Research October 2026

7 October | Palazzo Gallenga, Aula Magna

This event opens the calendar of the series 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 Università per Stranieri di Perugia will present the outcomes of their research in the following areas:

• Environment, Risks and Sustainability
• Global Governance, Diplomacy and New International Balances
• Democracy, Conflicts and the Challenges of Modernity

09:30 - Institutional Greetings and Introduction to the Proceedings
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 After the Earthquake: Qualitative and Intersectional Approaches to Investigate Disaster in Inland 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 Introduction into Contract Law

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

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

Gaia Proietti
Water Diplomacy at the United Nations: International Cooperation and Water Resources Governance 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 Case in the Global East: The Nexus Between Loss, Defeat, and Transition

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

15:30-17:00 - SESSION III
Democracy, Conflicts, and Contemporary Challenges

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

Moderator:
Alessandro Albanese Ginammi, Università per Stranieri di Perugia
Discussant:
Marco Damiani, Università degli Studi di Perugia

17:00-17:30 - FINAL DEBATE
Interdisciplinary Research for Understanding 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 described as the "era of force," a period marked by wars, international tensions, and the use of force as a means of domination in political, economic, symbolic, and military spheres, calling into question the very principles of democracy and the rule of law. This conference aims to provide an opportunity for in-depth exploration and interdisciplinary dialogue on these phenomena, to better understand their causes, implications, and potential future developments.

Wednesday, 14 October

16:00 - Institutional welcome and opening remarks
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, democratic crisis and peace. Dialogue among intellectuals and scholars
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
Moderator: 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 from one century to the next
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 balances of power
Paolo Morozzo della Rocca
Sources of law and the conflict between powers. With the decline of norms, will new principalities arise?
Ottavio Quirico
The growing threat of nuclear weapons: limits in international law?
Filippo Sbrana
Cohesion policies and territorial conflict in Republican Italy
Alessandro Simoncini
In systemic chaos. Some 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 consensus. The pandemic narrative as pre-attitudinal antidemocratic creation
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, between momentum and reconsideration
Tommaso Pacetti, Chiara Biscarini
Water Management in Times of Disasters and Conflicts

Closing discussion | Envisioning the future in the age of power

18:00 - End of proceedings