Department of Political and Social Sciences
The field of International Relations and Policies is characterized by a wide range of topics and disciplinary contributions, including International Relations – encompassing area studies –, Political Science, and International Law. The main thematic areas include, at a general level, theories and history of International Relations, identity politics and memory policies in Europe, the role of Germany in the European Union, the history of foreign policy between Italy and the United Kingdom, transatlantic relations, and the European Union’s external relations, with a particular focus on EU-Russia relations. European energy and climate policies, as well as environmental diplomacy, are also key areas of study, along with the EU Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice. In the extra-European context, an important focus is placed on Asia, particularly on the history of state-society relations in modern and contemporary China and Taiwan, legal imperialism in China, Gramscian studies in China, Chinese soft power and foreign policy, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on China's global image and China-EU relations.
Research Projects Related to International Relations and Policies
- Research project funded by the Fondazione di Sardegna on the RULE OF LAW IN EUROPE (2022-2024)
- ERASMUS-JMO-2022-COE: A Multilevel Inquiry into the Rights of Peasants and Other Persons Working in Rural Areas from a Multidisciplinary (Legal, Historical, and Ethical) Perspective – Project DL. 7
- Horizon 2020 “EUIDEA”
- Montalcini 2018: Research project on EU-Russia Relations and European Energy and Climate Policies
- National research project: “PAYING THE CHINA PRICE: China’s Integration into the Global Economy”, Department of Political, Legal, and International Studies, University of Padua (Project Leader: Prof. Francesco Petrini)
- “Galileo” Italo-French Project: Italy and the EU: Climate Change Between Law and International Politics, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research and the French Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères and Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de l’Innovation (MESRI), in collaboration with the University of Cagliari and the University of Aix-en-Provence.
Research Networks Related to International Relations and Policies
- European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR) – the main Political Science network in Europe, with a focus on standing Group on Energy Politics, Policy, and Governance, standing Group on the European Union
- European Leadership Network
- Trans European Policy Studies
- Association (TEPSA)
- University Consortium and various European foreign policy think tanks, including FIIA (Helsinki), IEP (Berlin), ISPI and IAI (Italy)
- European Network in Universal and Global History (ENIUGH)
- Núcleo de Estudos Globais, Universidade Federal de Goiás (Brazil)
- Project “Europe 21” – European Union Studies, The Hague University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)
- Research Group: “Italy, COVID-19, and the Solidarity Narrative in the European Union. The Prevalence of an Uncoordinated Response”, with David C. Unger (Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies Europe), Colette Mazzucelli (New York University)