RECCHIA, Stefano

Max Weber Fellow 2011-2012                                             

Email Stefano.Recchia@EUI.eu   
Tel. [+39] 055 4685 744
Office VF D04

European University Institute
Max Weber Programme
Via delle Fontanelle 10
I-50014 San Domenico

Departmental affiliation: Political and Social Sciences  
Mentor: Christian Reus-Smit  

Recchia Personal Homepage 

I hold an M.A. in International Relations from the LSE and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University. My doctoral dissertation, ‘Limited Liability Multilateralism: IOs and U.S. Military Intervention’, explains why and under what conditions the United States seeks the endorsement of standing international organizations (IOs) such as the UN or NATO for its military interventions. 

I am particularly interested in the micro-dynamics of multilateral legitimacy; that is, I investigate who among Washington’s main bureaucratic players is most interested in multilateral legitimacy, and for what reasons. Comparing U.S. decision making during the lead-up to several post-cold war interventions, I find that in the face of U.S. domestic political pressure to intervene when no traditional strategic interests are at stake, American military leaders are among the staunchest and most effective advocates in Washington of seeking formal multilateral endorsement for the use of force. The endorsement of relevant IOs, obtained before the initiation of offensive military action, is particularly valuable to commanders in the armed forces, because it maximizes multilateral buy-in and thereby reduces the American military’s liability for post-combat peacekeeping and stabilization. 

Besides my dissertation work on U.S. national security policy, multilateralism, and civil-military relations, I also have a strong interest in applied international ethics, post-war reconstruction, and classical international relations theory.