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Manuela Caiani

Professoressa Associata

Scienza politica (SSD: GSPS-02/A)

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Manuela Caiani è professore associato di Scienza politica presso la Scuola Normale Superiore, dove fa parte del gruppo di ricerca COSMOS (Centre on Social Movement Studies). Ha conseguito il dottorato di ricerca in Scienze politiche presso l'Università di Firenze nel 2006 ed è stata beneficiaria di borse di studio post-dottorato tra cui Marie Curie fellowship (Università Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid). Ha ricevuto l'Abilitazione nazionale italiana per la cattedra di Scienza politica e in Sociologia politica nel 2017.

La sua ricerca si concentra sul populismo, sulla politica della destra radicale e sui movimenti e partiti nazionalisti, sui movimenti sociali e sulla partecipazione politica in Europa e sui metodi qualitativi della ricerca sociale. È presidente del gruppo permanente "Partecipazione politica e movimenti sociali" dell'Associazione Italiana di Scienza Politica (SISP) e coordinatore del Master in Scienze Politiche e Sociologia della Scuola Normale Superiore. È co-direttrice dell'Osservatorio Internazionale sulla Coesione e l'Inclusione Sociale-OCIS, https://osservatoriocoesionesociale.eu/.

La prof.ssa Caiani ha diretto e collaborato a diversi progetti internazionali (progetti Horizon; Volkswagen Foundation; Europe for Citizens Programme; FP4, FP5, FP7; PRIN; Jean Monnet; Research Grant Jubilaumsfonds, ONB; Doctoral TRA Fellowship, START Center, 2009, University of Maryland).

Ha pubblicato, tra l'altro, sulle seguenti riviste peer-reviewed: Social Movement Studies, EJPR, Mobilization, Acta Politica, West European Politics, Government and Opposition, European Union Politics, South European Society and Politics, RISP; e per i seguenti editori:Oxford University Press, Ashgate, Palgrave, Routledge.

La sua principale agenda di ricerca per i prossimi anni è quella di indagare la transnazionalizzazione e la diffusione dei movimenti sociali regressivi (destra radicale, anti-gender, ecc.). Nel farlo, cercherà di sviluppare un quadro analitico basato sulla nozione di transnationalism (e meccanismi) che integri gli studi sui movimenti sociali e sui partiti politici.

Most recent publications:

  • Caiani, M. (2024) Visual Analysis and the Contentious Politics of the Radical Right, Sociology Compasshttps://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/soc4.13267?af=R
  • Caiani, M, Susasnzky, P. & Saridakis, N. (2024), "Radical Right and Anti-Vax Protests Between Movements and Parties: a Comparative Study", Acta Politica, DOI:10.1057/s41269-024-00339-5.
  • Caiani M., Carlotti, B., Lovec, M., Wincławska, M., Kočan, F. and Balcer, A. (2024) “Narratives and Euroscepticism in the Western Balkans and the EU”, Routledge
  • Caiani, M & Eren, B. (2023), “A European Antipopulist Movement? The emergence and diffusion of the Italian Sardines and Finnish Herrings”, Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 28 (3): 375–395.
  • Manuela Caiani & Balša Lubarda (2023) “Conditional environmentalism of right-wing populism in power: ideology and/or opportunities?”, Environmental Politics, DOI: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09644016.2023.2242749
  • Caiani, M. (2023). “Framing and social movements”. Discourse Studies, 25(2), 195–209.
  • Caiani, M. & Padoan, E. (2023), “Populism and (Pop) Music”, Palgrave.
  • Caiani, M. & Weisskircher, M. (2022), “Anti-Nationalist Europeans and Pro-European Nativists on the Streets: Visions of Europe from the Left to the Far Right”, Social Movement Studies, 21:1-2, 216-233
  • Caiani, M. (2022) “Movements and Parties: An introduction”, PACO Participation and Conflict, Vol.15, no 3, http://siba-ese.unisalento.it/index.php/paco/article/view/26475
  • Manuela Caiani and L. Parenti, (2013) European and American Extreme Right Groups and the Internet, Ashgate.
  • Manuela Caiani, D. della Porta and C. Wagemann (2012), Mobilizing on the Extreme Right, Oxford University Press.

Funded Projects:

  • 2025-2028    TRANS4DEMO ‘Contentious Politics and Democratic Renewal in Sustainability Transitions’, HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-01, Principal investigator.
  • 2023-2026 CIDAPE ‘Climate, Inequality, and Democratic Action: The Force of Political Emotions’, HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-04, Principal investigator.
  • 2022-2025 AUTHLIB ‘Neo –Authoritarianisms in Europe and the liberal democratic response’, Horizon 2021 (HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-01), Principal investigator.
  • 2022-2025 GOLDSTEIN – Debunking Political Uses of Denialisms and Conspiracy Theories in EU, Jean Monnet Programme/Module, partner
  • 2022-2024 ‘Democratic Challenges, Social sustainability and Gender inequalities’, Programma congiunto PRO3 (DM n. 289/2021), Principal investigator/project coordinator.
  • 2021-2022 ‘Tackling illiberal narratives and Euroscepticism from below’, Europe for Citizens Program (number: 625696-CITIZ-1-2020-1-MK-CITIZ-CIV), Principal investigator.
  • 2019-2021 ‘Populism and Popular Music in Europe’, Volkswagen Stiftung (n. No A126160), PI.
  • 2018-2020 ‘The consequences of Populism in Power’, SNS Research Grant, Project Coordinator
  • 2016-2019, PRIN (Italian Research Ministry Funds) Project on “Politics e Policy in Europa in tempo di crisi: Cause e Conseguenze”, PI.
  • 2016 - 2018 SNS Research Grant, SNS, “Right-Wing Political Radicalization Using the Internet in Eastern and Central Europe”, PI.
  • 8. 2010 - 2012 Research Grant Jubilaumsfonds, Oesterreichische National Bank, “The Dark Side of the Web European and American Extreme Right Groups and online Politics” (n. 14035), Project Coordinator, IHS, Wien.

Research interests and Phd Supervision:

Prof. Caiani is open to supervising empirically-oriented research in areas related to:

  • Social Movements and Europeanization/Transnationalization
  • Regressive social movements (including anti gender)
  • Far Right Politics
  • Extremism online
  • Movement-parties
  • Populism
  • Comparative politics
  • Qualitative Methods of social research (focus groups, visual and frame analysis, qualitative interviews, social network analysis, protest event analysis, etc.).

Current (phd) Supervisees:

  • Alexsandr Shishov (European Identities of the radical right)
  • Nathasha Aidoo (Urban Feminism)
  • Beatrice Carella (Left wing populism in power)
  • Nicolò Pennucci (Anti populist social movements)
  • Damiano Kerma (with Unipi) (Music and grassroots populist mobilization)
  • Ivan Tranfic (Anti-gender social movements)
  • Aida Kapetanovic (Collective identity in divided societies)
  • Bathuan Eren (Diffusion of mobilization)
  • Damla.Keskekci (The transnationalization of radical right social movements)
  • Saridakis Nikolaos (with Panteion Univ.) (Radical right protest and Corona)
  • Bucci Gianmarco (Movement-parties)
  • Deniz Aktan (Sport and political participation)
  • Maximilian Weckermann (with WZB) (Imagined future of the far right)
  • Masika Vaninetti (East African Community and Social networks)
  • Lorenzo Fruganti (counter terrorism policies, coalitions and networks)
  • Eduardo GONCALVES (left behind and collective re-mobilizations)
  • Ghadir Abumiddain (gender and nation in divided societies)