Giulia Piccolino

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Giulia Piccolino
Born in Pisa (Italy), 5th March 1983
Contact details:
[email protected]
Tel.: +49 (0) 4042825730
Institute of African Affairs
German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg.
Research interests
Civil wars, peacekeeping, post-conflict reconstruction, statebuilding, politics of Sub-Saharan
Africa, regional integration.
Academic professional experience
May 2014- present
Alexander Von Humboldt Post-doctoral research fellow, German Institute
of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg.
October 2012- May 2014
Associate researcher, Department of Social and Political Studies,
Università Statale di Milano, Milan.
July 2013-May 2014
Post-doctoral research fellow, Department of Political Sciences, Centre for
the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn), University of Pretoria.
September 2013
Country expert, Variety of democracy project, University of Gothenburg,
Sweden, and University of Notre Dame, USA.
November 2012
Independent expert evaluator, European Union Framework Programme 6
(FP6), thematic priority 7 (Citizens and governance).
April 2012 – July 2012
Part time research assistant, Laia Balcells, Duke University (formerly a
fellow at the Institute of Economic Analysis, Barcelona).
Teaching experience
October 2014- March 2015
Adjunct professor, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University
of Hamburg, Hamburg. Designed and taught course “Civil Wars and the
Politics of International Interventionism” (BA International Relations).
August – October 2013
Teaching assistant to Prof. Lorenzo Fioramonti, Faculty of Political
Sciences, University of Pretoria. Course “Jean Monnet European Studies
& Comparative Regionalism” (Hons. International Relations).
November 2012
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Guest lecturer, Istituto di Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI), Milan.
Taught one module of the course “Democrazia e mutamenti di regime nei
paesi arabi, africani e asiatici” (professional training).
April 2012
Trainer, Centre de Recherche et d’Action pour la Paix (CERAP), Abidjan,
Côte d’Ivoire. Taught one module of the “Specialized Training on
Peacekeeping and Post-conflict Reconstruction” (professional training).
February 2009 - March 2012
Guest lecturer and teaching assistant to the course “Storia Politica
dell’Africa Indipendente” (Political History of Independent Africa),
Università degli Studi di Firenze (MA International Relations and
European Studies).
Field Research Experience
October/November 2013
Field research in Accra (Ghana), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Abuja
(Nigeria).
March/June 2013
Field research in Cotonou and Parakou, Benin.
October 2009
July/August 2010
July/August 2011
Field research in Abidjan, Bouaké, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire.
May – June 2010
May 2011
Research stay in Paris, France.
Other professional experience
November 2011 – June 2012
Electoral Advisor, United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI),
San Pédro, Côte d’Ivoire.
May 2011
Short-Term Electoral Observer (STO), Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Election Observation Mission to Albania.
September-December 2010
Long-Term Electoral Observer (LTO), Carter Center Electoral
Observation Mission in Côte d’Ivoire.
November 2009 – January 2010
Collaborator of Global Water Intelligence, Media Analytics Ltd, Oxford,
UK (home-based).
January 2009 – April 2009
Intern, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) section,
United Nations, Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), New
York, USA.
September 2007 – January 2008
Paid intern, European Union Affairs department, European Foundation
Centre (EFC), Brussels, Belgium.
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Education
January 2009 - March 2012
PhD in History of International Relations (orientation in African History
and Politics), Faculty of Political Sciences, Università degli Studi di
Firenze, Florence, Italy. Title of the final dissertation: “Patriots and
Peacekeepers: Peacemaking and Nationalism in Côte d’Ivoire 2002-2011”.
(No grade is awarded for PhD in the Italian system).
September 2011 – October 2011
Visiting PhD student, School of International Relations, University of St.
Andrews, St. Andrews, UK (interrupted before the end of the semester for
work-related reasons).
January- April 2010
Visiting PhD student, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh,
Edinburgh, UK.
June 2005 - April 2008
Laurea Specialistica (2-year MA) in International Relations (110/110 cum
laude – highest grade awarded in the Italian academic system), Faculty of
Political Sciences, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy.
September 2005 – June 2006
Erasmus-Socrates exchange student, Faculty of Political Sciences,
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
October 2001 - May 2005
Laurea di primo livello (BA) in International Studies (110/110 cum laude
laude – highest grade awarded in the Italian academic system), Faculty of
Political Sciences, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy.
September 1998 – June 2001
Maturità scientifica (High School Diploma, orientation in natural sciences
and mathematics) (100/100 – highest grade awarded in the Italian school
system – Best student of the year), Liceo Scientifico Statale Filippo
Buonarroti, Pisa, Italy.
Short-Term Training
May-December 2014
Courses “Introduction to Zotero”, “Area Studies and Comparative Area
Studies”, “Intermediate Stata Programming” and “Media and Social
Media”, Training programme for doctoral students and early post-docs,
GIGA, Hamburg.
September 2014
Course “Stata für Ein- und Umsteiger” (Stata for beginner and
intermediate level), Graduate School, Faculty of Social Sciences and
Economics, University of Hamburg.
October-November 2012
Course “Laboratorio di Metodologia della Formazione Attiva: Training
For Change”, Faculty of Economics and Development Studies, Università
degli Studi di Firenze.
July-August 2012
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Courses “Basics of Inferential Statistics for Political Scientists” and
“Multiple Regression Analysis”. Summer School in Methods and
Techniques, European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR),
Ljubljana, Slovenia.
April 2011
“Course of Reporting on Electoral Observation and Teambuilding”.
Oxfam Italia and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Project Eurosservatori,
funded by the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry without charges for the
selected participants, Arezzo, Italy.
March 2011
Participation in the specialization course “Election Observation and
Assistance”. Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution
(ASPR), International Civilian Peace-keeping and Peace-building Training
Program (IPT), Stadtschlaining, Austria.
July 2009
Participation in the course “The Civilian Personnel of Peacekeeping and
Peacebuilding Operations”. Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, International
Training Programme for Conflict Management, Pisa, Italy.
Publications
Publications by Giulia Piccolino
Academic publications
Peer reviewed journal articles
Piccolino G., ‘Infrastructural state capacity for democratization? Voter registration and
identification in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana compared’, manuscript accepted by
Democratization.
Piccolino G., ‘Making democracy legible? The politics of voter registration and the
experience of the permanent electronic electoral list (LEPI) in Benin’, manuscript accepted
by Development and Change.
Piccolino G. 2014, ‘Ultranationalism, Democracy and the Law: Insights from Côte d’Ivoire’,
Journal of Modern African Studies, 52(1), pp. 45-68.
Piccolino G. 2012, ‘David against Goliath in Côte d’Ivoire? Laurent Gbagbo’s war against
global governance’, African Affairs, 111 (442), pp. 1-23.
Piccolino G. and J. Karlsrud 2011, ‘Withering consent but mutual dependency? UN peace
operations and African assertiveness’, Conflict, Security and Development 11 (4), pp. 447472.
Piccolino G. 2011, ‘Né ingerenza, né indifferenza… e allora che cosa? La Francia nella crisi
ivoriana’, Afriche e Orienti, 3-4. pp. 179-194.
Piccolino G. 2010, ‘A Litmus Test for the European Union? The EU’s Response to the
Crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1996 to the 2006 Elections’, European
Foreign Affairs Review 15 (1), pp. 115-136.
Other articles
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Piccolino G. 2012, ‘In missione nel cuore di tenebra’, Sapere, August, pp. 50-57.
Piccolino G. 2011, ‘Costa d’Avorio: le elezioni presidenziali del novembre 2010 e la ripresa
della guerra’, briefing article, Afriche e Orienti, 1-2, pp. 106-113.
Piccolino G. 2009, ‘Aspettando Godot in Costa d’Avorio: il processo di pace ivoriano tra
speranze e infiniti rinvii’, briefing article, Afriche e Orienti 3-4, pp. 138-142.
Piccolino G. 2007, ‘Il Congo, l'Italia e Leopoldo II del Belgio (1903 - 1908) - I parte: Una
"relazione pericolosa" all'epoca del colonialismo’, Memorie Scientifiche, Giuridiche,
Letterarie, Serie VIII, vol. X, Fasc. 1 2007, National Academy of the Sciences, Humanities
and Arts of Modena, pp. 219-259.
Piccolino G. 2007, ‘Il Congo, l'Italia e Leopoldo II del Belgio (1903 - 1908) - II parte: Nel
regno del caoutchouc e della "blague" - La missione in Congo di Eduardo Baccari e le sue
conseguenze’, Memorie Scientifiche, Giuridiche, Letterarie, Serie VIII, vol. X, Fasc. 1 2007,
National Academy of the Sciences, Humanities and Arts of Modena, pp. 261-318.
Piccolino G. 2005, ‘Eduardo Baccari e il Congo’, Giornale di Medicina Militare (quarterly
magazine of the Italian Defence Ministry), Directorate of Military Health, Rome, OctoberDecember 2005, pp. 577-586.
Chapters in edited books
Piccolino G., ‘Discours nationaliste et fétichisation de la loi en Côte d’Ivoire entre 2002 et
2011’ in Fabio Viti (ed.), La Côte d’Ivoire, d’une crise à l’autre, L’Harmattan.
Piccolino G. 2014, ‘The Dilemmas of Consent in UN Peace Operations: the case of the
United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire’, in Marco Wyss and Thierry Tardy (eds),
Peacekeeping in Africa: the Evolving Security Architecture, Routledge.
Piccolino G. 2012, ‘La democrazia in Costa d’Avorio: una transizione incompiuta?’ in C.
Fiamingo (ed.), Africa che cambia. Processi evolutivi in Africa subsahariana: un’antologia
di analisi e studi di caso, Unicopli, Milano, pp.39-54.
Working papers
Piccolino G. 2014, ‘A Democratic Rentier State? Taxation, Aid Dependency and Political
Representation in Benin’, German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) Working
Paper Series.
Piccolino G. and S. Minou 2014, ‘The EU and regional integration in West Africa: effects
on conflict resolution and Transformation’, Regioconf project working paper, University
of Tübingen and University of Pretoria.
Piccolino G. 2013, ‘The European Union and the Promotion of Regional Integration: A
Viable Approach to the Resolution of Regional Conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa?’,
Regioconf project conference paper, University of Tübingen and University of Pretoria.
Piccolino G. 2008 “Turchia: la frattura regionale di uno Stato centralizzato”, Occasional
Paper
04/2008,
Italian
Center
for
Turkish
Studies,
June
2008.
http://www.turkishstudies.it/files/occpap04.2008.pdf.
Book reviews
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Piccolino G. 2014, Book review of Review of Tim Kelsall, Business, Politics and the State
in Africa: challenging the orthodoxies on growth and transformation, in Governance in
Africa, 1(1).
Piccolino G. 2013, “Book review of Adekeye Adebajo and Kaye Whiteman (eds), The EU
and Africa. From Eurafrique to Afro-Europa”, in Strategic Review of Southern Africa, 35
(2), pp. 160-162.
Non academic publications
Piccolino, G. 2012. Vive la Civilisation! Re Leopoldo e il suo Congo, Edizioni ETS, Pisa.
Piccolino, G. 2011 ‘La transizione senza pace di Ouattara’, Il Manifesto, 13 August, p. 9.
Piccolino, G. 2011 ‘Guazzabuglio Ivoriano’, interview by Roberto Moranduzzo, Vita
Trentina, 9 January, p. 10.
Piccolino, G. 2010 ‘Due presidenti per un paese? La Costa d’Avorio nel caos’, Limes
(Italian review of Geopolitics), on line version, 30 December 2010,
http://temi.repubblica.it/limes/due-presidenti-per-un-paese-la-costa-d%E2%80%99avorionel-caos/18318.
Piccolino, G. 2010 ‘La Repubblica di «Ado» Ouattara’, Il Manifesto, 29 December, p. 9.
Piccolino, G. 2010 ‘Evoluzione dei rapporti tra UE e Africa dalla fine della guerra fredda’,
U.E.! Un’introduzione all’Unione Europea, Athena Edizioni, Florence, pp. 217-250.
Piccolino, G. 2010 ‘La caduta delle Forze nuove: L’esercito non riformato può mettere in
pericolo il processo elettorale’, Il Manifesto, 31 October, p. 9.
Piccolino, G. 2009 ‘La transizione infinita della Costa d'Avorio: rimandate ancora le
elezioni di «uscita dalla crisi» nel paese che da sette anni vive nello stallo’, Il Manifesto, 22
November, p. 8.
Conference Experience
Chair & Convenor
Co-Convenor of the Panel ‘Autonomous and illiberal peacebuilding in comparative perspective’,
Deutsche Verein für Politikwissenschaft (DVPW) Comparative Political Science Section
Conference, to be held from 25 to 27 February 2015 at GIGA, Hamburg.
Co-Convenor of the Panel ‘Building regions or diffusing failure? The local impact of the EU
promotion of regional integration’, DVPW Comparative Political Science Section Conference, to be
held from 25 to 27 February 2015 at GIGA, Hamburg.
Chair and discussant of Panel ‘Electoral Participation’, European Consortium for Political Research
(ECPR) General Conference, 3 - 6 September 2014, University of Glasgow.
Co-convenor and chair of the panel ‘Exploring the Dialectics of Peacebuilding and Statebuilding in
Africa’, Fifth European Conference of African Studies (Lisbon, June 26-28, 2013).
Presentations
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‘Making democracy legible? The politics of voter registration and the experience of the permanent
electronic electoral list (LEPI) in Benin’, invited talk, ‘The Hague Colloquium on the Future of
Legal Identity: Implications of New Technology for Civil Registration and Identification’,
organized by Civil Registration Centre for Development and the Wits Institute for Social and
Economic Research, 21-24 April 2015, The Hague.
‘Engaging with the victor’s peace? A pragmatic role for outsiders in post-victory transitions’, to be
presented at ECPR Joint Sessions, 30 March-2 April 2015, Warsaw.
‘Diffusing failure? Regional integration in West Africa and the EU model’, to be presented at
DVPW Comparative Political Science Section Conference, 25-27 February 2015, GIGA, Hamburg.
‘A victor’s peace? What we (do not) know about decisive civil war outcomes and post-conflict
reconstruction’, to be presented at DVPW Comparative Political Science Section Conference, 25-27
February 2015, GIGA, Hamburg.
(with Sonja Theron) ‘The EU, Regional Co-operation and Conflict in the Great Lakes Region’,
Regioconf project final conference, Brussels, 14 November 2014.
‘Ultranationalism, democracy and the law: insights from Côte d’Ivoire’, paper presented at the
African Studies Association (ASA) of the United Kingdom (UK) Biennial Conference, University
of Sussex 9-11 September 2014.
‘Democracy by IDs and fingerprints? The politics of voter registration and voter registration reform
in West Africa’, paper presented at the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)
General Conference, 3 - 6 September 2014, University of Glasgow.
(with Stephanie Minou) ‘The EU and regional integration in West Africa: what effects on conflict
resolution and transformation?’, paper presented at the Governance Innovation Week, University of
Pretoria, 2-7 June 2014.
‘The European Union, regional conflicts and the promotion of regional integration’, paper presented
at the Fifth European Conference of African Studies (Lisbon, June 26-28, 2013).
‘The Dilemmas of Consent in UN Peace Operations’, paper presented at the conference
“International Peacekeeping in Africa”, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 22-24 November 2012.
‘Post-Victory Peacebuilding in Côte d’Ivoire’, paper presented at the Italian African Studies
Conference, University of Pavia, 18-20 September 2012.
‘La Loi, la Constitution et l’Etat dans le discours des nationalistes Ivoiriens’, paper presented at the
Italian African Studies Conference, University of Pavia, 18- 20 September 2012.
(co-authored with John Karlsrud) ‘Withering consent but mutual dependency? UN peace operations
and African assertiveness’, paper presented at the conference “Globalization and Development –
Rethinking Interventions and Governance”, Centre for Globalization and Development at the
University of Gothenburg, November 22-23, 2011.
‘Liberal peace or second independence? The Ivorian peace process’, Paper presented at the 4th
European Conference of African Studies (ECAS), Uppsala, 15-18 June 2011.
‘La Crisi Ivoriana: Uno Stato Due Presidenti’, invited talk, round-table organized by the Circolo di
Riflessione sull'Africa (Discussion Group on Africa) of the Università Statale di Milano, Milan, 1
March 2011.
‘La Francia nella crisi ivoriana: né ingerenza, né indifferenza… e allora che cosa?’, paper presented
at the Italian African Studies Conference, Università “L’Orientale”, Naples, 30 September–2
October 2010.
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‘Mediation, local response and the limits of international engagement in Côte d'Ivoire’, paper
presented at the Pan-European Conference on International Relations, Stockholm, 9-11 September
2010.
‘Mediation, local response and the limits of international engagement in Côte d'Ivoire’, paper
presented at the ECPR Graduate Conference, Dublin City University, 30 August–1 September
2010.
‘A litmus test for Europe? The European Union and the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (1996 – 2006)’, paper presented at the Annual Congress of the Italian Society of Political
Science (SISP), Rome, 17-19 September 2009.
Conference ‘Leopoldo II del Belgio e l'Italia: una "relazione pericolosa" all'epoca del
Colonialismo’, Modena, 28 February 2007, Invited talk, Series of conferences of the National
Academy of the Sciences, Humanities and Arts of Modena.
Peer Reviewer Experience
Reviewed articles for the International Journal of African Historical Studies, Peace Research: the
Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review and
Governance in Africa.
Grants and Awards
2014: Subsidy towards research costs (500 EUR per month, 12,000 EUR total for two years)
awarded as part of Alexander Von Humboldt post-doctoral fellowship.
2013: Research grant for conducting field research in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, awarded as
part of the REGIOCONF project by Compagnia di San Paolo, through the programme “Europe and
Global Challenges” together with Volkswagenstiftung and Riksbankens Jubileumsfondet.
2013: Research grant for conducting field research in Benin, awarded as part of the EU FP7-funded
project “The economic, social and political consequences of democratic reforms. A quantitative and
qualitative comparative analysis (Acronym COD, Grant agreement no.: 262873).
2012: Winner of prize “Premio Ricerca "Città di Firenze" 2012”, awarded by the City Council of
Florence and Firenze University Press to PhD thesis in the social sciences and humanities.
2012: Travel and accommodation grant awarded by ETH Zurich for participating in the
International Peacekeeping in Africa conference.
2011: Travel grant awarded by the Università Statale di Milano for participating in a roundtable
over the Ivorian crisis.
2010: European Consortium for Political Research conference grant covering participation fees.
2010: Following a PhD application at the University of Edinburgh, awarded a College Research
Scholarship paying tuition fees at the UK/EU rate and an annual research expenses allowance of
GBP 440. Eventually renounced in order to pursue PhD with full scholarship at the University of
Florence.
2009-2012: Full three-year scholarship from the Italian government for PhD studies at the
University of Florence, covering inscription fees, plus a stipend and travel allowances (13,638 EUR
per year, plus 50% for sustained periods spent abroad).
2008: Refund of University fees (around 2,000 EUR) for the last year of Laurea Specialistica
course, awarded to students having received the maximum grade.
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2005-2006: Erasmus/Socrates mobility grant, awarded for spending an academic year at the
Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Professional Memberships
Member of the International Studies Association
Member of the United Kingdom African Studies Association
Member of the Association for African Studies in Italy
Member of the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network
Wikistrat analyst
Member of Forma Mentis (Italian network of conflict transformation experts)
SKILLS
Languages
Understanding
Listening
Italian
C2
English*
Speaking
Reading
Spoken interaction
Writing
Spoken production
C2 Mothertongue
C2 Mothertongue
C2 Mothertongue
C2 Mothertongue
C1 Proficient User
C2 Proficient User
C1 Proficient User
C1 Proficient User
C2 Proficient User
French**
C2 Proficient User
C2 Proficient User
C2 Proficient User
C1 Proficient User
C1 Proficient User
Spanish
(Castilian)
B2
Independent
User
B2
Independent
User
B2 Independent User B1
Independent
User
B1
Independent
User
German
B1
Independent
User
B1
Independent
User
B1 Independent User A2
Basic User
A2
Basic User
Mothertongue
* Advanced Level certificate awarded on May 2012 by UNOCI training unit, score 94%. International English
Language Testing System (IELTS) certificate of academic English delivered on 3 March 2010. Score: 8.0/9.0 (9/9
listening, 9/9 reading, 8/9 writing, 6.5/9 speaking).
** Diplôme d'Etudes de Langue Française (DELF) certificate delivered in 2006, score 87.5%. Used as a working
language at UNOCI and at the Carter Center Electoral Observation Mission in Côte d’Ivoire.
IT skills
MS office: excellent
Citation managers (Zotero, Mendeley, Endnote): good
Stata: intermediate
R: basic.