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Giovanni's primary research interests are in security studies, particularly rebel governance.
Biography:
Giovanni's research focuses on the inclusion of civilians in rebel governance processes and its effects on rebel-state bargaining dynamics. He holds an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) studentship with Advanced Quantitative Methods. He has also conducted research on the effects of contentious parades on intergroup relations in Northern Ireland.
He was previously awarded a MSc in Security Studies at UCL and a bachelors degree in International and Diplomatic Sciences at University of Genoa. He was also the vice-secretary of the Democratic Party in Celle Ligure (Italy) for more than two years. In his free time, he likes to read on Buddhism and Taoism and write short poems.
Research title:
By the Rebels, for the People: collaborative rebel governance and its effects on rebel-state bargaining dynamics.
Research summary:
Giovanni's primary research interests are in security studies, particularly rebel governance. His PhD research aims to categorize rebel governance systems on the basis of their inclusion of civilians, in terms of representation and agency in decision-making. His theory argues that collaborative rebel governance generates information on rebel legitimacy and support, which mitigates informational asymmetries that hinder rebel-state bargaining efforts. Using a self-coded novel dataset, he tests the theory by conducting a statistical analysis of rebel governance systems between 1975 and 2012 to reveal whether the inclusion of civilians increases the likelihood of negotiations and decreases the risk of conflict recurrence. Moreover, he will conduct interviews with state decision-makers for process tracing to test the mechanisms.
Giovanni has also conducted research on the effect of contentious parades on intergroup relations in Northern Ireland, along with Kit Rickard, Sigrid Weber and Kristin M. Bakke. This research employs a mixed methods approach, combining a pooled analysis of British elections surveys, a before-after analysis of a survey fielded in 2022, and qualitative evidence collected through interviews and participant observation during fieldwork in Belfast.
Research interests:
- International Relations
- Security Studies
- Comparative Politics
- Political Economy
- Quantitative Methods (regression analysis and causal inference)
- Qualitative Methods (interviews and participant observation)
- Machine Learning
Research groups:
- Conflict & Change
- Comparative Political Economy and Behaviour
Teaching:
PGTA for International Conflict and Cooperation (POLS0001/ESPS0004) in Term 1 and 2 of 2023/2024.
PGTA for Introduction to History, Law, Politics and Philosophy (ESPS0001) - weeks on Political Science I and Political Economy - in Term 1 and 2 of 2024/2025.
PGTA for International Conflict and Cooperation (POLS0001) in Term 2 of 2024/2025.