & Società (2016).

26. The Italian Defense Industry (I)

Claudio Catalano, La politica industriale nel settore della Difesa (Roma: CeMiSS, 2016), pp. 20-26

27. The Italian Defense Industry (II)

Claudio Catalano, La politica industriale nel settore della Difesa (Roma: CeMiSS, 2016), pp. 72-101.

Week 10 – The European and Transatlantic Dimension of National Defense

28. The EU Level: l’Italia e la European Defense Agency (EDA)

Antonio Calcara, ‘Italy’s defence policy in the European context: the case of the European Defence Agency’, Contemporary Italian Politics, 9/3 (2017), 277-301.

29. The NATO Dimension

Silvano Frigerio, ‘Lo Strumento Militare Nazionale nell’ottica delle Iniziative NATO Smart Defence e EU Pooling e Sharing’, Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche dell’Università del Sacro Cuore vol.7 (2014).

30. Conclusions

Week 11
Students' Presentations

Week 12
Students' Presentations (II)


Students will have to submit group presentations on the topic “The US, the Third Offset Strategy e the Transtlantic Gap: Which Future for EU Defense?”.
The instructor will provide students with teaching material, the groups can autonomously draw on sources ONLY from these two internet sites:
https://eda.europa.eu/info-hub/publications
https://www.rand.org/randeurope/publications.html
Presentations will be discussed in class during the last two weeks of the course.

Students not atteding classes will have to submit 3 papers during the course. Comprised between 1000-1500 words, they will have to be submitted directly to the instructor according to this timetable:

21 October: weeks 1, 2, 3, 4.
23 November: weeks 5, 6, 7.
16 December: weeks 8, 9, 10.

By December 16, students not attending the course will have to submit a 3000/3500 words paper on the policy presentations' topic.

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