October of Research 2026

7 October | Palazzo Gallenga, Aula Magna

This event inaugurates the series of initiatives entitled OCTOBER FOR RESEARCH, dedicated to enhancing 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 fields:

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

Event poster (pdf)

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 Programme “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 Significance of Sustainability and Its Introduction 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 Emerging International Equilibriums

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

Andrea Taborri
Beyond the Win-Win Rhetoric: A Critical Perspective on Argentina’s 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 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 of Participation: “Nova – Parola all’Italia”, a Return to the Origins?
Leonardo Dani
Protection of the Person and Modifications to the Human Germline: The Admissibility Limits of Genetic Editing
Flavio Orecchio
Modernity and the Anthropocene: Continuity or Disruption?

Chair:
Alessandro Albanese Ginammi, Università per Stranieri di Perugia
Discussant:
Marco Damiani, University of Perugia

17:00-17:30 – FINAL DISCUSSION
Interdisciplinary Research for Understanding Global Change
 

14-15 October 2026 | Palazzo Gallenga, Aula Magna

In recent years, the world has witnessed rapid and profound transformations: we are living in what has been described as the "age 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 contexts, even to the point of challenging the very principles of democracy and the rule of law. This conference aims to provide an opportunity for in-depth interdisciplinary analysis and discussion of these phenomena, to better understand their causes, implications, and possible future outlooks.

Go to the event page

Wednesday, 14 October

16:00 - Institutional greetings 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, democracy crises and peace. A dialogue between 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 from a historical perspective
Salvatore Cingari
From the Great War to the "Great War". The militarisation 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 power dynamics
Paolo Morozzo della Rocca
Sources of law and power struggles. Will new principalities arise with the decline of legal norms?
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. 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 the creation of pre-attitudinal anti-democratic mindsets
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 times of force
Chiara Chiatti, Francesco Asdrubali
The European Green Deal, between momentum and reconsideration
Tommaso Pacetti, Chiara Biscarini
Water Management in Times of Disasters and Conflicts

Final discussion | Thinking about the future in times of force

18:00 - Closing session