24.02.2023 Forum of the Consular Corps "Trade Intensity and International Relations"

On Friday 24 February 2023 at 12.00pm has been held in Venice entirely in English the Forum of the Consular Corps "Trade Intensity and International Relations" by the Consular Corps of Venice and Veneto in collaboration with the Ca' Foscari University of Venice (Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, Department of Economics, PISE) and the Europe Direct Office of the Municipality of Venice. 

Economic development is undoubtedly an attractive goal for states, because it produces wealth, well-being and prosperity; however, only a few countries in the world manage (or have managed, in the last two hundred years) to achieve it. What induces a State to take the path of economic modernization? Why, on the other hand, do other countries fall behind? Articulating paradigms already offered by the institutionalist literature of political science and economic history, Emanuele Castelli proposes an interpretative model of the transition to modernity based on the interests and incentives of the elites, explaining - through the concept of "creative destruction" introduced by Schumpeter - why development is not an easy process to start and manage. In particular, he underlines the role played by technological innovation in the production of the leading sectors of the economy, which in turn seem to be linked to economic and leadership cycles in the international system. Starting from these hypotheses, Professor Castelli discusses the results of two quantitative studies on the relationship between modernity and political violence, demonstrating that economic development can also produce pacifying effects on the foreign policy of states and decrease the risk of civil wars.

Some photos of the event: