Team
Director
Marco Giugni is professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations and director of the Institute of Citizenship Studies (InCite). He is also European editor of the journal Mobilization: An International Journal. His main interests are social movements and political participation.
Secretary
Members
Çağla E. Aykaç is currently a scientific collaborator at the Institute of Citizenship Studies (InCite) and in the Gender studies department of the University of Geneva. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the EHESS in Paris and has been teaching courses in political sociology and qualitative methods in social sciences for several years. Her research interests are on public debates and scandals related to Islam in Europe, forms of racism and nationalism, social movements, and contemporary Turkish society. She participated in several large scale scientific research projects funded by transnational and European institutions.
I am a Lecturer in Political Theory in the Dept. of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Geneva, and an associated researcher in the Swiss consortium of research on migration and mobility studies NCCR—On the Move. I am working at the University of Geneva since 2014 as a holder of Ph.D and postdoctoral scholarships funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). In 2019, I earned my joint Ph.D in philosophy (KU Leuven) and political science (University of Geneva). I also hold degrees in international relations (BA Hons., Université Galatasaray and MA Université Libre de Bruxelles); and philosophy (MA, KU Leuven). I completed my MA in international relations as a Jean-Monnet Fellow (EU, 2009), and in philosophy as a Research Council Fellow (KU Leuven, 2011). As a trained political theorist, migration and international relations scholar, my research interests lie in contemporary normative political philosophy of migration, political theory methodology, theories of justice and citizenship in digital societies, as well as international political theory. My publications found their home at venues in journals such as Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, Democratic Theory, Ethics and Global Politics, Ethnicities as well as contributions to edited volumes published by Brill, Nomos and ECPR Press. In 2025, I am working on a handbook chapter on the political theory of John Rawls under contract with Oxford University Press, and serving as the president of the Society of Women in Philosophy Switzerland (SW*IP Switzerland).
Michele Bocchiola is Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Geneva. Previously, he held research positions at the University of Pavia (Italy), Luiss University of Rome (Italy), and the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, SA), where he also taught ethics and political philosophy. His researches interests include the relation between personal privacy and data ownership, the ethics of anti-corruption and normative theories of institutional accountability. He is scientific collaborator II within the SNF project “Endogenous Institutional Trustworthiness – EnTrust” [https://www.unige.ch/entrust/]
Emanuela Ceva is full professor of Political theory at the Department of political science and international relations of the University of Geneva. Her most recent research interests revolve around the normative theory of institutions and, in particular, the theory of political corruption and the ethics of anticorruption, as well as the political role of moral emotions. She has also directed European research projects on toleration and respect for minorities in the public space.
Giovanna Di Marzo Serugendo is a Professor of the Department of Geography and Environment (http://www.unige.ch/sciences-societe/geo/index.html), also member of the Centre Universitaire d'Informatique (http://cui.unige.ch). She holds a PhD in Computer Science from EPFL. Her interests include: development of ICT-based methods to foster participation and collective engagement; identification and establishment of mechanisms driving collective intelligence, e.g. decentralised collective decisions regarding policies; and evidence-based policy making. The underlying techniques are based on multi-agents systems and simulations.
Baptiste Dufournet is a PhD candidate and lecturer at the University of Lausanne. He was research affiliate at the Department of sociology of the New-York University. His research interests are social movements and political participation. Specifically, his PhD dissertation focuses on the action repertoires enacted by minority activists in Switzerland.
Karine Duplan (PhD) is an urban social and cultural geographer dedicated to issues of social inclusion and the right to the city, with specific expertise in gender, sexuality, and migration. She has been Senior lecturer and researcher at the School of Social Sciences of the University of Geneva since 2016.
Cristina El Khoury is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Geneva. She obtained a Master's degree in Global Politics and Society at the University of Milan (2021). Afterwards, she worked at the Institute for Citizenship Studies in Geneva and in research centres in Milan. She is particularly interested in citizenship issues and in the relationship between migration, climate and conflict.
Eva Fernández G. G. is a scientific collaborator at the University of Geneva and at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Western Switzerland. She works at the NCCR On the Move on a research project on post-retirement international mobilities, transnational lifestyles, and care configurations. She holds a double Ph.D. degree in Political Science and Sociology granted by the University of Geneva and Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. She collaborated on the H2020 TransSOL, Sirius and Euryka projects. Her research focuses on immigration, inequality, solidarity, and political behavior.
Enea Fiore is a PhD candidate in political science in cotutelle at the University of Geneva and Laval University. He is currently working on political participation and the links between political parties and social movements in the MENA region. Using a relational approach, his thesis aims to study the impact of relationships between political actors in the area at different analytical levels and in a multidirectional manner. Enea holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Turin, where he is currently working as a teaching assistant in political science.
Matteo Gianni is full professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations since 2022. Thanks to subsidies from the Swiss National Fund, he completed scientific stays at Rutgers University and the University of Toronto. Among his activities, he is co-president of the ASSP Political Theory Group and participates in the research activities of the NCCR On the move since 2014. From a theoretical-normative perspective, he works on questions of citizenship, democracy, deliberation, multiculturalism, migrations and mobility.
Nathalie Giger is Assistant Professor of the Department of Political Science and International Relations since 2014. Before she conducted research and teaching activities in the University of Zurich, the University of Mannheim and the University Of Konstanz. She obteined her Ph.D. from the University of Bern in 2009. Teaching and research on comparative political behavior.
Valentina Holecz is a scientific collaborator at the Institute of Citizenship Studies (InCite) at the University of Geneva. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Political Science granted by the University of Geneva. She collaborated on the H2020 Livewhat and Euryka projects. She has collaborated on the SNFS research project ‘Offensive Discourse in Political Arenas’ in 2014. Her research focuses on citizenship studies, young people, social movement and political participation.
Youssef khoueiry is a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Geneva. He is currently working on political and social in the MENA region. Using an interdisciplinary approach, his thesis aims to study the impact of family and kin's civil war grievances, national non-natural tragedies and exclusion by law of youth between the ages of 18 and 21 from participation in the national elections on younger family members' political orientation and participation. Youssef holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering (Lebanese university), a masters degree in engineering management (AUB) and a masters degree in international relations from the Lebanese American university (LAU), where he is currently working as a teaching assistant in political science.
Safet Kubat is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva (Institute for Citizenship Studies), funded by the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship (ESKAS). He holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences (Political Ecology). His research focuses on the development of transformative models for the establishment of socio-ecological boundaries. His research interests include Political Ecology, Citizen Science, Socio-Ecological Movements, the Doughnut Economy, and Digital Activism. His current work is dedicated to developing a transformative, citizen-participatory Doughnut Economy model as a potential framework for new socio-environmental policies. Safet is a researcher, lecturer, speaker, public worker, as well as the founder of one of the largest and most successful socio-ecological movements in B&H "Be the Change", with more than 62,000 active members. In his work, he combines academic knowledge with activism, ensuring that his research has tangible social and ecological impact. Over more than 15 years of diverse social activism and professional engagement, he has published over 30 works (e.g., Springer Nature, VBH), implemented more than 50 different projects (e.g., HORIZON – MISS-2021-OCEAN-02 Danube Region), delivered hundreds of lectures, and made over 1,000 media appearances. He is also a former UNESCO Champion of Peace.
Basel Mansour is a doctoral student at SPERI. His thesis contributes to the academic discussion on normative solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He proposes a conceptual relationship between the normative prescriptions dominant in the literature and develops an integrative model advocating a bottom-up conception of historical reconciliation. It then examines the role played by the Palestinian community in Israel (PCI) at this level through an analysis in framing theory (social movements).
Guillaume Mathelier holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Geneva and is a Lecturer at the Geneva School of Business Administration (HEG). His research focuses on the redistribution of socio-economic resources. For him, social justice revolves around three philosophical objectives that must be pursued through political struggles in favor of dignity, emancipation, and protection of individuals. He is a strong advocate for the establishment of a basic income and an emancipation fund for the youth. He has also been the Mayor of the commune of Ambilly (Haute-Savoie, France) since 2008.
Ophelia Nicole-Berva is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Citizenship Studies (InCite). She is part of the Horizon Europe DEMETRA project, which focuses on food democracy in urban settings. She is currently conducting fieldwork with various actors from the food system and civil society. In particular, she is following the progress of a citizens' committee working on a pilot project for a solidarity food system in Geneva. She holds a PhD (2025) from the European University Institute. Her dissertation, based on multi-sited ethnography with activists along the northern Italian border, explores the solidarity movement with migrants through a conceptual approach that examines the intersection of space and affect in everyday activism. More broadly, her research interests include social movement studies, border studies, critical and feminist theory, research methodology, collaborative methods, and research ethics.
Peter Rees is an SNSF Postdoctoral Fellow at the Global Studies Institute. He is working on the project “A Theory of Maritime Migration: Examining the intersection of mobile people and territory”. His primary areas of research are citizenship, migration and human rights.
Elena Reinhart is a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Geneva. She is currently working as a research assistant on the DEMETRAproject, which aims to develop tools for a democratic governance of sustainability transformations. Her research interests include deliberative participatory processes and political inequalities. She is supervised by Professor Marco Giugni.
Victor Sanchez-Mazas is scientific collaborator at the Institute of Citizenship Studies. He holds a PhD in political science from the University of Geneva. His thesis in political theory develops a systemic theory of democracy, and proposes the institutionalization of democratic processes with the purpose of diagnosing the specific problems faced by democratic systems. Victor currently works on the operational dimension of this endeavor, while designing and implementing innovative democratic devices in Geneva and beyond.
Serkan Şeker is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva. He studies civil-military relations, public administration and policy, political corruption, authoritarianism and Turkish politics. He has graduated from the School of Political Science and Public Administration (Mülkiye) at Ankara University before obtaining, in 2007, a Master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Exeter. He worked as a district governor and deputy provincial governor in different regions of Turkey for over 12 years. In 2021, he obtained a PhD in Political Science from the University of Exeter with a thesis entitled: "Civil-military relations in Turkey: an historical study of foundation, tutelage, and transformation." Serkan is a member of the academic team led by Professor Emanuela CEVA, which won the "SNSF Advanced Grants" in May 2022 for the project "The Margins of Corruption" (5 years).
Lea Sgier is associate researcher at the Institute of Citizenship Studies (InCite). She is currently an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science of Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary, and a lecturer at the University of Geneva and at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. She works on women quotas in politics, on parliamentary debates as a discursive genre, and on elder people’s citizenship.
Nenad Stojanović is an Associate Professor at the University of Geneva and Deputy Director of the Department of General Research on Democracy at the Centre for Democracy Studies in Aarau (ZDA/UZH). He is also the Director of the Swiss Centre on Democratic Innovations (PIDEM). His research focuses on democratic innovations and democracy in plurilingual and multicultural societies.
Associated members
Manlio Cinalli is Professor of Sociology at the University of Milan and Associate Senior Fellow at CEVIPOF (CNRS - UMR 7048), Sciences Po Paris. He is currently the Director of the Master Programme in “Global Politics and Society” at the University of Milan. He has published widely on citizenship, cultural cleavages, migration and contentious politics. His research draws on quantitative and qualitative methods, with an eclectic multidisciplinary approach combining analyses of networks, discourses, surveys, and policies.
Barbara Lucas is professor at the University of Applied Science and Arts Western Switzerland (HETS, HES-SO), where she teaches social policy. She is also lecturer at the Department of Political Science and International Relations. She is specialised in comparative public policy analysis. Her work deals with care policies (childcare, disability, elderly care, dementia, home care) and public health policies (alcohol and drug policies). Her recent research concerns dementia care policies in Switzerland and Europe.