Italian diplomat Giuseppe Mistretta publishes "Africa’s pathways, The future of the Continent through Europe, Italy, China and New Actors"

The Italian Diplomat Giuseppe Mistretta, currently  Director for Sub-Saharian Africa at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and former Ambassador of Italy to Ethiopia, has just published the book "Africa’s pathways, The future of the Continent through Europe, Italy, China and New Actors" (LUISS University Press, 2021). The author sketches a realistic portrait of the continent avoiding some of the slogans and stereotypes related to Africa. He presents an overall optimistic approach on future prospects, without neglecting, however, the difficult tests foreseen in the coming years for African states and peoples. The foreword to the book is by Romano Prodi, former President of the EU Commission and former Italian Prime Minister.

Here is a brief description of the book by the Publisher:
"African current events, and the complex political and social dynamics underlying them, are still too often subject to commonplaces and stereotypes in the political debate and in the media. Giuseppe Mistretta is a diplomat and a major expert of the African continent. In this book, he outlines a realistic and detailed picture of Africa and its various countries, of their development perspectives, along with the broader international scenario involving China, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. He recalls the key role that Europe and Italy play as major actors in the African geopolitical context. Without overseeing the tough challenges and trials facing African countries and populations in the next years, Africa’s pathways offers an optimistic perspective on the future of this young and dynamic continent, where investments and initiatives of both public and private organisations are steadily growing, infrastructures are rapidly progressing, and extremely interesting potential is foreseeable in the technological and financial development."
 
Giuseppe Mistretta, Africa’s pathways, The future of the Continent through Europe, Italy, China and New Actors, LUISS University Press, Rome, 2021, pp. 150, €16.00.

Giuseppe Mistretta has been Ambassador of Italy in Angola and in Ethiopia, and has spent twenty years of his professional life in Africa. Presently he is Director for Sub-Saharian Africa at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. He is the author of several books, such as Un ponte lungo quattro secoli (Gangemi, 2013), Angola. Un paese moderno nel centro dell’Africa (Polaris, 2014) and I noti ospiti (Greco&Greco, 2018). He has also been a contributing editor to La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera newspapers and to the monthly magazine Capital. Africa’s pathways is his first book to be translated into English.

“NATO and the Middle East. The making of a partnership”: the new book by Alessandro Minuto Rizzo

Alessandro Minuto Rizzo, a former Italian diplomat, has just published a new book titled  “NATO and the Middle East. The making of a partnership” (New Academia Publishing, 2018).

Here is a brief description by the author:
 “This is a book on NATO and the Arabs. The author has been Deputy Secretary General of NATO from 2001 to the end of 2007, and at present is the founder and President of the NATO Defense College Foundation in Rome. In those years he was tasked by the North Atlantic Council to launch possible partnerships with the Arabs of the Mediterranean, of the Gulf, and Israel. NATO wished to compensate for the disaster in Iraq, but we never had before any kind of relationship with the Arab world, traditionally very suspicious of NATO. The narrative of the book is about that policy and the objective to reach out to the Arabs. In the end it was considered to be a success story. Putting the basis for two existing partnerships and a long term relationship. A first edition of the book came out in Italy in 2013. As the relationship with the Arabs has recently become so dramatically relevant and the transatlantic bond so strained, this version  of the book has been substantially updated ,revised and expanded with a completely new Epilogue titled "The Concert of Nations in a Changing World. Where is Multilateralism Going?".  “I recognize that it is impossible to recount THE history of something! In politics, as in personal life, there is never just one version. All depends on one’s point of view, and the way you personally experience the situation… This work first and foremost is about my personal experiences in the field, dealing with governments and important players. Admittedly, dealing with unexpected situations sometimes can lead one to perceive an “exotic” dimension, which may unintentionally receive an overly “literary” treatment in the telling."

Alessandro Minuto Rizzo, NATO and the Middle East. The making of a partnership,  New Academia Publishing, Washington D.C., 2018, pp.222, $ 24.00

The book is available on main online bookshops (e.g. Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble)

It is also possibile to read online an excerpt of the book  click here 

Ambassador Minuto-Rizzo was Deputy Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance from 2001 to 2007 and the founder and President of the Nato Defense College Foundation. Prior to that, he was Senior Advisor to three Ministers of Defense of Italy, a founding member of the Political and Security Committee of the European Union, and personal representative of the Prime Minister for the Trans-European Networks of transport and energy. He was also a member of the Board of the Italian Space Agency, the American Chamber in Italy, and of Finmeccanica in 2013-2014. He taught European Defense and Security Policy for several years at LUISS University in Rome. He is the author of The Road to Kabul. The International Community and the Crises in Central Asia (Il Mulino 2015) and A Political Journey Without Maps in the Greater Middle East (Rubbettino 2013).