Introduction
The last two decades have seen the emergence of new regional cooperation initiatives, which include the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) [1], the European Union’s Eastern Partnership (EaP)[2] and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).[3] Although they all are at various phases of their implementation, each one of them seems to entail bigger geopolitical visions promoting competing ideas of regionalisms.

What do we make of 1989 thirty years after? How do personal experiences shape memories and relate to more detached and professional investigations? These were some of the key issues Edoardo Tortarolo (University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli) put on the floor of the workshop he organized on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

The first session was started by GUIDO FRANZINETTI (University of Eastern Piedmont, Vercelli).