The UniSi unit (University of Siena) is composed of Paolo Bellucci, full professor of political science at the University of Siena, Francesco Olmastroni, researcher at the University of Siena, and Alessandro Giovanni Lamonica, research fellow at the University of Siena. UniSI focuses on a review of comparative data on the positions of political elites in Italy, France, and Germany, and on European public opinion regarding defense and crisis management.
The group conducts a large online survey in Italy, France, and Germany to explore citizens’ views on defense policy challenges and on how to engage in crisis scenarios. Furthermore, the group conducts a survey on Italian elites, which allows the comparison of political attitudes and beliefs between elites and the general population.
- Francesco Olmastroni: Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Siena, where he teaches Public Diplomacy and Political Communication. He is the Deputy Director of the Lab for Political and Social Analysis (LAPS) and serves as Chairman of the University of Siena’s Survey Policy Committee. Olmastroni has published articles in several academic journals, including the European Journal of Political Research, Public Opinion Quarterly, Swiss Political Science Review, Italian Political Science Review, as well as in volumes published by Routledge and SAGE. His monograph, “Framing War: Public Opinion and Decision-Making in Comparative Perspective”, has been nominated for several international book awards. He has also contributed to numerous European projects under the EU framework programmes. His main research interests include public opinion – particularly in relation to international events – political communication, international relations, political research methods, and deliberative democracy.
- Valerio Vignoli: Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Siena. Since 2022, he has also been Adjunct Professor at Bocconi University. His research agenda lies at the intersection between International Relations and Comparative Politics. He is also an expert of quantitative methods. His articles have been published on numerous international journals including “Review of International Organizations”, “Foreign Policy Analysis”, “Conflict Management and Peace Science”, “International Peacekeeping”, “West European Politics”, and “Government and Oppositions”. In 2022, he has published a book on the party politics of military interventions in Italy, titled “Conflitti Consensuali: I Partiti Italiani e gli Interventi Militari”
- Paolo Amantini: PhD student in Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Siena. His research focuses on the alignment between political supply and demand, particularly in relation to environmental policies. He holds a Master’s degree in Data Analytics for Politics, Society, and Complex Organizations (DAPS&CO) from the University of Milan. In addition to his academic work, he serves as data manager at the Laboratory of Political and Social Analysis (LAPS).
- Filippo Simonelli: PhD student at the University of Siena. His main research interests include the European Union’s public diplomacy, digital diplomacy and public opinion studies. His thesis focuses on the evolution of the European Unions’ public diplomacy following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He is also a Junior Researcher at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), where he focuses on Italian foreign policy and Italy’s relations with African countries within the framework of the Mattei Plan.