Home > Research Unit > RusLab

RusLab

The Russia Observatory (RUSLAB) is a dedicated research hub for the study of Russia, its domestic politics, historical trajectories, and international role, combining academic rigour with policy-relevant analysis and public-facing outputs. The research is situated within the broader debate on post-liberal contestation and the transformation of the international order.

RuLAB’s work aims to integrate close analysis of domestic governance, political economy, and social dynamics with a strong historical perspective rooted in Soviet and imperial legacies. It also examines how past institutional configurations, political cultures, and identity narratives continue to shape contemporary Russian politics and society.

Thematically, the Observatory covers four main interconnected areas:

Domestic politics and society — governance structures, center–periphery relations, regional identities, social stratification, ideological, religious and cultural evolutions, and the interaction between elites and the Russian society.
Russia–Europe relations — historical entanglements, energy interdependence, security architecture, and the reconfiguration of ties under war and sanctions.
The Eurasian space — relations with neighboring states, regional integration, and alignments involving China, Turkey, India, and other major Global South actors.
Global footprint — Russia’s political, economic, and security presence in Africa, the Middle East, and Russia’s role in reshaping the broader international order.

Head of Unit

ochirizzi
Paolo Glisenti

Paolo Glisenti is a journalist, international strategist, and expert in communication and large-scale event management, known for his leadership as Italy’s Commissioner General for Expo 2020 Dubai and Expo 2025 Osaka–Kansai. With a background in economic and financial journalism in London, New York, and Italy, he held senior executive roles in major multinational companies—including News Corp Europe and Montedison USA—and served on the boards of listed firms across media, telecoms, and pharmaceuticals. Founder of PGConsultants, he has advised governments, institutions, and corporations on communication strategies and international bids, playing a pivotal role in Milan’s successful campaign for Expo 2015, for which he was awarded the Knighthood of Merit of the Italian Republic. His work blends public diplomacy, strategic vision, and deep industry knowledge, making him a key figure in Italy’s global outreach and event diplomacy.
pcoadmin
Raffaele Marchetti

Raffaele Marchetti (Laurea, Rome-La Sapienza; PhD, London-LSE) is Deputy Rector for Internationalization and Professor in International Relations at the Department of Political Science and the School of Government of LUISS. His research interest concerns global politics and governance, hybrid and city diplomacy, transnational civil society, (cyber-)security and political risk, and democracy.

He acts as external expert for the European Commission and other public/private institutions on issues of global governance, public policies, civil society, and security. He is ISA’s United Nations-NGO Representative (2022-2024). He is also member of the editorial board of The International Spectator, the Academic Advisory Board of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), LabGov – the LABoratory for the GOVernance of the City as a Commons, International Institute for Social and Economic Studies (IISES). He is the editor of the Routledge series Innovations in International Affairs and the Luiss University Press series Radar.
riaia
Rosario Forlenza

Rosario Forlenza specializes in the history of modern Europe and Italy in its global implications. He works at the intersection of history, politics and anthropology and focuses particularly on democracy and authoritarianism, political revolutions, nationalism and the politics of memory, politics and religion, symbolic politics, and the Cold War. He has written six books, co-edited two volumes, and published over forty peer-reviewed articles and chapters, most notably in The American Historical Review, Past & Present, and Journal of Contemporary History, He is currently working on a comparative history of revolutions from the perspective of political anthropology, on the totalitarian experiences in interwar Russia, Italy, and Germany, and on the global history of Christian Democracy.
sdarrigo
Silvia Menegazzi

Silvia Menegazzi is Head of the AsiaLAB Research Unit and Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Luiss Guido Carli University, where she teaches International Relations and Asian Studies. Her research interests span International Relations, Global Governance, and Area Studies, with a particular focus on the politics and economic development of Asian countries, especially China, Japan, and South Korea.

She has held visiting scholar positions at Sciences Po (Paris), George Washington University (Washington, DC), the Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS) at the University of Warwick, and China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU) in Beijing. Dr. Menegazzi has been the recipient of research grants and scholarships from several European and Asian institutions.

She lived in China for more than four years and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. Her work has been published in academic journals and media outlets, including International Politics, Global Society, Asia Europe Journal, East Asia Forum, and China Files. Among her most recent publications are China’s Blueprint for Global Leadership: GSI, GDI, GCI and Xi Jinping’s Vision for the International Order (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025, with M. Dian); La Cina e la politica globale (Mondadori, 2023); The NATO–South Korea strategic alignment and contemporary order-building, (International Politics, 2026, with T. Novotna).

Researcher

Abdelkarim Skouri

Abdelkarim Skouri is the Research Unit Coordinator at CISS and Teaching Assistant for the African Politics and Institutions course at LUISS University. He is also a Research Associate at the Mediterranean Platform – LUISS School of Government, focusing on governance, regional integration, and Mediterranean-Africa relations, particularly in the Global South. He holds a Master’s in International Relations from LUISS, and previously studied Political Science at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (Rabat) and Sciences Po (Paris). His academic interests include security, diplomacy, and political economy in the MENA region. He has interned at institutions such as the International Chamber of Commerce, IDRN, and the International Affairs Institute, and is the founder of the LUISS Students Diplomatic Association (LUSDA).
Ada Pia Visciotti

Ada Pia Visciotti is a consultant to the European Commission, where she works on the integration of socio-economic policy frameworks into EU development cooperation. Her focus includes social protection, distributional impact assessments, and inequality-sensitive approaches across grants and blended finance. She holds a Double Master’s in Policies and Governance in Europe from LUISS Guido Carli and King’s College London, where she received the Best Dissertation Award for her research on structural power in Africa–EU relations combining topic modeling of institutional and corporate discourse and Global Production Network analysis for value chains reconstruction. Her research interests include socio-economic development policy, structural power and trade, inequality reduction, global value chains, and the political economy of food systems.
Adriana Lori

Adriana Lori is a diplomat currently serving at the Permanent Mission of Italy to the OSCE. Her previous roles include Consul at the Italian Consulate General in Chongqing, China, and head of the Partnerships section within the NATO Office at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Her research centers on the impact of technology and artificial intelligence on international security and foreign policy.

Fluent in English, Chinese, and Spanish, with working proficiency in French and basic Russian, she holds a Double Master’s Degree in International Relations from LUISS Guido Carli and China Foreign Affairs University. She also completed postgraduate courses at Harvard Kennedy School, focusing on security and emerging technologies.

In her free time, she enjoys kickboxing, running, and immersing herself in French and Russian literature.
Alberto Monteverdi
Alessandro Ranieri

Alessandro Ranieri, Law Degree and PhD in International and European Union Law at the Aldo Moro University of Bari, has lectured in the law of the sea within the Degree Programme in Sciences and Management of Maritime Activities offered by the same University in cooperation with the Italian Navy. He has also taught European Union Law at the Training School of the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza).

Dr Ranieri has also contributed to various research projects, particularly under the coordination of the Taranto Port Authority and CoNISMa (Consorzio nazionale interuniversitario per le scienze del mare). Author of a monograph on arms transfers at sea, as well as of several scientific publications in the field of the Law of the Sea. His PhD thesis focused on maritime piracy.
Alfonso Giordano

Alfonso Giordano is an associate professor of Economic and Political Geography at Niccolò Cusano University of Rome and an adjunct professor at LUISS University, where he teaches “Exogeography, Astropolitics, and Space Economy”. His research focuses on population geography, political demography, and human-environment interactions, with a particular emphasis on border studies. Recently, he has investigated the geographical, political and economic dimensions of space exploration, analysing its implications for governance, resource allocation, and territoriality beyond Earth.
Amedeo Antonucci

Amedeo Antonucci is a retired Brigadier General of the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza). He holds degrees in Law and Economic and Financial Security Sciences.

He is the co-author and co-editor of several legal and operational publications. He has also lectured and delivered presentations in university courses and master’s programmes on maritime law enforcement, international law of the sea, immigration law, maritime security, and related fields.

From 2020 to 2025, he commanded the Guardia di Finanza Nautical School, the training institution responsible for the education and specialist training of Guardia di Finanza personnel operating at sea.

Throughout his career, he held command positions within operational units of the Guardia di Finanza, where he planned and directed numerous air-naval law enforcement operations against illicit maritime trafficking at both national and transnational levels. Some of these operations, following the related criminal proceedings, contributed to the development of established case law and became important reference points in the sector. From 2013 to 2017, he also served as Local Coordinator for Frontex operations.

His expertise focuses on the legal and operational management of air-naval operations targeting illicit maritime trafficking in territorial waters and on the high seas, as well as on maritime investigations. He currently works as a legal consultant.
Andrea Capati

Andrea Capati is a post-doctoral researcher and adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science at Luiss Guido Carli University, and a visiting researcher at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute. His research examines the institutions and policies of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), with a particular focus on the integration of EU financial assistance. His work has appeared in Journal of European Integration, Comparative European Politics, European Political Science, Politics and Governance, Italian Political Science Review, and Contemporary Italian Politics, among others. His forthcoming monograph, All for One? The Politics of Financial Rescue in the European Union, is under contract with Palgrave Macmillan.
Andrea Gilli

Andrea Gilli is a Senior Researcher at the NATO Defense College, Rome. He received his PhD in Social and Political Science from the European University Institute in 2014. His research interests focus on issues related to technological change and military innovation. His Twitter account is @aa_gilli.
Antonino Alì

Antonino Alì is an associate professor of International Law at the University of Trento. Previously, he conducted research at the Universities of Geneva and Milan. He teaches the course “National Security from the Perspective of International and European Union Law” and researches the interaction between state economic security and international and European law. Since 2024, he has been a member, as an expert, of the Strategic Evaluation and Analysis Unit on the Exercise of Special Powers at the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers.