This section contains a list of research projects I worked on during my academic career.
INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS
2021-2024: EUComMeet - Developing Participatory Spaces using a Multi-stage, Multi-level, Multi-mode, Multi-lingual, Dynamic Deliberative approach (M4D2) [Horizon 2020]
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ROLE: Member of research team at the University of Siena (coordinating institution) and leader of the Workpackage on inclusion
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The EUComMeet project explores under which conditions deliberation and representation can be an effective response to the challenges besetting liberal representative democracies. To do so, EUComMeet (a) experiments ways of systematically embedding deliberative practices and institutions in the multilevel system of governance and representation of the European Union; and (b) explores how deliberation and participation can help reduce polarisation, strengthen European identity, encourage inclusiveness, foster citizens' reflectivity and narrow the representative gap between policymakers and citizens.
2021-2024: JOINT - Understanding and Strengthening EU Foreign and security Policy in a Complex and Contested World [Horizon 2020]
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ROLE: Deputy leader of research unit at the University of Siena (partner institution)
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JOINT is an interdisciplinary project involving 14 partners from 12 countries. The project investigates how to make EU foreign and security policy governance structures more joined-up and sustainable in a rapidly changing and contested international environment. In particular, JOINT aims to bring analytical clarity to how domestic and systemic factors constrain the ability of the EU and its member states to agree on policy objectives, integrate policy instruments and coordinate with external players in a number of crises and conflicts.
2020-2024: EnTrust - Enlightened trust: An examination of trust and distrust in governance - conditions, effects and remedies [Horizon 2020]
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ROLE: Member of research team at the University of Siena (partner institution)
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The goal of the project is to provide novel and multidisciplinary insights into trust in governance and measures to support sustainable and democratic societies in Europe.
2017-2021: IMAJINE - Integrative Mechanisms for Addressing Spatial Justice and Territorial Inequalities in Europe [Horizon 2020; Grant agreement no: 726950]
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ROLE: Member of research team at the University of Siena (partner institution)
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The goal of the project is to advance social science knowledge and understanding of territorial inequalities and related policy measures beyond the state-of-the-art, as well as contribute to the ongoing conceptualisation of territorial cohesion, spatial justice and the European social model.
2015-2018: EuEngage - Bridging the Gap Between Public Opinion and European Leadership: Engaging a Dialogue on the Future Path of Europe [Horizon 2020; Grant agreement no: 64928]
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ROLE: Member of research team at the University of Siena (coordinating institution)
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The goal of the EUENGAGE Project is twofold: first, to inquire into the current tensions between supranational EU governance and popular mobilisation at the national level, critically questioning EU-driven policies and EU legitimacy; second, to propose remedial actions based on sound empirical research on the relationship between public opinion, national and supranational political elites.
2012-2015: Transworld - Transatlantic relations and the Future of Global Governance [7th EU Framework Programme; Grant agreement no: 290454]
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ROLE: Member of research team at the University of Siena (partner institution)
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TRANSWORLD is a consortium of 13 academic and research centres from the EU, the US and Turkey formed to research the evolution of the transatlantic relationship and its role in shaping global governance architectures. The project is mainly funded under the EU’s 7th FP.
2008-2010: EuroPolis: A Deliberative Polity-Making Project [7th EU Framework Programme; grant agreement SSH7-CT-2009-225314]
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ROLE: Member of research team at the University of Siena (coordinating institution)
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The project intended to test whether deliberative democracy can contribute to address the democratic deficit in Europe, with particular reference to the 2009 European parliamentary elections. EuroPolis was a carefully designed experiment that assessed how political and social attitudes towards EU issues (i.e., immigration, climate change, EU policy-making process) change as a result of exposure to information, and what implications this has for political participation and voter turnout.
NATIONAL PROJECTS
2023-2025: Lessons learned? The past and future of Italian defense policy [PRIN 2022; prot. 2022J9Z53N]
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ROLE: Leader of research unit at the University of Siena (partner institution)
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The project investigates three crucial aspects of Italy's participation in military missions abroad (MOA): a) the (political and military) lessons learned from Italian MOA; b) the drivers and the features of the complex decision-making process behind the operations, and specifically its dynamic interaction with the reality on the ground; c) the agenda-related and issue-specific positions on Italy’s defense and security policy of both Italian elites and public opinion based on previous MOA and future defense scenarios.
2018-2022: Department of Excellence [MIUR; Grant agreement no: 2272-2018-IA-PROFCMIUR 001]
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ROLE: Member of research team at the University of Siena (coordinating institution)
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The goal of the project is to study of the determinants and the effects of populism in Italy with survey and experimental methods.
As a member of the University of Siena’s team, I contributed to conceive the research design and to the organization of a panel survey of GfK panellists.
2013-2015: The Italian Foreign Policy in front of the new challenges of the international system: actors, institutions and policies [PRIN 2012; prot. 201032T8ZE]
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ROLE: Member of research team at the University of Siena (coordinating institution)
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The research aims to study how changes in the international and domestic political system over the last 10 years have influenced (a) Italian policy-makers’ perception of the international system and Italy’s role within it and (b) how foreign policy is conducted by the Italian political and administrative institutions.
2011-2013: The Quality of deliberation [PRIN 2008; prot. 20085KSJRE]
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ROLE: Member of research team at the University of Siena (partner institution)
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The main objective of this research was to assess the long-term effects of participation in deliberative events on the attitudes of the citizens. Our research unit, which was composed of me, Prof. Pierangelo Isernia and Dr. Irena Fiket, conducted a CATI survey to assess the stability of opinion changes, the effects of participation on the general attitudes towards democracy and political participation in politics.