October Research Month 2026

7 October | Palazzo Gallenga, Aula Magna

This event opens the calendar of initiatives for THE OCTOBER OF RESEARCH, dedicated to promoting the scientific activities of the Department of International Human and Social Sciences (SUSI) and fostering dialogue with the local community.

During the event, PhD candidates and research fellows from the University for Foreigners of Perugia will present the results of their research in the following areas:

• Environment, risks and sustainability
• Global governance, diplomacy and new international balances
• Democracy, conflicts and challenges of modernity

Event poster (pdf)

09:30 - Institutional Greetings and Opening Remarks
Paolo Morozzo Della Rocca, Director, Department of International Human and Social Sciences (SUSI)
Francesco Asdrubali, Coordinator of the PhD Program “Frontier Sciences in Sustainability, Diplomacy and International Cooperation”

10:00-11:30 - SESSION I
Environment, Risks, and Sustainability

Lucilla Jommi
Between Earthquakes and Climate Change: The Contribution of Anthropology to the Study of Risk Perception
Naomi Camardella
Conducting Research with Women in Post-Earthquake Contexts: Qualitative and Intersectional Approaches to Investigating Disasters in Inner Areas
Saman Mansouri
Toward Multi-Hazard Resilient Bridges: Integrating Flood, Scour, and Earthquake Effects into Bridge Assessment
Luigi Gradante
The Legal Relevance of Sustainability and Its Incorporation into Contract Law

Chair:
Chiara Biscarini, Università per Stranieri di Perugia
Discussant:
Marzia Traverso, Aachen University

14:30-15:30 - SESSION II
Global Governance, Diplomacy, and New International Equilibria

Gaia Proietti
Water Diplomacy at the United Nations: International Cooperation and Governance of Water Resources for Sustainable Development

Andrea Taborri
Beyond Win-Win Rhetoric: A Critical Reading of the Argentine Situation in the EU-Mercosur Agreement in Light of Dependency Theory
Carlo Busini
Armenia as a Benchmark Test Case in the Global East: The Nexus between Loss and Defeat and Transition

Chair:
Emidio Diodato, Università per Stranieri di Perugia
Discussant:
Federico Niglia, Università per Stranieri di Perugia

15:30-17:00 - SESSION III
Democracy, Conflicts, and the Challenges of Modernity

Leonardo Scacchi
From Democratic Interventionism to American Neoconservatism: Building Legitimacy for Military Interventions
Giorgio Tabani
The Five Star Movement as a Laboratory for Participation: “Nova – Parola all’Italia”, a Return to the Roots?
Leonardo Dani
Protection of the Person and Changes to the Human Germline: The Admissibility Limits of Genetic Editing
Flavio Orecchio
Modernity and the Anthropocene: Continuity or Rupture?

Chair:
Alessandro Albanese Ginammi, Università per Stranieri di Perugia
Discussant:
Luca Alici, University of Perugia

17:00-17:30 - FINAL DISCUSSION
Interdisciplinary Research to Understand Global Change
 

14-15 October 2026 | Palazzo Gallenga, Aula Magna

In recent years, the world has undergone rapid and profound transformations: we are experiencing what has been defined as the "age of force," a period marked by wars, international tensions, and the use of force as a means of domination in the political, economic, symbolic, and military spheres, even calling into question the principles of democracy and the rule of law. The conference aims to provide an opportunity for in-depth analysis and interdisciplinary discussion of these phenomena, to better understand their causes, implications, and possible future scenarios.

Go to the event page

Wednesday 14 October

16:00 – Institutional greetings and introduction
Valerio De Cesaris, Rector of the University for Foreigners of Perugia
Paolo Morozzo Della Rocca, Director of the Department of International Human and Social Sciences

16:15 – Panel 1 | Conflicts, the Crisis of Democracy, and Peace. Intellectuals and Scholars in Dialogue
Anna Foa, Historian
Tommaso Greco, Legal Philosopher
Maria Concetta Mattei, Journalist
Valerio De Cesaris, Rector of the University for Foreigners of Perugia
Massimiliano Marianelli, Rector of the University of Perugia
Chair: Federica Guazzini, University for Foreigners of Perugia

Thursday 15 October

09:30 – Panel 2 | War, Peace, and International Institutions
Alessandro Albanese Ginammi
The Unsustainability of War: Economic, Social and Environmental Costs in Historical Perspective
Salvatore Cingari
From the Great War to the “Great War.” The Militarization of Culture and Society across the Centuries
Francesco Duranti
Peace and Democracy through Law: The Role and Action of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe

11:00 – Coffee break

11:30 – Panel 3 | Conflicts, Rights, and New Power Balances
Paolo Morozzo della Rocca
Sources of Law and the Conflict between Powers. With the Decline of the Rule, Will New Principalities Emerge?
Ottavio Quirico
The Growing Threat of Nuclear Weapons: Limitations in International Law?
Filippo Sbrana
Cohesion Policies and Territorial Conflict in Republican Italy
Alessandro Simoncini
In Systemic Chaos. Concepts on the New (Dis)Order of the World

13:15 – Lunch break

14:30 – Panel 4 | Language, Narratives, and Imaginaries
Antonio Allegra
Forms of Conflict. Imaginaries of Difference between Separation and Transformation
Alberto Azara
The Power of Artificial Appearance: Deepfake
Toni Marino
The Symbolic Narrative of Power and the Construction of Consent. The Pandemic Narrative as the Creation of Pre-Attitudinal Anti-Democratic Tendencies
Stefania Tusini
The Use of the Concept of Madness as a Political Tool in Conflict Situations

16:00 – Panel 5 | Environment, Resources, and New Conflicts
Luna Aristei
Outer Space in the Age of Power
Chiara Chiatti, Francesco Asdrubali
The European Green Deal: Enthusiasm and Reconsiderations
Tommaso Pacetti, Chiara Biscarini
Water Management in Times of Disasters and Conflicts

Final discussion | Rethinking the Future in the Age of Power

18:00 – End of session