Gabriele Abbondanza

The University of Sydney · Department of Government and International Relations

Australia is often described as a ‘good international citizen’ (GIC), which is intertwined to its status of ‘quintessential’ middle power. However, a number of elements might undermine both notions. This research reviews the concept of GIC and contributes to this niche of IR theory by providing a dedicated definitional framework, which consists of:...

‘Awkward Powers’ is an innovative and impressive book written by leading scholars in the field. It assists with our understanding of the changing nature and role of middle powers at a time of considerable upheaval in the international system. - Dr. David Walton, Western Sydney University, Australia This wonderfully provocative collection of essays...

Against the backdrop of US–China superpower rivalry in the Indo-Pacific, this article assesses the visions and strategies of the region's middle powers, which remain under-examined at present. First, it briefly traces the boundaries of this research by reviewing the contested nature of the Indo-Pacific concept and the definitional complexities of m...

While Australian and Italian policies on irregular maritime migration are widely debated, they have seldom been examined together, a gap in the literature that this article addresses with a comprehensive comparative analysis. Informed by theories on irregular migrants' reception, it traces the two countries' policies between 2000 and early 2022, an...

The second half of 2021 proved an exacting time for Australian policymakers as they grappled with a range of ongoing and emergent challenges, each severely testing the country's infrastructures, capabilities, and foreign policy horizons. National policy challenges were marked by elements of continuity with the preceding period, juxtaposed with new...

An outline of the key foreign policy challenges of Australia’s new Labor government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Published by the Italian Institute of International Affairs (IAI), a top-20 international relations think tank

Australia is a significant yet contested actor in the Indo-Pacific region, whose new Labor government is presented with substantial opportunities but also significant challenges. These include deteriorating relations with China, strategic if polarising alignment with the United States and its regional allies, and undervalued ties with ASEAN, South...

In the introductory chapter to this volume, we examined the power categories that are integral to the discipline of IR, and we identified a series of aberrant states located close to the apex of the international hierarchy, which have so far escaped a conclusive categorisation under the appropriate great and middle power rubrics. In this chapter, w...

Despite the increasing multipolarity of the 21st century, the list of great powers is still anachronistically limited to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5s), thus not acknowledging the redistribution of power in a global order in flux. Through a national power analysis, this chapter argues that Germany, Italy, and Japan are...

This policy brief analyses the implications of AUKUS for Europe's policies in the Indo-Pacific. It argues for a more decisive European approach to the Indo-Pacific, complementing (not mimicking) that of AUKUS and Quad Plus countries.

This chapter introduces the new concept of “Awkward Powers”. By undertaking a critical re-examination of the state of International Relations theorising on the changing nature of the global power hierarchy, it draws attention to a number of countries that fit awkwardly into existing but not up-to-date categories such as “great power” and “middle po...

Aim To present and discuss the outcomes of the mini asymmetric radial keratotomy (MARK) and corneal cross-linking (CXL) combined intervention, also known as the “Rome protocol”, for patients with progressive stage I, II, and III keratoconus (KC) and contact lens intolerance (CLI). Design Retrospective, observational study. Materials and Methods T...

Bilateral relations between Italy and Australia are generally regarded as warm, and date back to the British settlement of Australia. However, there is much scope for expansion in a number of fields, especially after Brexit eventuated and Canberra lost its privileged partner within the EU. While the two countries are set to finally ratify a treaty...

The lack of universally-shared definitions for middle powers and great powers is a common issue in international relations theory, as invariably outlined by the relevant literature. This research argues that this theoretical uncertainty is not due to an inherent limit of such definitions, but rather to their insufficient adaptation to an ever-chang...

Italian peace support operations (PSOs) under UN, EU, NATO, and Italian aegis are well-known and respected by the peacekeeping community. Italy's current contribution is the largest among all developed states, as it employs around 7,500 soldiers in 24 host countries, mainly in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA), the Mediterranean, the Balka...

Since the 1960s, and especially the 1980s, Italy has participated in and led numerous peace support operations (PSOs), predominantly under the aegis of international organisations. Italy’s participation in PSOs authorised by the UN, the EU, NATO and other multilateral agreements stems from a combination of national interest and humanitarianism/mult...

Contemporary power hierarchies are rapidly evolving, as a result of the ever-changing nature of the international system. Related theories, however, often struggle to match the pace of this process, a condition that is easily observable when considering great power theory (GPT). The latter has seldom changed its definitional criteria over the last...

AIM: To review the outcomes of the procedure combining mini asymmetric radial keratotomy (MARK) and corneal cross-linking (CXL), otherwise known as the 'Rome protocol', for patients with stage I, II, and III keratoconus and contact lens intolerance. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study examines the postoperat...

Purpose To investigate the long-term results (at least 5 years of follow-up) of the mini asymmetric radial keratotomy (MARK) and corneal cross-linking (CXL) combined intervention, also known as the ‘Rome protocol,’ for patients with progressive stage I and II keratoconus and contact lens intolerance. Methods This was a retrospective observational...

Power hierarchies have always been present in political and philosophical discourses concerning international relations, yet agreed definitions are still missing for recurrent concepts such as that of middle power. This chapter reviews its theoretical history through an examination of four relevant historical periods: ancient times, post-classical...

Aim: To present long-term results of mini asymmetric radial keratotomy (MARK) for the treatment of mild to moderate keratoconus, with an average follow-up of 7.3 years and a minimum of 6 years. Design: Retrospective clinical study. Materials and methods: The postoperative outcomes of 66 eyes (45 patients) were selected and retrospectively analysed....

The aim of this article is to examine and quantify the relationship between regular immigration and voting for anti-immigration parties in Italy’s eight Northern regions – from 1992 to 2015 – and in Italy’s forty-five Northern provinces from 2004 to 2015. Firstly, we identified the Lega Nord as Italy’s main xenophobic party, then we used a fixed ef...

Current research on middle powers invariably begins by reaffirming the lack of shared conceptual or theoretical frameworks. Elusive entities whose behaviour doesn't seem to correlate consistently with their size or capabilities, middle powers are not framed by a universally-shared definition, and yet the idea of neither-great nor-minor states can b...

The dual objective of this paper is to identify the impact of the proclamation of the Republic of Murrawarri, along with a legal and political analysis examining the demand for greater Aboriginal sovereignty, an ever-increasing subject of debate in Australia. A brief legal, territorial, media, historical and political review is undertaken to invest...

La trattazione delle medie potenze, stati immediatamente al di sotto delle grandi potenze in termini di potere e capacità nazionali, vanta radici che affondano nell'antichità, eppure, come spesso accade nello studio delle relazioni internazionali, non esiste una definizione universalmente accettata di cosa una media potenza sia, debba o possa esser...

Italian migration policies combating irregular immigration from the early 20th century to the present times have been increasingly debated and controversial. Four phases are detectable: the absence of a legal framework while Italy was still an emigration country, the first regulations of the 1980s, policies influenced by both the European integrati...

Book review of "Italy and Japan: how similar are they? A comparative analysis of politics, economics, and international relations"

The hierarchical assessment of the power exerted in international relations represents one of the oldest debates in the discipline, with distant roots to be found in the thought of philosophers from ancient Greece, China, India and Rome. Despite more solid theoretical investigations carried out in medieval Italy, thanks to the works of great minds...

Corneal cross-linking (CXL) is aimed at halting the progression of keratoconus and is widely considered to be the golden standard in its treatment. It is usually contraindicated, however, in patients with corneal thickness of less than 400 µm, leaving the ophthalmic surgeon no option, but to perform transepithelial CXL (epi-on), usually regarded as...

Corneal Cross-linking (CXL) is aimed at halting the progression of keratoconus and is widely considered to be the golden standard technique in the treatment of this disease. It is usually contraindicated, however, in patients with less than 400 µm of corneal thickness, leaving the ophthalmic surgeon with the option of performing Transepithelial CXL...

div class="page" title="Page 1"> Background : Keratoconus is a corneal dystrophy characterized by progressive thinning, conical shape of the cornea and irregular astigmatism. It is particularly insidious when it occurs in very young patients. Case : We report the case of a 10-year-old child with an aggressive stage III keratoconus, who was sugge...

Aim To present the case of a 14-year-old boy with bilateral stage IV keratoconus, treated with a combined MARK + CXL intervention, without the need for a corneal transplantation. Results The left eye displays considerable improvements, with a follow-up of 13.5 years: Kmax is decreased by 5.53 D, Kmed is decreased by 1.95 D and thinnest pachymetry...

Following the end of World War II, with the signing of the 1947 Treaty of Paris, Italy formally renounced its colonial empire and was also forced to return all of the territories acquired in the 19 th century, before the advent of fascism. This represented the historical context in which, from the beginning of Italian colonialism in 1869, Italy's i...

The aim of this paper is to present Australia's liberalist profile as both a middle power and a regional power, contextualised by a brief theoretical framework. What emerges is that Australia exerts a significant and increasing global influence, a condition that is positively influenced by its stability in foreign policy and by that in the economic...

The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction between party affiliation and geographic location of Australian citizens, in order to offer a critical assessment of how geographical factors might interact with the political choices of the Australian people. In order to do this, an overview of the main historical and geographical aspects of...

Il XXI° secolo è caratterizzato da un crescente numero di attori che non ricoprono né il ruolo di grande potenza né quello di potenza minore: è questo il caso delle medie potenze. Questo saggio ha come obiettivo quello di offrire un'analisi comparativa di Italia ed Australia in qualità di medie potenze di respiro globale, secondo un'ottica strettam...

How did Italy’s role of regional power develop? How did it change from national unification to the present day? This book examines the degree of influence exerted by Italy in its own geopolitical context, with special focus on Libya and the Horn of Africa. With the aid of different research methods and thanks to two exclusive interviews (H.E. Giuli...

Come si è evoluto il ruolo di potenza regionale dell’Italia? Come è cambiato dall’Unità ai giorni nostri? L’opera analizza il grado di influenza esercitato dall’Italia nel proprio contesto geopolitico, con particolare attenzione alla Libia e al Corno d’Africa. Con l’ausilio delle metodologie di ricerca più adatte e grazie a due interviste esclusive...

Astigmatic keratotomy (AK) is a common and safe procedure to correct post-penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) astigmatism in patients affected by keratoconus (KC). We report the case of a post-PKP AK that was performed inversely by mistake in a private practice. A new AK was performed by our practice in order to correct the remarkably high astigmatism (...

L’attuale scenario internazionale presenta una lunga lista di aree critiche, alla base di un rinnovato insieme di flussi migratori irregolari. Italia e Australia sono due paesi che, a dispetto delle evidenti differenze culturali e della distanza geografica, risentono in maniera simile di tali fenomeni, in particolare dell’immigrazione illegale via...

Australia has increased its international influence over the past 15 years. The advantages of a vast territory, with rich resources and an under-populated land are evident in a geographical context dominated by Asian countries with often opposite features. However, it is only in the last few years that Canberra has established itself as a socio-eco...

L’Australia prosegue nel suo cammino di crescita economica, demografica e militare, mentre sempre più spesso classe dirigente ed opinione pubblica si interrogano su quale ruolo debba avere il paese nel futuro prossimo. L’Australia, infatti, può vantare una serie di importanti successi in ambito economico, sociale, e geopolitico che hanno costanteme...

La Questione Aborigena è un dibattito fondamentale della politica nazionale australiana, trattata con diversi gradi di impegno sin dal 1788, anno della prima colonia britannica nel Paese. La questione si riferisce alle criticità del popolo aborigeno in molteplici ambiti, dallo sviluppo umano a quello economico, dai problemi di ordine sanitario a qu...

Canberra si confronta con il più grande scandalo di spionaggio della sua storia. L’Indonesia, dopo aver richiamato il proprio ambasciatore, detta una road map per ricucire i rapporti. Tensioni anche con Cina, India, Giappone, Corea del Sud e Timor Est.

I liberali tornano al governo dopo sei anni di gestione laburista. Abbott deve mantenere le promesse fatte e riorientare la strategia internazionale di Canberra.

The last few years, dominated by the wake of the global economic crisis and the marginalization of the old Western powers, have by contrast witnessed the political and economic growth of Australia. This vast country, sparsely populated and with a light influence in global affairs, has managed to carve out an important place within growing Asian pow...

Gli ultimi anni, dominati dalla scia della crisi economica mondiale e dalla marginalizzazione delle vecchie potenze occidentali, vedono in controtendenza la crescita politica ed economica dell’Australia. Un Paese vasto, scarsamente popolato e di secondaria importanza negli affari globali è riuscito a ritagliarsi uno spazio importante in seno alle g...

Il primo ministro Julia Gillard si è dimesso dopo aver perso la votazione interna per la leadership del partito laburista. L’ex primo ministro Kevin Rudd torna alla guida del partito e della nazione.

L'Australia si trova, oggi, in una condizione decisamente particolare. Il contesto geografico la vede occupare la quasi totalità dell’Oceania, incastonata tra due oceani, l’Indiano e il Pacifico, e tra due mondi, quello occidentale e quello asiatico. L’Australia si è inoltre ritagliata nei decenni una posizione invidiabile: terminato il secondo con...

Gli ultimi anni, dominati dalla scia della crisi economica mondiale e dalla marginalizzazione delle vecchie potenze occidentali, vedono in controtendenza la crescita politica ed economica dell’Australia. Un Paese vasto, scarsamente popolato e di secondaria importanza negli affari globali è riuscito a ritagliarsi uno spazio importante in seno alle g...