Italian and US Ambassadors Discuss Transatlantic Relations at JCU
Joe Donnelly, US Ambassador to the Holy See
On September 20th, John Cabot University’s Department of Political Science and International Affairs hosted a workshop on “Italy, the United States and the New Transatlantic Moment,” in collaboration with the Centro Studi Americani in Rome. Ambassadors Joe Donnelly (the US Ambassador to the Holy See) and Pasquale Terracciano (the General Director for Public and Cultural Diplomacy at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) offered two keynote speeches, moderated by JCU President Franco Pavoncello, in an Aula Magna filled with students, scholars and political experts from across Rome. Both ambassadors stressed the importance and surprising strength of the transatlantic alliance in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine and the enduring attraction of liberal democracy as a model of international cooperation.
Two interactive round table debates followed, which were moderated by Professors Michael Driessen and Simone Tholens of JCU. Dr. Erik Jones, Director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute (EUI), and Dr. Mario Del Pero, Professor of International History at Sciences Po in Paris shared the first panel and debated the meaning and centrality of liberal democracy to the war in Ukraine and the future of transatlantic relations. Professor Jones made the case that Putin had felt more threatened by the “existential threat” of domestically supported processes of democratization- both in Ukraine and in Russia- as by any perception of international aggression led by NATO. For his part, Professor Del Pero offered sharp analysis on the various existing disconnects between Italian and American citizens and political elites in either country, including in their perception of the conflict, the importance of the transatlantic relationship, and the prospects for global democratic renewal.
Dr. Cynthia Salloum, a professor at the NATO Defense College, and Dr. Loredana Teodorescu, President of the Women in International Security Association in Italy, followed with a wide-ranging debate that went from analyzing the role of NATO in the present moment to reflecting on Rome’s Mediterranean political ambitions in a charged transatlantic context. For Dr. Salloum, the war in Ukraine had created an important opportunity for NATO members to strategically realign their projects together on more realistic grounds. For Dr. Teodorescu, these dynamics were likely to alter – and strengthen – European priorities for the Italian electorate and Italian politics, at least for the time to come, noting how even far-right political candidates like Giorgia Meloni had significantly shifted their rhetorical positions on Europe and Russia throughout the recent Italian electoral campaign.
Students, media, faculty, and experts all contributed to a lively debate that offered conceptual direction – as well as a dose of political optimism – for robust transatlantic cooperation to come.
Watch the videos from the event:
Keynote Speeches
Roundtable 1
Roundtable 2
