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Self-organized social distancing
No full textPublished online: 09 February 2026During previous pandemics, social distancing was organized top-down, through the imposition of a minimum distance. An alternative approach toward social distancing asks individuals to try to maximize their distance to others. Here, we ask whether people can thus efficiently self-organize spatial arrangements. We studied 953 social distancing decisions made in 150 groups under controlled conditions. Results show that subject behavior approximates what optimal mathematical strategies achieve. At scale, the observed behavior produces greater distancing than the mere respecting of an externally imposed minimum distance. These findings suggest that the encouragement of maximal distancing may reduce the propagation of viruses that spread through close-range contact beyond what is achieved with minimum-distance policies alone
‘Un eroico traduttore’ : Pietro Antoniutti, translator and ‘cultural mediator’ between Venice and Europe (1780–1820)
No full textPublished online: 16 February 2026Over the last four decades, a large number of multidisciplinary studies have contributed to enhance our knowledge of the importance of translations as sources to investigate historical phenomena. These studies have shown the need to develop a research methodology capable of examining translations in all their richness and complexity, paying specific attention not just to the so-called material vectors (the forms taken by the new, translated versions), but also to all those actors who take part in the translation process, be they the publishers, the patrons of publishing projects, or – obviously – the translators themselves. This chapter aims at addressing this point by investigating the work of Pietro Antoniutti (1732–1827), a Friulian priest whose career as translator was entirely devoted to the realisation of Italian versions of eighteenth-century English and Scottish bestsellers. Educated in Gorizia, Venice, Vienna and Istanbul, Antoniutti translated more than thirty works of European – and American – historians, scientists, philosophers, with the ambitious aim of giving his Venetian readers editions of writings that provided them with the conceptual tools to understand the developments taking place in the society and political institutions of the Republic of Venice au tournant des Lumières
How does the education cleavage stack up against the classic cleavages of the past?
No full textPublished online: 06 February 2025This article conceptualises a political cleavage as the extent to which a group sharing a distinct social characteristic is over-represented in a political party. Using a robust measure, we find that (1) an education cleavage now structures voting for GAL and TAN parties in Western Europe; (2) these parties are far more cleavaged than contemporary centre-left and centre-right parties; (3) GAL and TAN parties are as socially structured as classically cleavaged social democratic parties in the 1950s; (4) the Republican and Democratic parties have also become strongly cleavaged on education. In neo-cleavage theory, the formation of cleavages is punctuated by periods of dealignment as prior divides lose their grip and new conflicts give rise to new political parties with distinctive social cores. There is plausible evidence that education now structures political parties in contemporary Western democracies
Paying the buyer : from one off defense offsets to strategic alliances
No full textDefence date: 21 January 2022Examining Board: Prof. Ulrich Krotz, (EUI) ; Prof. Stephanie Hoffman, (EUI) ; Prof. Fabrizio Coticchia, (University of Genova) ; Dr. Moritz Weiss, (LMU München)My dissertation addresses the understudied phenomenon of defense offsets - compensation to states for buying foreign weapons. Governments have long demanded compensation when procuring highly complex and expensive weapon systems from foreign suppliers. Through such additional benefits states typically seek to build, retain, or modernize their defense and/or civil technological and industrial base. Foreign suppliers, by contrast, use defense offsets to enrich their bid, and thus increase their chances of succeeding in a very competitive market. Although the IR and international security scholarship has hitherto ignored defense offsets, they often involve technology transfer and may sometimes evolve into strategic alliances or high-end and long-term technological collaborations between foreign and domestic defense companies. When doing so, I argue, defense offsets may significantly augment buyer states’ chances of climbing up the ladder of arms production capabilities, especially if foreign suppliers are willing to accept onerous or sub-optimal arrangements such as the transfer of cutting-edge technology.Tapping into new data sources and through cross-case analysis of 29 international fighter aircraft sales as well as 5 in-depth case studies from 1999 to 2019, I show that export reliant bidders are increasingly willing to enter sub-optimal strategic alliances with buyer states possessing good enough defense industrial bases, ultimately suggesting that arms production capabilities may redistribute from European to emerging powers. In the process, my findings demonstrate a number of points. Firstly, they show how state-led initiatives foster the globalization of production, thus casting doubts on received knowledge that emphasizes private entrepreneurialism. Secondly, that states and defense firms alike weaponize interdependence against weaker competitors. Thirdly, that under certain conditions states have the upper hand in negotiating investments with trans-national corporations. Fourthly that Washington plays a much bigger role in aircraft makers’ decisions than previously acknowledged, and finally, that offsets are yet another driver of arms collaboration
Forget me not : alba amicorum and visual communication of friendship, belonging and emotional communities, 1763–1830s
No full textDefence date: 21 February 2022Examining Board: Professor Ann Thomson (European University Institute) ; Professor Giorgio Riello (European University Institute) ; Professor Johanna Ilmakunnas (Åbo Akademi University) ; Associate Professor Samantha Matthews (University of Bristol)Few materials have preserved so much of the visualisation and friendship-practice of the cult of friendship as the album amicorum (friendship album). The albums earned their name from their role in the practice of friendship, remembrance, networking, and the creation of social communities and identities, and above all the visualisation of the same. This thesis examines the social function of images in friendship albums in the latter part of the centuries-long practice of the genre. It focuses on the years between the end of the Seven Year's War and the period before the German Revolution (1763–1830s), a time period when the album practice became particularly pronounced in the material culture of friendship. The sources for this study are c. 7000 individual entries, from 282 German albums in three collections; the city archive (Stadtarchiv) in Göttingen (180 albums), the city library (Stadtbibliothek) in Nuremberg (67 albums) and the city museums (Städtische Museen) in Jena (35 albums). The aim of the thesis is to identify the shared visual literacy within album communities and explore how and in what way images have been employed to create, maintain and display friendships and social belonging. By analysing common themes, motifs and artistic techniques, the thesis discusses how artistic and thematic choices had the potential to visualise shared emotional ideals and visual literacy, social belonging and aspects of individual relationships and social identity. In addition to materiality, the chapters are divided by theme within which the social aspect of the album images are explored: nature and imagery relating to the natural landscape as a mediator of friendship and belonging; student circles, masculinity and depictions of memberships; the visualisation of the cult of friendship and the complexity of the friendship concept; and remembrance, friendship and the inclusion of mourning iconography
Cross-border child relocation : national law in a united Europe
No full textDefence date: 17 March 2022Examining Board: Prof. Stefan Grundmann (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin & European University Institute); Prof. Martijn Hesselink (European University Institute); Prof. Katharina Boele-Woelki (Bucerius Law School); Dr. Ruth Lamont (University of Manchester)Cross-border child relocation cases are among the most difficult disputes that family judges need to face. Commentators across the globe disagree on the interpretation of the child's best interests and the relevance of adults' autonomy in this context. As relocations are directly concerned with free movement, the literature has expressed an interest also in the European Union's influences in this area. However, considering its lack of competence in family law and the limited jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union on such issues, some questions about the scope and nature of obligations imposed by EU law remain open. This thesis investigates, therefore, the following question: What is the (nature of) EU law's influence on cross-border child relocation and what are its effects on national legal systems? Its contribution is two-fold. Methodologically, it proposes a constructively oriented investigation of European influences in child relocation law. Cross-border movement constitutes the main raison d'être of EU law, and a defining feature of its community. Hence, a mixture of traditional values and new ways of life - sanctioned by a supranational entity - might lead to new dilemmas regarding children's interests and adult autonomy and complicate relocation decisions. The suggested approach allows contextual influences to be analysed together with legal doctrines, at both the EU and the national level. Substantively, the thesis builds on existing research to refine the understanding of child relocation in the context of supranational fundamental rights and freedoms in the EU, in their doctrinal and ideational dimensions. Finally, using case law from Germany, Poland, and England and Wales, it qualitatively investigates how national judges encounter the EU and draw from its ideational and legal features. This thesis demonstrates how the normatively inflicted EU context is occasionally used in courts but does not seem to consistently reorient national approaches towards the EU.Chapter 3 ‘Child relocation and the European framework of human rights' of the PhD thesis draws upon an earlier version published as an article 'Child relocation, soft law, and the quest for umiformity at the European court of human rights : part one' (2020) in the journal ‘Prawa prywatnego’Chapter 3 ‘Child relocation and the European framework of human rights' of the PhD thesis draws upon an earlier version published as an article 'Child relocation, soft law, and the quest for umiformity at the European court of human rights : part two' (2021) in the journal ‘Prawa prywatnego
Labour as labour : exploring an employment model of regulation for commercial surrogacy
No full textDefence date: 19 December 2022Examining Board: Prof. Claire Kilpatrick (European University Institute, EUI Supervisor); Prof. Mathias Siems (European University Institute; Prof. Judy Fudge (McMaster University Canada); Prof. Lizzie Barmes (Queen Mary University of London)Commercial surrogacy continues to grow in popularity. Lack of legal provisions at the international and domestic levels, however, has given rise to myriad problems. This has increasingly caused states and academics to consider whether regulation may be the preferable approach. Yet despite the extensive sociological and anthropological literature that has conceptualised contract pregnancy as a form of work, the question of whether and how this might translate into a new legal framework remains underexplored. This thesis seeks to bridge this disciplinary gap by investigating the merit of treating surrogates as the employees of their intended parents, therein regulating contract pregnancy through labour law. To do so, it addresses numerous issues through five substantive Chapters: the controversies with marketizing reproductive labour, the current legal landscape, whether surrogacy could really be regulated as labour, what labour law might have to offer, and finally what the challenges might be with this approach to regulation. It draws on a range of secondary sources to answer these, but also integrates analysis of both Californian surrogacy contracts and interviews with industry actors conducted as part of this research. Overall, I argue that particularly for states which do not currently regulate surrogacy – whether because it is prohibited, ignored, or they ascribe to a Free Market approach – labour law has real potential as a pre-existing solution to help ensure that these arrangements operate as ethically as possible. Certainly, exploring this possibility would help to overcome the exceptionalisation of reproductive labour, which this thesis shows is detrimental not only to gestational carriers, but also the coherency of labour law itself.Chapters 1 'Introduction' and Chapter 4 'Surrogacy: could it really be regulated as labour' draw upon an earlier article: ‘Surrogacy: Time We Recognised it as a Job?’ (2021) published in the Journal of Gender Studies. Chapter 2 'Should surrogacy be marketized?' and Chapter 3 ' The current legal landscape' draw upon ‘Commercial surrogacy : building families outside of family law’, (2022) published in the Hastings Journal of Gender and the Law. Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 draw upon ‘Labour is labour : what surrogates can learn from the Sex Work Is Work movement' (2022) published in the Journal of law and society
Proxy war strategies in civil wars
No full textDefence date: 01 December 2022Examining Board : Professor Ulrich Krotz, (European University Institute, supervisor); Professor Klarita Gërxhani, (European University Institute); Professor Spyridon N. Litsas, (University of Macedonia); Professor Joachim Schild, (Trier University)This dissertation explores and answers two puzzles about states supporting proxies in civil wars. The first puzzle asked why states external to a civil war decided to provide support to a proxy instead of intervening with their own armed forces? In other words, I examined the foreign policy of proxy war where a state’s support for the government in parallel with a state’s support for the opposing side transforms the civil war. While recent scholarship presented various incentives and constraints specific on proxy war, my theory analyses strategies which explain how in a competitive strategic setting a state’s preference led to supporting a proxy in a civil war. Examining proxy war as a foreign policy choice that states prefer over other policies, this dissertation finds that states use a set of proxy war strategies in civil wars. A central finding of this dissertation is that states use the offensive proxy war strategy, which is based on rivalry, less frequently than other proxy war strategies which are based on security, interest, or revenge. However, when both external warring sides use an offensive proxy war strategy these proxy wars may lead to an inadvertent military escalation. Then, I examined a second puzzle pertained to sponsorship relationships and various types of support handed over to proxies. I observed that the type of a sponsorship relationship does not seem to influence the level of support a state will provide. It is the chosen proxy war strategy which influences the type of support states provide to their proxies. Scholars of conflict rely on the delegation model and the orchestration model of indirect governance to describe the relationships that states forge with their proxies. I claim that proxies bargained the authority a sponsor has over them depending on their vulnerability and their identity. I found that recent sponsorship relationships in proxy wars tend to resemble the orchestration model rather than the delegation model. These findings are based on examining all post-Cold War proxy wars through 2016, using Qualitative Case Analysis. I use the fuzzy set variant to test when states chose a proxy war strategy in a civil war. I combined this approach with Set-Method Multimethod Research to explore the inferential mechanism of typical cases of proxy war, in Syria (2011 – 2015), Burundi (1993 – 2003) and Azerbaijan (1991 – 1992). This dissertation’s original contribution is the presentation a proxy war concept which uses the framework of sponsorship relationships based on bargained authority. The dissertation’s theoretical and empirical results uncover generalizable patterns in proxy war strategies in civil wars that directly address scholarly and policy debates in the foreign policy decisions of intervention in civil wars, limited war, indirect governance during conflict, and concept measurement in international relations
Regulating investment capitalism : an ethnography of Fintech
No full textDefence date: 28 November 2022Examining Board: Professor Hans-Wolfgang Micklitz, (European University Institute, supervisor); Professor Olha Cherednychenko, (University of Groningen); Professor Mathias Siems, (European University Institute); Professor Yane Svetiev, (The University of Sydney)Fintech, a portmanteau of finance and technology, as such is not a novelty in finance. The most recent, post- Global Financial Crisis (GFC) however has led to the emergence of new entities within the financial system- Fintech companies. Fintech firms develop technology-based solutions to bring innovation and new technologies to financial system. Their influence on the financial sector has been huge, and is constantly growing due to continuous increase in private investments within the sector, as well as Fintechfriendly regulation. The EU Fintech policy-making has been no different in this regard-it has been created with the objective of accelerating growth and enabling innovation within the financial sector, in addition to traditional financial markets’ regulatory objectives. Moreover, when addressing risks, the EU Fintech framework has followed an activity-based principle (“same activity-same risks-same regulation”). Such approach, however, seems not to be fully adequate for Fintech due to its distinctiveness within the financial system. The thesis thus examines whether or not the existing EU regulatory framework is tailored to the particularities of Fintech. To answer the question, the thesis develops a multidimensional understanding of Fintech. It first provides findings of an extensive desk research that discuss how Fintech has been transforming financial markets and society at unprecedented speed and scale, and how a “laissez-faire” approach to Fintech regulation has contributed to that. The findings of the desk research lead to the second part of the thesis - an ethnographic study of European Fintech industry. This Fintech ethnography provides a counter-narrative to the opportunities and benefits-focused rhetoric that prevails among Fintech businessmen, scholars and policymakers responsible for Fintech regulation. By bringing the perspective of “the inside” to the debate on Fintech regulation, the thesis identifies new concerns and risks, and follows with a set of regulatory recommendations in its conclusions
The intelligentsia and the oil barons in nineteenth-century Baku
No full textDefence date: 07 June 2022Examining Board: Prof Alexander Etkind, (EUI, Supervisor); Prof. Pieter Judson, (EUI, Second Reader); Prof. Jeronim Perovic (University of Zurich); Prof. Ronald Grigor Suny, (The University of Michigan)Unlike the intellectuals who by nature are concerned with ideas, entrepreneurs usually take actions, especially actions that result in financial benefits. Due to ideological reasons, these two- entrepreneurs and intellectuals –rarely find common ground in their differing interests to collaborate. When they do, however, it can lead to social change, as was the case in late nineteenth century Baku. The nineteenth century was an age of dramatic political, economic, and cultural changes for the people of the South Caucasus and especially for Baku, which had been a sleepy port town on the coast of the Caspian Sea up until then. Having witnessed many crucial moments such as invasion by the Russian Empire, transition into an industrial society, and the establishment of secular education, the nineteenth century occupies great importance in the historiography of the countries in the region. One of the major phenomena of the time, the development of an intellectual movement led by a secular Muslim intelligentsia, also known as the Azerbaijani Enlightenment movement (Azərbaycan maarifçilik hərəkatı), coincided with another pivotal change - the Baku oil boom. Although separately both topics have received enormous scholarly attention, they have rarely been examined in tandem with each other. Crucial questions regarding cooperation between the local intelligentsia and the oil industrialists—especially in matters of education and philanthropy--remain largely under-researched. Financial support from oil barons was often instrumental for some projects of the Enlightenment movement, and surprisingly little attention has been paid to the question of the connections between the intellectual movement and the oil industry. This project seeks to shed light on examples of collaboration between the intelligentsia and Baku oil barons and to contribute to the general understanding of the characteristics of this relationship, which was remarkable for the history of Azerbaijan. To reach its goal, my research analyzes this cooperation from a threefold perspective: firstly, as an outcome of a nineteenth-century Enlightenment movement led by the secular intellectuals against the clergy; secondly, as a modernization project that was a response by the oil barons to imperial rule; and thirdly, as a process of socio-cultural renewal that resulted largely from both the intelligentsia’s and the oil baron’s fascination with Europe and which later gained political significance