The Research Center for International Relations (CRRI) deals with research and teaching activities concerning international relations as a field of interdisciplinary knowledge and social action (Law 25 April 2014, articles 2-18). It also coordinates the international affairs of the University through theOffice of International Affairs. It was established on 23 July 2015 (Rectoral Decree 20/2015). On 7 September 2016, it established the Punto Europa San Marino in collaboration with the Europe Direct Punto Europa of Forlì, the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, and then with the Europe Direct Emilia-Romagna, hosted by the Legislative Assembly of the Emilia-Romagna Region. On June 22nd 2018 he won an Erasmus Plus call funded by the European Commission and assigned to the C2ESS project carried out by the CRRI together with seven other European universities in the field of innovation. It is the first San Marino institution to win a European tender.
The process which in this century is leading San Marino to a different international position, especially in the European context, is crucial and highly complex. This process, of historical significance, has an impact that is perhaps incomparable on the life of the San Marino citizens, regardless of the formal data. For this reason, in January 2015, the Great and General Council resolved to verify "the possibility of creating, in collaboration with the University, a Permanent Study Centre". Subsequently, the Congress of State indicated the need to "identify, through the university reality, specific initiatives" to address the urgent and growing commitment in international relations.
The Research Center for International Relations (CRRI) puts these objectives into practice. It aims to produce a San Marino team in the field of research and training destined to support this commitment in the long term, with the collaboration of experts and scholars.
The Center has a flexible, multidisciplinary and interdepartmental structure, directed by a scientific director from San Marino. Its institution is a coordination point for those who, in the territory or abroad, are committed to studying the external relations of San Marino, especially in the European context, or who have useful knowledge to contribute to a study and research work on international relations.
It is a fact that San Marino sovereignty must be constantly understood and reinterpreted in its current meaning. This concerns a commitment for which the Center places itself at the service.
Research areas
The CRRI is therefore directed, compatibly with the available resources, to carry out in particular four main functions in correlated but distinguishable areas:
- Scientific research
- Training and teaching
- Processing and analysis
- International and European projects
The CRRI, the first of its kind, is based at the University of San Marino and is open to external collaboration with bodies and institutions with a common purpose. The training activities of the CRRI allow the recognition of university training credits (CFU) at Italian universities.