Research activities

 

Research Interests

 

My main research interests concern social movements, political violence, terrorism, corruption, police and policies of public order. On these issues I have conducted investigations in Italy, France, Germany and Spain. I have directed a project of comparative research on control of public mass demonstrations in Europe and one on the police in Italy. Currently I am involved in several comparative projects on citizenships and social movements.

 

Main research projects

 

September 2011 to now. Director of the comparative research project “Mobilizing for Democracy”, financed with an Advanced Schorar's Grant from the European Research Cuncil.

 

January 2005 to now. Director of the comparative research project “Violent, Extremist, Terrorists Organizations” (VETO), analyzing the radical right in Italy, Germany and the United States. START Consortium, University of Maryland.

 

September 2004-December 2008. Director of the cross-national project on “Democracy in Movement and the Mobilization of the Society" - DEMOS, funded by the European Commission, 7 FP. [download]

 

Director of GRACE - Gruppo di Ricerca sull'Azione Collettiva in Europa (Research Group on Collective Action in Europe).

 

Since December 2003, member of the research project on “Democrazia discorsiva”, funded by Ministero per l'Università e la ricerca scientifica.

 

Since January 2002, national partner of the cross-national project on “The Contentious Politics of Unemployment in Europe: Political Claim-Making, Policy Deliberation and Exclusion from the Labour Market”, funded by the European Union.

 

Since September 2001, national partner of the cross-national project on “The Transformation of Political Mobilisation and Communication in European Public Spheres”, funded by the European Union.

 

December 2001 - December 2003. National coordinator of a research project entitled “Partecipazione politica e rappresentanza: I comitati spontanei dei cittadini e le politiche pubbliche dei governi locali”, funded by Ministero per l'Università e la ricerca scientifica.

 

1998-2001. National partner of the cross-national project on “The Transformation of Environmental Activism”, funded by the European Union.

 

1993-1996. Director of a cross-national research project on the control of mass demonstrations in Europe, sponsored by the European University Institute, the Italian Research Council (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), and other national research institutes.

 

Published working papers and main research reports

 

The Social Bases of the Global Justice Movement. Some Theoretical Reflections and Empirical Evidence from the First European Social Forum, Civil Society and Social Movements - Paper no. 21, United Nations Research Institute for Democracy, December 2005.

 

With Herbert Reiter, Democracy in Movement and the Mobilization of the Society: A Blueprint, WP7 Report, Democracy in Movement and the Mobilization of the Society - DEMOS, European Commission, 2007.

 

With Dieter Rucht, Practices of deliberative democracy , WP6 Report, Democracy in Movement and the Mobilization of the Society - DEMOS, European Commission, 2007.

 

With Massimiliano Andretta, Global Activists. Conceptions and Practices of Democrcy in the European Social Forums, WP5 Report, Democracy in Movement and the Mobilization of the Society - DEMOS, European Commission, 2006.

 

With Lorenzo Mosca, Organizational Structures and Pratices of Democracy in the Global Justice Movement, WP4 Report, Democracy in Movement and the Mobilization of the Society - DEMOS, European Commission, 2006.

 

With Herbert Reiter, Organizational Ideology and Vision of democracy in the Global Justice Movement, WP3 Report, Democracy in Movement and the Mobilization of the Society - DEMOS, European Commission, 2006.

 

With Lorenzo Mosca, Searching the Net, WP2 Report, Democracy in Movement and the Mobilization of the Society - DEMOS, European Commission, 2005.

 

With Herbert Reiter, The Global Justice Movement in Europe, WP1 Report, Democracy in Movement and the Mobilization of the Society - DEMOS, European Commission, 2005.