An interview with Dr. Marco Zoppi about his upcoming book: Horizons of Security

Here below is my full interview for WardheerNews regarding the publication of my book Horizons of Security (Rowman and Littlefield). Thank you Adan!

Read the original article here. Book info here.

September 22, 2021

By Adan Makina
WardheerNews

Editor’s Note: In an interview with Dr. Marco Zoppi–about his upcoming book that is expected to be released in September by Rowman and Littlefield, WardheerNews, without the least hesitation, wishes to share with you perhaps what would be described as the longest discussion with our own contributor, Mr Zoppi,  who selflessly spent considerable time to bring to us a subject that has never been debated before. Up north Europe, in what we know as Scandinavian or Nordic countries that constitute Norway, Denmark and Sweden, there is a paradox in ontological security that constitute food security, political security and personal security. Unbeknown to many, Scandinavia means “dangerous island.” Even though the dangers are natural physical features, Somalis who constitute 165,000 in these countries have experienced enormous inevitable social ramifications that requires to be addressed by the host governments and configurations of spokesmen and spokeswomen that is currently gaining ground among those from the unstable Horn of Africa nation of Somalia that collapsed in 1991. The interview was conducted by our own Adan Makina. We hope you enjoy it.

——–

WardheerNews (WDN): Come Stai Dottore Marco Zoppi. Please welcome to WardheerNews. I believe WDN is not new to you and that you will attest to the fact that it is a scholarly and journalistic magazine that has been gaining popularity since its establishment in November of 2004. Likewise, WDN wishes to salute you for the selfless and courageous past contributions that you rendered it. We at WDN and our readers feel it is a great opportunity to have an interview with you because you have relevant information to share with the Somali who are known for grabbing the good news we know as ‘war’. Please, get on board our digitized ship.

Dr. Zoppi: Thanks for the warm welcome Adan! Sto bene, grazie mille. It’s a pleasure to have this talk with you regarding my upcoming book on WDN, to which I have indeed contributed as author in the past, as you rightly recalled. Thanks to all the readers that will take time to read the interview. I hope it will be of interest for WDN’s readership.

WDN: First, please introduce yourself to our readers beginning with your childhood upbringing, your educational qualifications and experiences.

Saying Europe, meaning Eurafrica

My latest article published on Pambazuka. This time, I have dealt with the historical analysis of Europe-Africa relations, to underline the file rouge of domination of the former over the latter. Therefore, I argue, current migration phenomena are physiological within a socio-economic system that produces inequality on constant basis.

La mia ultima analisi online pubblicata su Pambazuka. Mi sono dedicato all'analisi storica delle relazioni Europa-Africa, con un occhio aperto sui flussi migratori odierni. Dal colonialismo in poi, argomento nell'analisi, l'Europa non ha mai smesso di dominare l'Africa, cercando perfino di istituzionalizzare questo rapporto di subordinazione nei processi di formazione dell'Unione Europea, che dell'Africa e delle sue risorse aveva ed ha ancora bisogno. Di conseguenza, i flussi migratori cui assistiamo non sono affatto un'emergenza, bensì da considerare fisiologici all'interno di un sistema socio-economico, quello "Eurafricano", che è dichiaratamente ingiusto e mira a produrre disuguaglianza.

LINK to the original page:

eng -> here


Abstract:

The current relationship between Africa and Europe may seem to have moved past colonialism, but a dynamic of economic subordination of the first to the second persists. The vision of Eurafrica, in fact, is built on the legacy of colonialism and positions Africans as the eternal Other.

Somalia: Let’s just forget the past?

My latest article on Pambazuka, concerned with the role of the past as well as reconciliation in Somalia. The article took inspiration from a conference which I have attended.

Il mio articolo più recente pubblicato su Pambazuka. L'articolo si occupa del ruolo che le dolorose vicende del passato somalo occupano nel dibattito corrente, prendendo ispirazione da una conferenza tenuta da un diplomatico del governo somalo.

Abstract:

It will be impossible to reconstruct Somalia without addressing its complex past. Yet the current definition of transitional justice appears too narrow to be beneficial, since it limits the space for local-based procedures in favour of Western concepts like the state, rule of law and democracy.

LINK:

ENG -> here

Pubblicazione saggio "Tendenze islamiste in Somalia fino ad Al Shabaab" su Politica Africana n.1

Il mio saggio, che ricostruisce la storia dei gruppi islamisti sul territorio somalo, è stato pubblicato sul primo numero della rivista Politica Africana, edito dall'Institute for Global Studies. Di seguito, l'indice ed il link del primo interessantissimo numero:

POLITICA AFRICANA N. 1 - Gennaio - Aprile 2014

Editoriale,
di Nicola Pedde e Marco Massoni

La crisi politico-istituzionale del Mali nel contesto di instabilità africana,
di Aldo Pigoli

Tendenze islamiste in Somalia fino ad Al Shabaab,
di Marco Zoppi

La crisi politica somala e le sue ripercussioni sulla sicurezza nazionale e regionale,
di Nicola Pedde

Repubblica Centroafricana: la prima guerra economica contro la Cina in Africa,
di Marco Massoni

La geopolitica dei confini nelle periferie della Repubblica Federale d'Etiopia,
di Luca Puddu

Regione dei Grandi Laghi: RDC, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda e Tanzania,
di Davide Maggiore

Mitigare il radicalismo islamico nella Nigeria settentrionale,
di Michael Olufemi Sodipo

Le vere ragioni della crisi in Sud Sudan,
di Mehari Taddele Maru

Intervista a Mulugeta Alemseged Gessese, Ambasciatore d'Etiopia in Italia

Intervista a Massimo Alberizzi, corrispondente dall'Africa del Corriere della Sera

LINK -> qui

Migration and Africa: On the urgent need to think beyond the nation-state

My latest publication on Pambazuka!

Abstract:

European powers imposed the nation-state on Africa through colonialism. But even after African independencies, mainstream discourses and government policies have amplified the idea that sedentariness and the state are the only acceptable mode of modernity. Migration is portrayed as a menace to the societies where the migrants wish to settle

LINK:

ENG -> here
POR -> aqui
FRA -> ici