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Italian combat aircraft have played an increasing important role in the international missions in which Italy has participated in the post-Cold War era – from the First Gulf War to Libya, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Afghanistan. This participation has been a significant tool of Italy’s defense policy, and therefore of its foreign policy towards crisis areas relevant to its national interests (from the Western Balkans to the Mediterranean), as well as towards its most important allies within NATO and the EU. This IAI publication analyses the role of these military capabilities in recent operations and their prospects for the future. In fact, a number of trends can be inferred from the operational experience in ten international missions, in which Italy deployed more than 100 combat aircraft in more than 13,000 sorties, clocking up 36,000 flight hours. These trends are considered in light of the recent developments in the doctrine of Air Power, as well as possible future scenarios for the use of combat aircraft in crisis theaters. The aim of the analysis is to understand the needs of the Italian Armed Forces – the Air Force and Navy in particular – which will have to replace a substantial portion of their current combat fleets in the near future due to the gradual obsolescence of the aircraft in service – an operational necessity linked to the inevitable political decisions regarding the options available in the field of military procurement for maintaining the capabilities required so far for international missions. In this context, the study looks into the acquisition of F-35 aircraft, also considering the industrial aspects of a multinational program that will produce more than 3,000 units for over 12 countries.

The cybersecurity skills shortage (CSSS), which in this document refers to the lack of qualified cybersecurity professionals in the labour market, represents an issue for both economic development and national security, especially in the rapid digitisation of the global economy. It poses threats with a high impact on the data, information technology systems and networks that form the dorsal spine of modern societies. This shortage can be further analysed into two concurrent issues: a quantitative one and a qualitative one. The quantitative issue is related to the insufficient supply of cybersecurity professionals to meet the requirements of the job market and the qualitative one is related to the inadequacy of professional skills to meet the market's needs. This report focuses on the status of the cybersecurity education system and the inability to attract more students to study cybersecurity and to produce graduates with the right cybersecurity knowledge and skills. It argues that many of the current issues in cybersecurity education could be ameliorated by redesigning educational and training pathways that define knowledge and skills that students should possess upon graduation and after entering the labour market. This analysis describes how four states -- Australia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States -- have attempted to rethink cybersecurity degrees using certification. These certification schemes have been established for various purposes. The main objectives include having more graduates with skills readily deployable by the industry, helping employers understand skills and knowledge that students have developed in their academic careers, and assisting people to choose their degree options. The ultimate impact of degree certification is to reduce the CSSS through the promotion of cybersecurity education, research and awareness.

La falsa credenza che gli ebrei sacrificassero bambini e facessero uso del loro sangue per scopi magico-religiosi ha rappresentato per secoli una minaccia costante per le comunità ebraiche, i cui membri in ogni momento potevano essere accusati dell’atroce delitto, divenendo vittime di linciaggi, processi sommari, espulsioni. Nata in pieno medioevo, questa leggenda si diffuse con estrema rapidità acquisendo un posto centrale nell’immaginario antiebraico cristiano e un’autorevolezza che le permise di superare indenne il secolo dei Lumi e presentarsi ancora vitale nell’Ottocento, quando divenne uno dei motivi ricorrenti della campagna antigiudaica elaborata dall’integralismo cattolico. Rispetto a questo complesso fenomeno il libro focalizza l’attenzione sugli aspetti agiografici e devozionali legati al culto che fin dal XII secolo si tributò alle presunte vittime dell’infanticidio rituale. Un’impostazione che apre nuovi territori di indagine, concentrando la ricerca su fonti inedite o ancora poco studiate. Vengono così analizzate sul lungo periodo le trasformazioni del racconto: di volta in volta ammonizione per i bambini della Controriforma, oggetto di erudite dissertazioni nel Settecento, tema romanzesco nell’Ottocento, argomento devozionale per i fedeli del XX secolo. Fino alle ultime metamorfosi dei nostri giorni, in cui si assiste da un lato al rilancio del culto per i supposti “bambini-martiri” da parte di frange del tradizionalismo cattolico e dall’altro ad una rilettura dello stereotipo dell’omicidio rituale all’interno del dialogo interreligioso, come esempio degli errori della Chiesa nei confronti del popolo ebraico.