ABSTRACT: The objective of this thesis is to determine the effectiveness of the Italian juvenile justice system in rehabilitating and reintegrating young individuals into the society. The analysis involves a qualitative research on the regulation of the juvenile justice system. School of thoughts and theories are discussed together with the main exponents of Italian criminology and their contribution to the justice system. The history of the development of the juvenile justice system is then examined, first on a global and second on a national scale, taking into consideration the various achievements in terms of children’s rights, juvenile penal process, the very first court and the idea of rehabilitation rather than punishment. An individual case study is then conducted on one of the Italian juvenile penal institutions, Casal del Marmo which is located in Rome. The case study is mainly grounded on interviews conducted in December 2019 to some operators and volunteers of the institution. The analysis is then concluded with the understanding that the Italian juvenile justice system has been rarely effective in reintegrating young individuals into the society. The final chapter also shows the limitations of this piece.
ABSTRACT: This paper is an analysis of the contrasting discourse that Hong Kong and Mainland China are
trying to control the narrative of 2019 Extradition protests. The paper will give space for the
analysis of the causes of the different protests since the handover, the 2003 sedition bill, 2012
educational program, the 2014 umbrella/Occupy Central protests and the 2019 extradition bill all
supported by China. The analysis will take into consideration the one country, two systems
approach that China maintains and the concepts of Hong Kong citizens national identity, how
social media plays a part in organizing the protests, how elements of art and theater play a role in
protests. There were no “leaders” of the protest movement and some protests over the decades
were more successful than others, example, the 2014 Umbrella revolution fizzled out after 79
days but the 2012 educational protests were successful in preventing Chinese culture from Hong
Kong schools. The 2019 protests are still ongoing even amid the Covid-19 virus, at times it flares
up even with social distancing. Hong Kongers are passionate about their identity politics but in
the end Beijing will bring Hong Kong in the fold sooner than 2047.
ABSTRACT: Beginning in 2014, the Republic of Malta has been operating a citizenship by investment program known as the Individual Investor Program. For a total contribution of just over one million Euros, anyone in the world, with a few exceptions, can buy Maltese citizenship. As Malta is a member of the European Union, this means that European citizenship is for sale, as are all the benefits that come with it, such as internal freedom of movement in the EU and visa-free travel to 183 countries worldwide. This raises a variety of ethical and legal concerns both for Malta and the EU. Consequently, the EU has published a variety of reports studying the possible effects that the selling of EU citizenship could have on the Union, such as the infiltration of organized crime groups into the Union, as well as the proliferation of money laundering, tax fraud, terrorist financing, and corruption, as well as the European Parliament in 2014 passing a resolution condemning the practice of putting citizenship up for sale. The above stated are issues Malta has left itself open to through its implementation of the program, which is highly opaque in its decision-making processes when it comes to who is accepted or denied and why, and the ways in which the money raised through the program are used. The sale of passports also raises the obvious ethical conundrum of whether citizenship should even be for sale in the first place. Ultimately, the answer to that question is no, because the act of selling citizenship for profit can lead to undermining the value of citizenship and can worsen inequality. Though the EU does not have the authority to end the practice of selling passports, it should continue to take a stand against the IIP and programs like it to ensure its continued safety and security.
ABSTRACT: This research was conducted to illustrate the relationship between active participation in
neighborhoods and its effectiveness in fixing social issues and improving neighborhood
wellbeing. Two neighborhoods in Rome with different demographics and urban phenomena were
analyzed. San Lorenzo is a neighborhood which is currently facing a demographical turnover due
to studentification. This is a peculiar form of gentrification that involves students in higher
education, and a network of citizens that is opposing this change. Conversely, Aurelio-Boccea is
a predominantly middle-class neighborhood that has witnessed an increase of Filipino families
living in the area. Residents formed a neighborhood committee to improve the quality of the
neighborhood and resolve mismanagement of public spaces by local authorities. Through
qualitative and quantitative data obtained during a year-long of field research and supported by
theoretical literature concerning social capital, gentrification and neighborhood activism, the
research found that neighborhood networks were lacking capacity to translate their intentions
into actions. As a result, none of the issues in the neighborhoods were fixed, and none of the
initiatives proposed came into effect except from the obtainment of fairer housing costs for
Sapienza University students through a student movement in partnership with housing unions.
ABSTRACT: The use of sexual abuse and rape in wars and armed conflicts are as old as war itself. But the stigmatized and private nature of sexual assault means that these atrocities are often undocumented, left out of the historical accounts and concealed in news stories that primarily focus on casualties and means of warfare. In this discussion of arms and ammunitions, means and objectives and, soldiers and rebel groups, the violence against women in armed conflicts are often completely overlooked and underemphasized.
Consequently, this thesis aims at highlighting the prevalence of sexual violence in armed conflict and, more specifically, attempts to establish the use of sexual violence as a means of warfare. It relies on the theory of Thomas and Ralph on the tradition of impunity that effectively establishes the “intent and motive of rape as an agency to subjugate and inflict shame upon their victims, and by extension to their families and communities." (Thomas and Ralph, 1994, pp. 82) In doing so, it explores the 'honor' framework that surrounds the victims of sexual violence that effectively categorizes rape as a sexual act instead of a violent one. An act that fails to categorize violence against women as torture and rather as collateral damage in armed conflicts.
With the conflict in Kashmir as the case study, this thesis recognizes and analyzes the complex socio-cultural and political dynamics of the region concerning the use of sexual violence as a war tactic. Hence, to effectively examine the causes, effects, and consequences of such a tactic, the thesis is focused solely on the Indian administrated territories of Kashmir. In limiting the research, the thesis explores the shortcoming and loopholes in the existing national and international provisions on sexual violence. Finally, it emphasizes the need for command responsibility in the prosecution of the perpetrators alongside the trial of violation of human rights in civilian fast track courts as opposed to the military courts.
ABSTRACT: The present study analyses the development of the interaction between Russia and China in the Arctic Region, focusing on the security dimension, looking under this perspective at the economic, geostrategic and military fields. It will do so in order to understand whether, in spite of the apparent alliance of these two countries, elements of confrontation between them are still present and have the potential to resurface, with the policy implications that they may bring. During the last two decades the factuality of climate change has become consensus among the scientific community and has become an object of increasingly greater attention by policymakers, international organisations, NGOs and civil society. Among the most outspoken consequences of climate change is exactly the melting of the ice cap that covers both the North and South Poles, which however are often analysed mainly from the ecological standpoint. This study offers instead a geopolitical outlook at this process in the Arctic, assessing how are one major Arctic power (Russia) and a non-Arctic power interest in the region (China) responding to it and how their national interests in fields such as economic development and defence are shaped by this product of climate change. This paper will then link the geopolitical dynamics of the Arctic with the global great power competition involving the USA, Russia and China. Focusing then in the interaction between Russia and China in the Arctic and at their dialectic of declining vs. emerging power, this thesis will demonstrate that their alliance is being forced by the US dual containment policy, without which they would likely compete between themselves. From this conclusion, it will then claim that the Arctic could become a region where the US or its allies may start a policy of rapprochement of Russia, which should ultimately aim at the isolation of China and its containment also from the North.
