Università Roma Tre

The course provides both theoretical and practical knowledge on the geopolitics of transport and logistics. In fact, the term geopolitics of transport is often associated with the set of logistical strategies implemented by sovereign states on the one hand to protect their procurement interests and on the other to safeguard / increase their economic and security advantages deriving from convenient access. to raw materials and / or outlet markets for final goods.

The course describes the geopolitics of transport and logistics in a simpler but, at the same time, broader way. In fact, by geopolitics of transport and logistics we mean the study of transport systems considered as political facts as they are capable of influencing the geographical space and those who inhabit it. This notion implicitly includes a broad spectrum of actors, including: public institutions, individuals / users, non-governmental or private organizations, whether they are carriers or rather beneficiary companies that rely on the mobility of people and goods to operate. From this perspective, therefore, the understanding of the geopolitics of transport starts from the observation that any transport initiative represents a potential object of disagreement between groups / individuals who may benefit or suffer costs if the initiative is implemented or not. The course aims to provide the conceptual tools necessary to grasp, analyze and critically reflect on the implications that intervention policies in the logistics and transport sector can have on economic development, environmental protection, safety and social equity. This objective is pursued by clarifying on the one hand the issues strictly connected to the geopolitical implications interventions can have on different territorial scales and, on the other hand, by providing the tools of economic and geographical analysis that can allow the student to understand, analyze and evaluate, in theoretically rigorous and correct way, the concrete implications of interventions whose effects, manifesting themselves within a complex and articulated network of networks, infrastructures and services, it is not easy to determine.

Students, also thanks to an active participation in the course through: 1) critical discussions, 2) structured bibliographic research; 3) drafting of short documents, 4) public presentations, will learn both to deal rigorously with the study of complex issues, such as those described above, and soft skills also useful for professional purposes.