Biography
I see myself as an educator, scholar and global citizen. Though I was born in Italy and I visit often, I am cosmopolitan by vocation and I do not identify along national lines. As a child, I used to stare at the Alpine ranges hovering over my hometown of Belluno and wondered what lay beyond. The answer was South Tyrol and Austria, but I ignored it then and thankfully so, for there was fascination in the unknown and the foreign. Hours were spent marveling at the planes that criss-crossed those snowy peaks and dark valleys.
Years have passed, but my attraction to the unfamiliar and the unknown has not diminished. My academic background and life trajectory reflect that curiosity: I have trained in a number of disciplines across several continents and languages, and I have had plenty of opportunities to discover what lay beyond the Alps.
After completing law school at the University of Trento, Italy, where I graduated ‘summa cum laude’ (110/110 cum laude) in international and comparative law, I moved to the University of Auckland, New Zealand, where I wrote my (first) doctoral thesis on the French and US legal approaches to the issue of the Islamic headscarf. During this time, I also conducted research on French law and politics at Sciences-Po in Paris, France.
“The more I studied the law and the legal process, the more I realized I was missing the bigger picture”
The more I studied the law and the legal process, however, the more I realized that I was missing the bigger picture. It was only at Exeter College, Oxford University—where I completed an MPhil in International Relations—that I discovered the fascinating links between international law and international relations.
The natural habitat for such coexistence was the subfield of international organizations, which has become my main area of expertise. Under the supervision of Professor Jonathan Wright (Christ Church, Oxford), I wrote my MPhil thesis on the role of the UN Secretariat in Rwanda, a project that was then turned into a second doctorate and later into a book, published by Oxford University Press (OUP).
“My professional trajectory has been just as varied, spanning several fields, cultures, and continents”
Reflecting this wide range of academic interests, my professional trajectory has been just as varied, spanning several fields, multiple cultures, and many continents. After my law degree I served as a legal adviser to Ragnar Adalsteinsson & Partners, a Supreme Court law firm based in Reykjavík, Iceland, and specializing in human rights issues. There, I was also a legal officer at the Icelandic Human Rights Center.
At the University of Auckland, New Zealand, I co-founded and edited the New Zealand Law E-Journal and I taught law and history. At Oxford, I engaged in a range of activities relating to international relations, international history and international organizations, while at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth — the ‘birthplace’ of the discipline of International Relations — I taught international history and political science, gaining a Teaching Excellence Award in the process. I also briefly worked for the Under-Secretary-General’s office for Political Affairs (USG-DPA) at the UN Headquarters in New York City.
From late 2013 to early 2018, I was appointed as an Assistant and then an Associate Professor of Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) at the Asian University for Women (AUW), a US-style, women-only liberal arts college with a campus in Chittagong, Bangladesh, and a Support Foundation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that promotes gender equality and that draws students from across Asia and the Middle East.
“It has been rewarding to be a visiting scholar at universities in China, France, the USA, and Canada”
I have also had the pleasure of being a visiting student, scholar, or professor at several universities, including Zhejiang in Hangzhou (China), British Columbia (Canada), the University of Washington (USA), Temple University Japan in Tokyo (Japan), Sciences-Po in Paris (France), and the City University of New York (USA).
At Tokyo’s ICU University, I currently teach and publish in the fields of international relations, international history, the politics and international relations of Africa, art and international relations, and international organizations, especially the United Nations. I’m fluent in English, French, Italian and Spanish, and I served as a referee for the journal International Relations (SAGE) and for Oxford University Press.
“I am a life-long enthusiast of history, art history, and archaeology, and a passionate collector of ancient art”
Lastly, I have both a personal and a professional interest in art, history and archaeology. In addition to being a passionate collector of ancient art — especially as it relates to diplomacy and global history — my most recent area of academic interest are the intriguing links between art, archaeology, and international relations. A selection of my own collection and explanations of its links to diplomacy can be found in the ‘Art & I.R.’ section.