Summer School ‘War, Peace and the World Order’

Europe/Rome
Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana (Firenze)

Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

Firenze

Description

Summer School ‘War, Peace and the World Order’

This first edition of the Summer School ‘War, Peace and the World Order’ is organized by Scuola Normale Superiore in cooperation with National PhD Programme in Peace Studies, coordinated by Sapienza Università di Roma and RUNIPACE, Rete delle università italiane per la pace.

The Summer School is funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) through the MERITA, the network for talent project*.

The course, with no participation fees, will take place from September 29 to October 3, 2025, at the Scuola Normale Superiore, located in Palazzo Strozzi, Florence.

The program will be conducted in English and is open to a maximum of 50 participants. It is designed for Master’s and PhD students, researchers, practitioners from NGOs and international organizations, civil society actors, activists, and policymakers. 

The course intersects political economy, international relations and social movements, and is aimed at fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue and reflection. Its sessions explore the causes, dynamics and effects of contemporary armed conflicts and examine alternative strategies for peace construction, including ‘from below’, conflict prevention and resolution. Particular attention will be dedicated to ongoing conflict and warfare scenarios. Over the course of five days, senior scholars and practitioners will lead lectures, case-study discussions, and interactive sessions on key war and peace global challenges. Attendees will have ample opportunities to showcase their research and interests and discuss them with SNS scholars and with distinguished invited senior speakers. 

Day 1 introduces the global context of war through a discussion of the world system, capitalism, hegemony, and dynamics of international (dis)armament, culminating in a discussion on the Russia–Ukraine war and its implications for Europe and the world.

Day 2 focuses on the politics of war and peace, with sessions on patterns of conflict, critiques of international interventions, and an in-depth discussion on the global architecture of injustice in Palestine.

Day 3 turns to international law and environmental conflicts, addressing the ethics of war in the morning session, the environmental dimensions of conflict with a focus on African contexts, while in the afternoon it offers a space for participants’ presentations and thematic group discussions.

Day 4 explores the political economy of war, including the military-industrial complex, European and Italian defense programs, and the implications of digital technologies and artificial intelligence for contemporary warfare.

Finally, Day 5 centers on peace-making, with a focus on transnational solidarity mobilizations, grassroots peace initiatives, and a concluding session in Italian on the history and current trajectories of pacifism and peace movements in Europe and Italy.

 Among the featured guest speakers are Francesca Albanese (UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory), László Andor (FEPS, Brussels), Mats Berdal (King’s College London), Paola Caridi (scholar and author), Raul Caruso (Università Cattolica di Milano), Luciana Castellina (former MEP), Futura D’Aprile (Scuola Normale Superiore), Donatella della Porta (Scuola Normale Superiore), Matthew Evangelista (Cornell University), Anna Foa (Sapienza University of Rome), Francesca Caruso (Comunità di Sant’Egidio), Dario Guarascio (Sapienza University of Rome), Volodymyr Ishchenko (Freie Universität Berlin), Enza Pellecchia (Runipace, Università di Pisa), Mario Pianta (Scuola Normale Superiore), Luca Raineri (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna), Siri Aas Rustad (Peace Research Institute Oslo), Alessandro Saggioro (Sapienza University of Rome),  Francesco Strazzari (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna),  Guglielmo Tamburrini (University of Naples Federico II), and Francesco Vignarca (Rete Italiana Pace e Disarmo). 

 For any further question or information request please contact the official email address of the School: schoolwarpeace@sns.it 


MERITA, the network for talent project
is the result of a collaboration between five Italian academic institutions: the Scuola Normale Superiore, the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, the Collegio Superiore dell’Università di Bologna, the Scuola Galileiana di Studi Superiori dell’Università di Padova and the Scuola Superiore di Studi Avanzati della Sapienza Università di Roma.

Participants
  • Andrea Taborri
  • Anita Tozzi
  • Anna Micol Tropeano
  • Annemijn Marle
  • Aya Shaban
  • Bianca Farsetti
  • Caterina Heimler
  • Cecilia Begal
  • Cecilia Fasciani
  • Chiara Garabello
  • Clementine Sauban
  • Daniela Susarenco
  • Deniz Konuklu
  • Edoardo Fermante
  • Elena Pellegrino
  • Erika Degortes
  • Erika Greco
  • Fabio Locci
  • Federico Daniel Di Persio
  • Francis De Groot
  • Giacomo Amato
  • Giacomo Gervasini
  • Giacomo Spanu
  • Gianluca Spinato
  • Giorgio Forti
  • Giulia Tringali
  • Ksenia Kumanina
  • Laura Salvo
  • Lavinia Parsi
  • Leonardo Scacchi
  • Madalena Simões
  • Martina Caslini
  • Matteo Benussi
  • Michele Collazzo
  • Paolo Stifano
  • Piera Muccigrosso
  • Pietro Frasson
  • Rajib Kumar Das
  • Roberto Colombo
  • Rosa Maria Torraco
  • Sandro Schraudolph
  • Sanne Reitsma
  • Sara Mombelli
  • Sara Pascual Peciña
  • Sofia Scialoja
  • Stefano Cecere
  • Tancredi Marini
  • Valentina Bertolucci
  • Violetta Alexandrova
  • Yiming Zhang
    • 1
      Welcome and presentation of the School and of the participants Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speakers: Alessandro Saggioro (Sapienza Università di Roma, Coordinator of the National PhD in Peace Studies), Mario Pianta (Scuola Normale Superiore and Università di Firenze)
    • 2
      The world system: capitalism, hegemony, conflicts Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speaker: Mario Pianta (Scuola Normale Superiore)
    • 13:00
      Light Lunch
    • 3
      The war system: (dis)armament and international relations Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speaker: Francesco Strazzari (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna)
    • 4
      The Russia-Ukraine war and the European order Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speakers: László Andor (former EU Commissioner, FEPS Brussels), Volodymyr Ishchenko (Freie Universität in Berlin)
    • 20:00
      Social dinner - Antico Ristoro di Cambi
    • 5
      Politics, war and peace Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speaker: Lorenzo Bosi (Scuola Normale Superiore)
    • 6
      Patterns of conflicts Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speaker: Siri Aas Rustad (Peace Research Institute Oslo)
    • 12:00
      Light Lunch
    • 7
      Intervention and the use of force in world politics: continuity and change Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speaker: Mats Berdal (Kings College London)
    • 8
      Israel's genocide in Palestine: the global architecture of injustice Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speaker: Francesca Albanese (UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory)
    • 9
      The Israel-Palestine question: history and dynamics Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speakers: Anna Foa (Sapienza Università di Roma), Paola Caridi (Scholar and author)
    • 10
      Law and ethics of war Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speaker: Matthew Evangelista (Cornell University)
    • 11
      The environment and conflicts in Africa Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speaker: Luca Raineri (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna)
    • 14:00
      Light Lunch
    • 12
      Tutoring session: Researching war and peace issues Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speakers and tutors discuss key approaches and methologies for war and peace research

    • 13
      Presentations by participants Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Parallel sessions with short presentations of participants’ research projects and feedback discussion with speakers and tutors

      Group A: International relations, warfare, violence, conflict resolution
      16:30 – 16:55 COLOMBO, Roberto. Redefining Blood Revenge in Pro-Insurgent Violent Mobilisation: Insights from the Russian-Chechen Wars
      16:55 – 17:20 PASCUAL PECINA, Sara. The Persistence of Resistance: An analysis of the anti-Franco guerrilla mobilization
      17:20 – 17:45 CASLINI, Martina. Between Theory and Practice: The Interplay of Preventing Genocide and Guaranteeing Its Non-Repetition
      17:45 – 18:10 PARSI, Lavinia. But, Is It Genocide? Rethinking the Legal Qualification of Ethnic Cleansing under International Criminal Law
      18:10 – 18:35 STIFANO, Paolo. The Contribution of Religious Actors in Diplomatic Dialogue: History of the Peace Process in the Central African Republic and the Role of the Community of Sant’Egidio

      Group B. Political Economy, Geographies of Militarism, Environment, Social Movements and Protests
      16:30 – 16:55 SPANU, Giacomo. The Dual-Use Infrastructure: Civil-Military Entanglements in Cagliari’s Port
      16:55 – 17:20 TABORRI, Andrea. Free Trade in Difficult Times: War, Peace, and the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement
      17:20 – 17:45 PELLEGRINO, Elena. Land, Olives, Walls: An Analysis of Israeli Environmental Politics in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
      17:45 – 18:10 SCHRAUDOLPH, Sandro. Factors of Encampment Success: A Comparison of Northern Italian Protest Camps
      18:10 – 18:35 DAS, Rajib. (Title TBC)

      Speaker: Daniela Musina (Scuola Normale Superiore)
      • a) Group A

        IR, Peacebuilding, Conflict Resolution and Mediation, Warfare, Violence and Armed Groups

      • b) Group B

        International Law, Human Rights, Gender, Non-violence, Social Movements and Civil Society

    • 18
      Peace-making Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speakers: Enza Pellecchia (Runipace, Università di Pisa), Mario Pianta (Scuola Normale Superiore)
    • 19
      Peace and solidarity mobilisations for Palestine Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speaker: Donatella Della Porta (Scuola Normale Superiore)
    • 20
      Discussants Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speakers: Federica Stagni (Scuola Normale Superiore), Ghadir M.a. Abumiddain (Scuola Normale Superiore)
    • 11:00
      Break Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

    • 21
      Conflict resolution and peace-making from below Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speaker: Mauro Garofalo (Comunità di Sant'Egidio, Roma)
    • 22
      Discussants Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speakers: Federica Frazzetta (Scuola Normale Superiore), Martin Köhler (Campagna Sbilanciamoci!)
    • 23
      Video "Gerusalemme: Time for peace 1990" Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

    • 13:00
      Light Lunch
    • 24
      I movimenti per la pace in Europa Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speakers: Donatella Della Porta (Scuola Normale Superiore), Luciana Castellina (già Parlamentare europea)
    • 16:00
      Break Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

    • 25
      Il pacifismo in Italia Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, sala l' Altana

      Firenze

      Speakers: Giulio Marcon (Campagna Sbilanciamoci!), Raffaella Bollini (Arci/Pace in movimento)