Federico is a geneticist and molecular biologist at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. He grew up in Senago, a town near Milano, Italy. Because of his interest in geopolitics, geography and social sciences, he studied International Relations at the University of London. He is a former swimmer and swimming instructor. He believes that sports educates people in thinking critically.
This is a commentary article on a recent editorial published in Nature and authored by Adriano Aguzzi. He proposes a new idea – Public Service Open Access (PSOA) – to overcome problems related to “open access” publications, a format he calls “broken access”. I have some major concerns with this proposal.
The European Union is a supranational institution and political project that could become one of the world’s superpowers. However, its success is being undermined by the interests of the US and Russia, who wish to weaken the political stability of the union. Here we discuss why European cohesion causes headaches in Moscow and Washington D.C., and how the two superpowers are trying to deal with the increasingly strong presence of the European Union in international affairs.
Switzerland is among the wealthiest countries of the world, with a strong economy and a renowned banking system. Yet, the short Swiss Franc crisis in 2015 suggests that economic isolation may guarantee only short-term protection from crises, something the Swiss haven’t experienced in generations.
After her first sensationalist speech at the COP24 in Katowice in 2018, Greta Thunberg has given another impressive speech at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. Although her speech is almost identical to her previous one, on this occasion she raised a stark voice of dissent and berated politicians. This move intends to place her as the paladin of a “green” revolution with the purpose of completely replacing the existing political class to drive policy change. Here we discuss the limitations – and the dangers – of this approach.
Kurdish forces defeated ISIL in Syria with the support of the United States. The recent departure of the Americans has left the Kurds alone to face their destiny. Within the last few days Turkey has launched an offensive against Kurdish forces, considering them to be a terror group. Is Turkey taking advantage of a broad and imprecise definition of “terrorism” to justify its aggressive behaviors? Can Kurds be defined as terrorists considering that they gave their lives in the fight against ISIL?
On the 2nd of July 2019, the Tajoura detention camp for migrants outside of Tripoli was hit by a French missile, in a strike conducted by forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar. Although France has denied breaching the UN arms embargo, it has several reasons to provide military support to Haftar. This move could help Paris to gain leadership momentum in Europe while maintaining its strong economic interests in Africa.
