NATIONAL PHD IN PEACE STUDIES

In the form of the Ph.D of National Interest (DIN), PPS refers in its founding project to the values of Charter of the United Nations, the European Union, the Italian Constitution, the international cooperation agreements to which Italy is a part of, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Agenda, local policies for the basic rights related to health, welfare, peace and quality of life. References are also made to the priority areas of The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), the conception of innovative educational planning in particular for public administration and the National Research Program, the dissemination of knowledge of peace-related topics and areas of study and research in universities, public administration and other highly innovative career paths.

In relation to the Ph.D. project, peace is to be understood as “positive peace”, i.e. peace that is built by peaceful means at various levels of political and social life: from the construction of an international order that repudiates war as a means of resolving disputes between nations, to a peace that is the result of solidarity and social justice. Positive peace depends on the will and actions of those who, in various capacities, demand “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family" (Universal Declaration of Human Rights). The PPS’s academic community intends to contribute to those efforts by activating a national pathway of knowledge-based research for peace through a transdisciplinary approach and interconnectedness. This is because 'peace studies' is not a mere field of study similar to other analytical disciplines. Peace studies concern all sciences that (with their methodological, substantive and research statutes) are striving to step up construction of “positive peace”.

The overall objective of PSS’s project is therefore to promote interdisciplinary and transversal higher education and research pathways, which are able of provide innovative perspectives and developing a field of study that can have a significant and positive impact on a society that has to deal with today’s dramatic phenomena, including changes due to natural habitats and man-made environment.

For this reason, this Ph.D. is organised in 10 training curricula, which provide subject-specific teaching knowledge.

Learning objectives

Certified highly qualified training courses characterize the Ph.D of National Interest in Peace Studies, which aims to train a wider range of specialists in the fields of study and research concerning peace. PhDs in Peace Studies must be capable of analysing, through an interdisciplinary approach, the dynamics of conflict and peace, reconciliation and mediation, social and cultural factors, social interactions, socio-cultural practices and various aspects of geopolitics, international relations, economics and political realities at the local, national and supranational levels, with a view to putting in place processes of peaceful transformation of human social and political behavior.

This also involves further technical and scientific developments that require many and diverse talents.

The objective of the Ph.D of National Interest in Peace Studies is specifically devoted to train experts who:

              1)   can address the academic world with sectoral expertise with various competences, knowledge and     skills related to the field of, conflict transformation, conflict prevention, conflict resolution, peace and peace building studies, with a global vision that goes beyond their specific technical expertise;

2)   can interact efficiently with organisations, institutions, public administrations and intergovernmental bodies as well as with social, corporate and community structures at local, national and supranational levels, in order to contribute to the development of inclusive, peaceful, sustainable policies;

3)   may constitute a transdisciplinary group of scholars, researchers, practitioners and technicians with specific expertise on peace and conflict issues, who are able to implement coordinated training, research and third mission projects at national and international level.

The interdisciplinary program of the Ph.D of National Interest in Peace Studies is designed to make it possible for doctoral and post-doctoral students to implement and develop original research that contributes to the growth of the scientific disciplines referring to the dynamics of conflict resolution and peace education in their many facets. This can be done not only with a theoretical and conceptual point of view, but also with a historical and analytical point of view, which are strictly related to technical and practical expertise in the dynamics of understanding and analysing good practices and research-action projects based on the development of preliminary questions in these areas. In a long-term diachronic perspective and in a perspective of continuous interaction between tradition and innovation, issues such as encounter, recognition, conflict, harmony, coexistence and respect between cultural, social and religious diversities constitute the main front of the Ph.D of National Interest in Peace Studies. Its courses aims to provide doctoral students with the research skills necessary to work independently and fruitfully with the teaching staff and supervisors, and with a strong inclination towards interdisciplinary peer interaction, effective research methodologies for the collection, analysis and interpretation of sources and heuristic material, which are important for the application of theoretical elaborations and techniques in specific cultural contexts, both public and private; they are also important for the analysis and use of good practices in relation to both public and private organisations based at a local, national, transnational and global levels.

PhD graduates in Peace Studies will be able to work both in university research and teaching, but also within public administration and private institutions involving consultants, civil servants, cultural mediators and other cultural promoters of peace. They will be also able to design and develop research activities, cultural and institutional processes as well as policies, practical actions and technological solutions, in a peaceful-sustainable and inclusive sense of the terms.

The inter-trans-disciplinary training encompasses studies from the traditional areas of social humanities (history, philosophy, arts and literary studies, law, economics, politics, sociology, anthropology, geography, communication, etc.), science (physics and mathematical studies, natural sciences, computer science), medicine (psychological studies, global health, etc.), technology and conservation studies (architecture, engineering and design, museographic techniques, heritage, etc.), while enhancing specific analytical, methodological and linguistic skills capable of promoting interaction with the most innovative gender and intersectional studies, postcolonial studies,  digital humanities, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Occupational and professional opportunities

Doctoral graduates in Peace Studies will be able to contribute to intellectual, cultural, institutional and project processes in the field of the dissemination of a sustainable culture of peace and action-research. The Ph.D of National Interest in Peace Studies wcan be successfully applied to train highly specialised figures in the various fields of academic research and cultural diplomacy in supranational, national and local administrations sector (both  public and private), as well as in international and transnational governmental and non-governmental institutions. For these reasons, the Ph.D of National Interest in Peace Studies envisages the following job opportunities:

1)   Figures engaged in advanced research capable of autonomously constructing and managing disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and action-research projects in the field of peace studies and of the specific scientific-disciplinary sectors involving the studies of conflict resolutions and peace building, within Italian and international universities, public and private institutes and research centers.

2)   University-level lecturers capable of developing innovative training projects in the field of peace studies and of the specific scientific-disciplinary sectors in the didactics of peace, conflict resolution and peace building within Italian and international universities, teacher-training, technological, and cultural institutes, public and private research centers.

3)   Highly qualified professional profiles in the legal, social, anthropological, psychological disciplines suitable for different (public administration, education, business, professional, family) contexts dealing with issues related to conflict transformations, conflict prevention, conflict resolutions and peace building, while promoting of good practices and projects for a peaceful and sustainable society.

4)   Highly qualified figures in the interdisciplinary field of peace studies, who can carry out (in public and private, national and international employment contexts) innovative functions such as those related to:

-     officials or consultants in the public or private sector for the design, development and implementation of programs, projects and policies for a peaceful and sustainable coexistence;

-     cultural and communication workers, journalists, press and public relations officers in the public and private sector for the development of communication plans based on conflict transformations, conflict prevention, conflict resolutions and peace building, as well as  sustainable interaction, while considering the use of digital technologies and social media;

-     teachers and operators of training institutes, public and private, which are involved in managerial functions and projects related to innovative didactic programs and transversal issues of conflict transformations, conflict prevention, conflict resolutions and peace building;

-     trainers with respect to long-life learning projects and training projects on the topics of conflict transformations, conflict prevention, conflict resolutions and peace building, which involve specific social and professional categories such as teachers, museum educators and cultural heritage experts, managers of monumental memorials, soldiers involved of peace-building missions, NGO operators, journalists, etc.;   officials of local, regional, national and international institutions who are highly qualified in the protection of personal and peoples' rights and the development of democratic institutions;

-     conflict analysts (conflict mapping experts, scenario development analysts), mediators and peace builders in conflict contexts;

-     engineers, architects, designers and other technical figures in the design and management of interventions to protect and secure the population in areas of conflict and post-conflict, emergency situations (including environmental emergencies) as well as in areas with scarce healthcare resources;

-     disaster risk management .

Curriculum 1 - Technology, Sustainability and Peace

 Coordination

Viviana Molaschi, Walter Franco 

Teaching Staff

Maria Carmela Agodi (Università di Napoli Federico II - SPS/07 Sociologia generale); Marina Clerico (Politecnico di Torino - ING-IND/28 Ingegneria e sicurezza degli scavi); Anna D’Ambrosio (Politecnico di Torino - SECS-P/06 Economia applicata); Antonio Di Campli (Politecnico di Torino - ICAR/21 Urbanistica); Walter Franco (Politecnico di Torino - ING-IND/13 Meccanica applicata alle macchine); Caterina Mele (Politecnico di Torino - ICAR/10 Architettura tecnica), Viviana Molaschi (Politecnico di Torino - IUS/10 Diritto amministrativo); Ilenia Picardi (Napoli Federico II - SPS/07 Sociologia generale).

Curriculum Description

Scientific and technological progress is characterized by a complex ambivalence. Technologies can be at the service of both peace and war, while conditioning on socio-economic dynamics and the relationship with the environment and healthcare resources.

The PhD program aims at promoting research and training figures who are able to understand and manage the ambivalence of technical-scientific progress and its implications in the field of economic, social, ecological, ethical and political contexts. They will also be able to develop skills in the areas of sustainability, inclusion, social justice and peace.

This curriculum is based on the conviction that the relationship between technology, sustainability and peace must be addressed within both the scientific area and technological world, while considering principles, values and rules that a society intends to give itself and with which science and technology relate. The course therefore integrates methods and disciplines concerning both the implementation and the management of technical-scientific innovation for the purpose of sustainability and peace:  it is characterized by a strong interdisciplinary connotation, involving knowledge and expertise related to scientific, technological and humanistic subjects, and it is open to graduates from different disciplines.

Research topics and training objectives

The curriculum proposes research activities and educational objectives, which aim at developing inter-(and trans)-disciplinary tools, appropriate to the complexity and variety of:

-    conflicts;

-    the non-neutral role and dual use of science and technology;

-    the inspiring principles of sustainable, conscious and responsible scientific-technological innovation;

-    the role played by the 'democratisation' of science and technology for the purposes of sustainable decision-making processes and more inclusive and less conflictual societies;

-    the relationship between technological development, environmental impact and peace;

-    the relationship between design, social innovation and inclusion.

Curriculum 2 -  Identities, Memories, Religions, and Peace

Coordination:

Mariachiara Giorda, Carmelo Russo

Teaching Staff

Enrico Acciai (Università di Roma Tor Vergata - M-STO/04, Storia contemporanea); Matteo Al Kalak (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia - M-STO/02 Storia moderna); Francesco Antonelli (Università di Roma Tre - SPS/07 Sociologia generale); Marinella Ceravolo (Sapienza Università di Roma - M-STO/06 Storia delle religioni); Pierluigi Consorti (Università di Pisa - IUS/11 Diritto e religione); Francesca Corrao (Luiss - L-OR/12 Lingua e letteratura araba); Massimo De Giuseppe (IULM - M-STO/04 Storia contemporanea); Laura Farroni (Università di Roma Tre - ICAR/17 Disegno); Massimo Carlo Giannini (Università di Teramo - M-STO/02 Storia moderna);, Maria Chiara Giorda (Università di Roma Tre - M-STO/06 Storia delle religioni); Giuseppe Giordano (Univeristà di Roma Tor Vergata - L-ART/08 Etnomusicologia); Marco Impagliazzo (Università di Roma Tre - M-STO/04 Storia contemporanea); Noemi Lanna (Università di Napoli L’Orientale - L-OR/23 Storia dell’Asia Orientale e Sud-Orientale); Gaetano Lettieri (Sapienza Università di Roma - M-STO/07 Storia del Cristianesimo e delle Chiese); Umberto Longo (Sapienza Università di Roma - M-STO/01 Storia Medievale); Manfredi Merluzzi (Università di Roma Tre - M-STO/02 Storia moderna); Orietta Ombrosi (Sapienza Università di Roma - Sapienza - M-FIL/03 Filosofia morale); Paola Pizzo (Università di Chieti-Pescara - M-STO/04 Storia contemporanea); Domenico Rizzo (Università di Napoli L’Orientale - M-STO/04 Storia contemporanea);, Carmelo Russo (Sapienza Università di Roma - M-DEA/01 Discipline demoetnoantropologiche); Alessandro Saggioro (Sapienza Università di Roma - M-STO/06 Storia delle religioni); Renata Salvarani (Università Europea - M-STO/07 Storia del Cristianesimo e delle Chiese); Kristina Stoeckl (LUISS - SPS/07 Sociologia generale);, Francesco Valerio Tommasi (Sapienza Università di Roma - M-FIL/06 Storia della filosofia);, Annalisa Tota (Università di Roma Tre - SPS/08 Sociologia dei processi culturali e comunicativi); Roberto Tottoli (Università di Napoli L’Orientale L-OR/10 Storia dei Paesi islamici).

Curriculum description

As a cultural product, which is inherently connected to the progression and development of history, it is not possible to identify a fixed structure or a universally accepted interpretation of peace. Therefore, within the domains of historical, historical-religious, sociological and demo-ethno-anthropological sciences, there is an increased necessity to investigate peace as a historical object that is perpetually reshaped by social, political, and religious exchanges. For these reasons, the “Identities, Memories, Religions and Peace" curriculum aims at the cross-cutting and multidisciplinary analysis of peace within historical contexts, ranging from the past to the present, and geographical parameters that may span all continents, without neglecting the contribution of analytical tools provided by area studies. The research will examine how conflict resolution impacts identities and memories from both a synchronic and diachronic perspective. It will explore how this process shapes the institutions, places, artifacts, practices, and beliefs of different groups of people.

The “Identity, Memories, Religions and Peace” curriculum focuses on developing theoretical knowledge and methodological skills necessary for conducting advanced research, study, and analysis. Its PhD programme incorporates insights from multiple disciplines such as History, Sociology, History of Religion, Architecture, and Demo-ethno-anthropological studies.

Research topics and training objectives

From an interdisciplinary standpoint, peace will be examined in its narrative, conceptual, and rhetorical dimensions, as well as in its material, spatial, and symbolic aspects. The curriculum’s main research topics will be as follows:

 ●     the narratives that constitute discourses on peace, reconciliation and non-violence within religious beliefs, political institutions and collective memories;

●     the practices of peace and reconciliation in different historical, cultural and religious contexts (from the local to the global level) with a focus on gender issues;

●     the re-sematisation of concepts, places and symbols of peace and reconciliation belonging to the past;

●     the (re)shaping of narratives, practices, and beliefs about peace through negotiation processes between political and religious forces of one or more human groups;

●     how peacebuilding and reconciliation processes are able to interact with spaces, creating places of memory, cohesion and identity, also in relation to processes of cancel culture and difficult heritage;

●     the production, exchange and repatriation of objects, monuments and artefacts that are seen as symbols of peace and tangible manifestations of its realisation, also from a post-colonial perspective;

●     the preservation or oblivion of memory mediated by the materiality of objects and buildings;

●     the development of shared memories through processes of negotiation, mediation, and reconciliation;

●     the research-analysis of cultural products (both tangible and intangible) related to the concept of peace and the ritual/ceremonial contexts of their production and fruition;

●     the circulation of peace practices as part of the activities of transnational agencies and institutions

Curriculum 3 - Peacebuilding, Human Rights, Peoples’ Rights

Coordination:

Marco Mascia, Costanza Nardocci

Teaching Staff

Antonio Angelucci (Università dell’Insubria - IUS/11 Diritto e religione); Angela Bernardo (Sapienza Università di Roma - M-STO/06 Storia delle religioni); Raffaele Cadin (Sapienza Università di Roma - IUS/13 Diritto internazionale); Paola Degani (Università di Padova - SPS/04 Scienza politica); Pietro de Perini (Università di Padova - SPS/04 Scienza politica), Marco Mascia (Università di Padova - SPS/04 Scienza politica); Alessandra Mignolli (Sapienza Università di Roma - IUS/14 Diritto dell’Unione europea); Costanza Nardocci (Università Statale di Milano - IUS/08 Diritto Costituzionale); Raffaella Nigro (Università di Catanzaro - IUS/13 Diritto internazionale), Attilio Pisanò (Università del Salento - IUS/20 Filosofia del diritto); Davide Antonio Ragozzino (Sapienza Università di Roma - BIO/09 Fisiologia); Mirko Sossai (Università di Roma Tre - IUS/13 Diritto internazionale); Luca Scuccimarra (Sapienza Università di Roma - SPS/02 Storia delle dottrine politiche); Francescomaria Tedesco (Università di Camerino - SPS/01 Filosofia politica); Benedetto Zaccaria (Università di Padova - SPS/06 Storia delle relazioni internazionali).

Curriculum Description

The ‘Peacebuilding, Human Rights, Peoples’ Rights’ curriculum focuses on peace as a fundamental right of the individual and of peoples based on the principle of respect for human dignity as solemnly enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Research in this area aims to verify how the structure of society influences conflict and post-conflict peacebuilding, to identify the main variables that influence the capacity for non-violent action of social movements and civil society organisations, and to study the historical causes of violent conflict. The research also aims to critically analyse how organic and sustainable economic, social, cultural and political development can contribute to the preservation of peace and the promotion of models of democratic and non-violent coexistence based on respect for the principles of the rule of law and the welfare state, as well as cultural, religious and gender diversity.

The curriculum aims to provide students with the theoretical and methodological tools, in a multidisciplinary perspective, to answer the following questions: in the historical era we are living in, in which direction should peace research and peace studies be developed and strengthened? What are the structure and dynamics of violent conflict? Which institutions, local, national and international, intergovernmental and nongovernmental, are active to promote a social and international order of peace and justice? With what strategies and instruments? How can law and values linked to different legal systems support peacebuilding processes and the protection of the rights of persons and peoples, including native communities and minorities? What are the methods, actors and decision-making style of peace diplomacy?

Specific research topics and learning objectives

Studies within the ‘Peacebuilding, Human Rights, Peoples’ Rights’ curriculum will be developed through the transversal and multidisciplinary analysis of peace policies in the system of multilevel governance, so called “from the city to the UN”, enhancing the principle of subsidiarity as the most appropriate instrument to avoid concentrations of power and to support the role of international human rights law.

The specific educational objectives of the curriculum are those aimed at developing the skills and methodologies necessary to carry out scientific research in the fields of conflicts, the construction and development of peace processes and the protection of the rights of the individual and peoples through the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and methodological tools belonging to various contiguous social disciplines, with particular reference to the political, legal, historical, pedagogical and psychological sciences.

Research topics will therefore be approached from a transdisciplinary perspective with studies on

●    the care of peacebuilding, the structure and dynamics of macro conflicts, with a focus on conflict dynamics triggered by the adverse effects of climate change, human security and human development, gender justice, the race for rearmament, international democracy, human rights and peace diplomacy, human rights and peace education as transformative education, theories and techniques of non-violence;

●    the effectiveness and development of international law of human rights and related guarantee systems, of international criminal justice and of the right of common global goods as instruments of peace;

●    multilevel governance practices for peacebuilding and for the implementation of human and peoples' rights, with a focus on the role, contribution and interaction of the different actors involved, also taking into account contemporary challenges to global governance, multilateralism and regional integration processes in the context of evolving international relations and alliances;

●    the participation of women and youth in reconciliation, reconstruction and peacebuilding processes at all levels of governance and the development of civil peace corps.

Curriculum 4 - Peace education and migrations

Coordination

Claudio Baraldi, Silvia Nanni

Teaching Staff

Claudio Baraldi (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia - SPS/08, Sociologia dei processi culturali e comunicativi); Francesco Cherubini (LUISS - IUS-14, Diritto dell’Unione Europea, LUISS);, Federico Farini (University of Northampton - SPS/08 Sociologia dei processi culturali e comunicativi); Massimiliano Fiorucci (Università di Roma Tre -  M-PED/01 Pedagogia generale e sociale); Maria Grazia Galantino (Università di Roma La Sapienza - SPS/07 Sociologia generale); Barbara Gross (University of Chemnitz - M-PED/01 Pedagogia Generale e Sociale); Silvia Nanni (Università dell’Aquila - M-PED/01 Pedagogia generale e sociale); Alessandro Vaccarelli (Università dell’Aquila - M-PED/01 Pedagogia generale e sociale).

Curriculum Description.

The curriculum provides an interdisciplinary view bringing together the themes of peace education and connection between peace and migrations. First, the curriculum deals with peace education, as an objective of 2030 Agenda of the United Nations and basic factor to ensure an inclusive and equal education, and to promote sustainable development, huma rights, gender equality, global citizenship and personal and cultural diversity.   The curriculum includes the analysis of projects in schools and other educational services, which involve children, adolescents, teachers and educators, also investigating the use of digital tools as ways of producing stories, experiences and views on peace. Second, the curriculum explores the construction of peace as related to migrations, from (1) a juridical-political point of view, by dealing with inequalities and neo-colonial approaches, proposing citizenship and right protection as methods of conflict management and fight against violence, especially referring to second generations and unaccompanied foreign minors, (2) a historical point of view dealing with causes and paths of migrations. 

Research topics and learning objectives

●     Foundations of peace education: peacebuilding, dialogic forms, and agency

●     Migrations and positive peace: citizenship policies and decolonial processes

●     Agenda on “Women, Peace and Safety” and National Action Plans: women as active agents in conflict resolution and promotion of peace

●     2030 Agenda and gender equality

●     Hate speech: discrimination, stereotypes, prejudices, and violence, against minorities and vulnerable people.

●     Soft Skill and sustainable education.

●     Audio-visual and transmedial narratives in conflictive and peaceful systems.

●     Migrations, peace, and world geo-political structure: “nation-building”, multiculturalism and promotion of positive peace.

●     Methods of conflict management and healing of the suffering generated by injustice.

●     Voluntary and forced migrations: mediatised narratives and oral geo-histories of migrants, and peaceful entanglements in trans-local communities.

Curriculum 5 - Architectures and Landscapes of Peace

Coordination

Maria Argenti, Olivia Longo, Carlo Alberto Romano

Teaching Staff

Ali Abu Ghanimeh (The University of Jordan – ICAR/17 Disegno); Maria Argenti (Sapienza Università di Roma – ICAR/14 Composizione architettonica e urbana); Claudia Battaino (Università di Trento – ICAR/14 Composizione architettonica e urbana); João Ferreira Nunes (Università della Svizzera italiana – ICAR/15 Architettura del Paesaggio); Olivia Longo (Università degli Studi di Brescia – ICAR/14 Composizione architettonica e urbana); Giovanna Marconi (Università IUAV di VENEZIA - ICAR/21 Urbanistica); Anna Bruna Menghini (Sapienza Università di Roma – ICAR/14 Composizione architettonica e urbana); Carlo Alberto Romano (Università degli Studi di Brescia, MED/43 Medicina legale).

Curriculum Description

The Curriculum aims to form a design culture that is attentive to the social impact of architecture; in the short, medium and long term. The areas of research aimed at urban and rural transformation are looked at from an interdisciplinary perspective of peace, sustainability, innovation, reuse, active participation and community building.

The Curricular path has different focuses (theoretical, historical, methodological, technological, aesthetic) held together by a single holistic vision of architecture for peace, which also needs to be designed, like a building.

Research topics and training objectives

The Curriculum intends to stimulate in PhD students the awareness that even the construction of the space we live in, the cities we inhabit, the territories we pass through, can contribute to the construction of a climate of peace and civil coexistence, restoring to architecture the role of give a physical dimension to communities, an ethical dimension to beauty and a social dimension to places.

 The objective is therefore to direct and guide studies, research and field experiments, in order to fuel the growth of a concrete critical and design capacity in architectural peace building.

The curriculum will cover the following topics:

●     Management of intercultural conflicts in peace building processes,

●     Architecture for emergencies (war conflicts, migrations, humanitarian crises, environmental changes),

●     Architecture of reconstruction,

●     Architecture and disarmament: reuse and conversion of military areas and abandoned buildings,

●     Architecture for interreligious, intercultural dialogue,

●     Architecture of shared memory (memorials, dedicated museums, e.g. human rights museum),

●     Inclusive architecture: sharing and solidarity vs separation and discrimination (e.g. slum upgrading),

●     Border architecture,

●     Architecture for cooperation (e.g. with the Global South),

●     Architecture for the community,

●     Architecture and citizenship,

●     Architecture and democracy,

●     Architecture for justice,

●     Architecture and prevention of social hardship,

●     The great masters of our time for the architecture of peace.

Curriculum 6 - Space, territory, resources, and narratives for peaceful pathways

Coordination

Aide Esu, Massimiliano Tabusi

Teaching Staff

Aide Esu (Università di Cagliari - SPS/07 Sociologia Generale); Gianfranco Franz (Università di Ferrara - ICAR/20 Tecnica e Pianificazione Urbana); Matteo Puttilli (Università di Firenze - M-GGR/01 Geografia); Annalisa Giampino (Università  di Palermo - ICAR/21 Urbanistica );, Francesca Romana Lenzi (Foro Italico - SPS/07 Sociologia Generale); Mirella Loda (Firenze, M-GGR/01 Geografia); Paola Minoia (Torino - M-GGR/02  Geografia economico-politica); Marco Picone (Università di Palermo - M-GGR/01 Geografia); Giuseppe Ricotta (Università di Roma La Sapienza - SPS/07 Sociologia Generale);, Giovanni Sistu (Università di Cagliari - M-GGR/02 Geografia Economica); Massimiliano Tabusi (Università per Stranieri di Siena - M-GGR/01 Geografia).

Curriculum Description

Spatiality refers to space dimension, production, organization, experience, perception, imagery, and related symbolic aspects, which are central in conflict management, such as different competing interests that can be managed more or less peacefully. The ability to “read” space and construct it is important for understanding the processes, dispelling prejudices that hinder peace, promoting mutual knowledge, removing the perception of war as a "natural" event, and understanding the complexity of the processes. This complexity can be traced back to two main levels, the micro (interpersonal) and the macro (geographical, social, and political) levels, which are divided into several areas:

a) Resources and space: the distribution of essential resources, such as land, water, and energy sources, can trigger conflict or be managed in a way oriented towards peaceful coexistence. Territorial disputes arise, at various scales, in the definition of power over these resources and often become a source of dispute consolidation. Understanding the dynamics of context variation, such as climate change or the unsustainable use of resources, is crucial in many cases for conditions favorable to peace to occur or be restored.

b) Urban-rural/center-periphery: The magnifying urbanization strongly impacts the distribution of resources and the concentration of problems relating to well-being, employability, housing, inclusive spaces’ creation and demographic pressures on the historic residents of urban areas in reshaping the functions that these areas perform or can perform. From a rural perspective, impacts in terms of abandonment of cultivated spaces, changes in the agricultural landscape, and land use policies open up new forms of conflict relating to the consumption of fertile lands to exploit energy from renewable sources.

c) Spatial inequalities: as a matrix of the fragmentation of the social fabric, the loss of social cohesion, perceived conditions of quality of life, well-being, equality of rights and opportunities.

c) Borders and bordering:

Historically, borders are sources of conflict and disputes of geographical-political and social tensions, which imply both the control of resources and the movement of entire populations, giving rise to the creation of refugee camps and the involvement of humanitarian operations and forms of ethnic-cultural segregation and ghettoizations.

d) Narration, collective imagination, and symbolic dimension:

The transformation of space into territory is achieved through the action of the powers playing in that territory and through the continuous construction and regeneration of the imagery and symbolic apparatus impacting the population in that spatial context. These influence the narration through different channels, such as training, communication, and art. The symbolic role of space, like places considered sacred, can be central to maintaining or achieving peaceful coexistence, also through spaces of loisir, well-being, and socialization (sports arenas, squares, green spaces). A similar process involves the artistic dimension of narration, music, literature, visual arts, and popular representations.

Understanding spatiality in these terms offers useful knowledge in searching for powerful strategies for conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction.

Research topics and training objectives

The curriculum intends to promote a research path aimed at training professional figures able to understand spatiality's complexities in seeking resolutions and consolidating conflict management.

Due to the points highlighted above, the path is characterized by a strong trans-disciplinarity: geography, sociology, economics, international relations, history, and anthropology. Therefore, it integrates historical and social science methodologies, the most innovative ones of participatory and inclusive techniques, to build expertise not only in the field of research but also in those applicative forms of empowerment of potential recipients of conflict management interventions, also exploring the dimension of their narration and representation, including abilities to represent through artistic expression and cartographic tools.

The curriculum proposes research activities and training objectives aimed at developing the following themes:

●     Innovative teaching of social, geographical, and historical-international research methodology in peace studies.

●     Acquisition of skills useful to disseminate the understanding the problems and the research results and share possible paths towards peace (cartography, video processing, podcasts, graphic novels and more).

●     Borders and conflicts: stories of successful negotiations and/or innovation in methods and practices.

●     Comparing international experiences (for example Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East...) on spaces of contrast versus integration and peaceful resolution of disputes.

●     Formation of states and institutional building processes for controlling the monopoly of force in conflict and post-conflict models comparison.

●     Case-studies of inclusive and symbolic transformative (e.g., suburbanization) or virtuous (e.g., sporting events, social and educational activities) processes for building for peace

Curriculum 7 - Peace economics

Coordination

Raul Caruso

Teaching Staff

Elisabetta Bani (Università di Bergamo - IUS/05 Diritto dell’economia); Vincenzo Bove , (Università di Warwick -,  SECS-P/02 Politica Economica); Raul Caruso (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - SECS-P/02 Politica economica); Valeria Costantini (Roma Tre - SECS-P/02, Politica economica); Rossella Del Prete (Università del Sannio - SECS-P/12 Storia Economica); Emma Galli (Università di Roma La Sapienza -, SECS-P/03 Scienza delle Finanze); Giuseppe Marotta (Università del Sannio -, AGR/01 Economia e estimo rurale);  Damiano Palano (Univ. Cattolica di Milano - SPS/01 Economia politica); Mario Pianta (SNS di Pisa - SECS-P/01 Economia Politica); Roberto Ricciuti (Università di Verona - SECS-P/02 Politica Economica); Donato Romano (Università di Firenze -, AGR/01 Economia ed Estimo Rurale).

Curriculum Description

Peace economics investigates the causes of violent conflicts at both micro and macro levels, as well as policy measures aimed at mitigating and resolving them to identify pathways for sustainable long-term development.

In summary, peace economics proposes a novel economic paradigm that enables the overcoming of increasingly strong and divisive inequalities, fostering inclusive economic development across different regions of the world. This is particularly pertinent in localities increasingly affected by environmental and climate crises, often with limited access to goods and food products. In a broad perspective, peace economics is based on the reforming of institutions with new governance models, promoting synergic participation, even from grassroots levels, between institutions and citizens. However, an economy of the common good is a process that does require a reshaping of public expenditures and thus welfare systems. Promoting peace means seeking to reduce disparities, for example, in access to public health, fostering a more equitable income redistribution for all social categories. Peace and social justice are two aspects that cannot be split in a project to redefine welfare but must contribute jointly to the definition of an inclusive and regenerative economic and developmental model for diverse territorial communities.

Research topics and objectives

From a positive perspective, though not exhaustive, relevant themes within the realm of peace economics include:

(a) military expenditures and their impact on economic and social systems;

(b) socio-economic determinants of political violence;

(c) economic determinants and effects of international armed conflicts;

(d) the relationship between climate change and armed conflicts;

(e) the trade-off between unproductive and destructive conflict-related expenditures and long-term investments such as education, healthcare, and environmental adaptation.

Normatively, peace economics focuses on the development and analysis of:

(i) disarmament policies, conversion, and control of arms flows and military spending;

(ii) regulation of the military industry;

(iii) policies aimed at addressing structural inequalities among social groups in access to resources;

(iv) regulations for businesses in the market to prevent appropriative behaviours and human rights abuses;

(v) regulation of primary goods markets, particularly agricultural goods in countries characterised by recurring armed conflicts and widespread violence; and

(vi) regulation of markets to promote transformative changes.

The curriculum aims to investigate the themes mentioned above from a theoretical and institutional analytical perspective, with particular attention to European and international policies.

Curriculum 8 - Literature, Arts, Philosophies and Imageries of Peace.

Coordination

Irene Baldriga, Alberto Castelli, Giuseppe Scandurra

Teaching Staff

Alfredo Alietti (Università di Ferrara - SPS/10 Sociologia dell’ambiente e del territorio); Irene Baldriga (Sapienza Università di Roma - L-ART/04 Museologia e critica artistica e del restauro); Francesco Paolo Bianchi (Università dell’Insubria - L-FIL-LET/02 Lingua e letteratura greca); Alberto Castelli (Università dell’Insubria - SPS/02 Storia delle dottrine politiche); Gianfranco Franz (Università di Ferrara - ICAR/20 Tecnica e pianificazione urbanistica); Damiano Garofalo (Sapienza Università di Roma - L-ART/06 Cinema, fotografia e televisione); Elena Valentina Maiolini (Università dell’Insubria - L-FIL-LET/11 Letteratura italiana contemporanea) Alfredo Mario Morelli (Università di Ferrara - L-FIL-LET/04 Lingua e letteratura latina).; Alfredo Alietti (UniFe - SPS/10 Sociologia dell’ambiente e del territorio); Alberto Castelli (Università dell’Insubria - SPS/02 Storia delle dottrine politiche); Damiano Garofalo (Sapienza Università di Roma -  L-ART/06 Cinema, fotografia e televisione); Giuseppe Scandurra (Università di Ferrara - M-DEA/01 Antropologia culturale), Irene Baldriga (Sapienza Università di Roma - L-ART/04, Museologia e critica artistica e del restauro); Francesco Paolo Bianchi (UnInsubria - L-FIL-LET/02 Lingua e letteratura greca); Gianfranco Franz (UniFe - ICAR/20 Tecnica e pianificazione urbanistica); Elena Valentina Maiolini (UnInsubria - L-FIL-LET/11, Letteratura italiana contemporanea)

Curriculum Description

Research into the imaginaries of peace in the literatures, in the arts and philosophies has to be seen in connection with the social dynamics and in interaction with the legal and economic structures that concretely define each era, in a solid anthropological-cultural and socio-historical approach.

The PhD curriculum promotes research and education precisely on these aspects: the critique (in literature, arts and philosophies) of the violence as a solution of the inevitable human conflict is framed in wide-ranging historical and socio-anthropological categories; research on the construction of the anthropic space also has a place (environments, cities, spaces of coexistence and, inevitably, of conflict).

The curriculum, therefore, offers a number of courses, in order to achieve a coherent pathway that moves from the ancient literatures of the Mediterranean to those of the modern western world, without neglecting the historical-artistic, philosophical-theoretical and juridical aspects, with a clear socio-anthropological characterisation.

In this way, students can deal with a varied and integrated itinerary through different methods and disciplines, focused on the problem of the critique of human conflict. A modern approach to the problems of sustainability and peace must start from a historical awareness of the imaginaries of peace, of the continuous dialectic that history has created between the dramatic nature of conflicts and the ideas and representations created by writers, artists, philosophers who have 'thought the limit', looking beyond the horizon line in which those conflicts were located. The interdisciplinary feature is an essential requirement of the curriculum, which plays precisely on the co-presence and interaction of complex knowledge, from the humanistic, juridical and technical-scientific fields.

Research topics and objectives

The curriculum includes research activities aimed at developing themes such as:

●             searching for methodological, inter- and transdisciplinary tools for a historical and cultural analysis of human conflicts;

●     developing a critique of the role (and limits) of literatures, arts and philosophies in conceiving and promoting peace imaginaries;

●     searching for the interplay that law, economics and techniques of social construction of spaces of human interaction have had in the development of such imaginaries;

●     refining, through cultural-historical reflection, precise skills in valorising the contribution that arts, literatures and philosophies can still make to overcoming the syndrome of the reductio ad unum, viz. of the vision of the "other" as an obstacle to be removed or an enemy to be demolished, in consideration of the perpetual necessity of education for peace and of a kind of coexistence, in which listening to ‘the other’ (even outside the anthropic sphere) is fulfilling yourself.

Curriculum 9 - Restorative Justice, Transitional Justice and Nonviolent Conflict Transformation

Coordination

Roberto Cornelli, Grazia Mannozzi

Teaching Staff

Francesco Alicino (LUM "Giuseppe Degennaro" - IUS/11 Diritto e Religione); Angela Busacca (Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria - IUS/01 Diritto Privato); Claudia Chiarolanza (Sapienza Università di Roma - M-PSI/07 Psicologia Dinamica); Alessandra Cordiano (Università di Verona - IUS/01 Diritto Privato); Roberto Cornelli (Università Statale di Milano - IUS/17 Diritto Penale); Attilio Gorassini ((Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria - IUS/01 Diritto Privato); Grazia Mannozzi (Università dell’Insubria - IUS/17 Diritto Penale); Enza Pellecchia (Università di Pisa - IUS/01 Diritto Privato); Palmina Tanzarella (Università di Milano Bicocca - IUS/08 Diritto Costituzionale).

Curriculum Description

The innovations brought by restorative justice projects, transitional justice programs and nonviolent conflict transformation practices are profoundly changing the ways of "doing justice" both in peacetime and in contexts deeply torn by armed conflict, mass violations of human rights, genocide and state crimes.

Interest in these experiences of justice is growing in the field of peace studies with particular reference to the cultural and institutional changes they trigger and the semantic redefinition of the concepts of peace and justice. Peace is understood no longer only as the cessation of violence but as an ongoing engagement in the (re)construction of possible forms of coexistence. Justice is understood as a set of practices that, rather than punishment, is geared toward non-repetition and repair of harm and social bonds through victim recognition, perpetrator empowerment and community involvement.

The Restorative Justice, Transitional Justice and Nonviolent Conflict Transformation Curriculum promotes educational and research paths aimed at the acquisition of cross-curricular skills, both theoretical and methodological and integrates inputs from various disciplines (including criminology, law, sociology, political science, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, history and pedagogy) with learning in the field through direct participation in restorative justice programs.

Research topics and training objectives

The curriculum involves the study of topics characterized by a high transdisciplinarity including, but not limited to:

●     historical evolution and principles of transitional justice;

●     restorative paradigm of criminal justice: philosophical foundations, historical evolution and law;

●     perspectives of transitional justice in addressing contemporary crises; places of transitional justice and restorative justice; restorative justice, restorative measures and restorative sanctions;

●     truth and memory in transitional processes;

●     victims in dialogic justice;

●     gender justice in peace processes;

●     mediation and other methods of nonviolent conflict transformation;

●     democratic reforms of security apparatus and prevention of the use of force;

●      structural violence, social justice and peace policies;

●     relational approach to crime and both individual and collective violence;

●     prevention, non-repetition and reduction of recidivism;

●     methods of evaluating restorative justice and transitional justice programs;

●     analysis of affective and cognitive processes in restorative and transformative justice, especially regarding juvenile criminal prosecutions

Curriculum 10 - Dynamics, processes and actors in international relations

Coordination

Roberta Ricucci, Dario Elia Tosi

Teaching Staff

Roberta Ricucci (Università di Torino - SPS/08 Sociologia generale); Giovanni Battista Andornino (Università di Torino - SPS/04 Scienza politica); Carlo Belli (Perugia Stranieri - SPS/04 Scienza politica);  Roberta Bosisio (Università di Torino - SPS/12 Sociologia giuridica, della devianza e mutamento sociale), Marilena Dellavalle (Università di Torino - SPS/07 Sociologia generale), Rosita Di Peri (Università di Torino - SPS/04 Scienza politica), Sara Lagi (SPS/02); Lorena Forni (Università di Milano Bicocca - IUS/20 Filosofia del diritto), Anna Miglietta (Università di Torino - M-PSI/05 Psicologia sociale); Lorena Milani (Università di Torino - M-PED/01 Pedagogia generale);  Paola Minoia (Università di Torino - M-GGR/02 Geografia economico-politica); Isabella Pescarmona (Università di Torino M-PED/01 Pedagogia generale e sociale); Elisa Ruozzi (Università di Torino - IUS/13 Diritto internazionale); Stefano Ruzza (Università di Torino - SPS/04 Scienza politica); Isabella Pescarmona (Università di Torino M-PED/01 Pedagogia generale e sociale);  Dario Elia Tosi  (Università di Torino - IUS-21 Diritto pubblico comparato); Alessandro Vagnini (Sapienza Università di Roma - SPS/06 Storia delle relazioni internazionali).

Curriculum Description

Recognizing that conflict, including violent conflict, is a crucial social and political phenomenon and that peacebuilding processes today are widespread but often fragile and complex, it is necessary to use analytical tools to critically engage with the various dimensions of conflict and the many political, social, economic and cultural actors operating at local, national and supranational levels. The relationship between peace, security, development, institutions, democracy, rights and inequalities, different and with specific actors in different regions of the world (from Asia to Africa, from the Americas to Europe and Oceania), is not limited to a specific geographical and/or socio-political context, but is interwoven with historical processes, legal traditions, socio-economic and cultural dynamics.

The course therefore integrates methods and disciplines concerned with analyzing factors and conditions that can undermine social cohesion (at the local level) and security and peace (at the national and international levels), taking into account institutional actors, private actors (from NGOs to businesses) and citizen groups. The program is highly interdisciplinary, drawing on knowledge from the fields of history, legal studies, sociology, education, psychology and political science, and is open to graduates from a variety of backgrounds.

Research topics and training objectives  

The curriculum proposes research activities and educational objectives aimed at developing topics such as:

●     the search for methodological, inter- and transdisciplinary tools suitable for analyzing the complexity and systemic dimensions of conflicts;

●     pathways to peacebuilding;

●     tools and actors that help to define processes of social cohesion;

●     the legal-political-economic dynamics that determine international relations.