Research areas

A field of study focused on integrity policies and corruption prevention, with particular attention to how they are designed, implemented, and legitimised both institutionally and socially. This approach goes beyond the formal analysis of anti-corruption instruments, also examining the conditions under which they are effective, as well as their relationship with institutional trust, social participation, and citizens’ perceptions of corruption. This research lies at the intersection of governance studies, anti-corruption policy, public integrity, and the political analysis of institutional legitimacy. 

We also examine how perceptions of corruption are socially constructed, how they are shaped by factors such as ideology, partisanship, or populism, and how anti-corruption discourse is instrumentalised in contexts of polarisation and crises of legitimacy. 

Understanding how public institutions operate, adapt, and respond to complex societal challenges is essential to explaining the quality of governance and the performance of public policies. This research line examines the role of administrative, organisational and relational resources in the quality of public governance and in the performance of public policies. It focuses in particular on multi-level governance, the management of complex policies, institutional learning and innovation. From this perspective, it explores the conditions that enable public organisations to coordinate actors, process information, and adapt to highly uncertain environments. It also analyses how interaction across different levels of government, as well as between public institutions and social actors, shapes policy implementation and the generation of public trust. Finally, it considers the mechanisms through which institutions learn, incorporate change, and foster more effective, resilient, and sustainable responses.

Public opinion constitutes a central dimension of democratic politics, shaping electoral behaviour, policy preferences and the legitimacy of political institutions. This line of research examines the formation and evolution of political attitudes, ideological orientations and patterns of political engagement, with particular attention to gender inequalities, generational dynamics and processes of political socialisation. It explores how individual characteristics interact with contextual factors—such as media environments, information consumption and political competition—to structure citizens’ preferences and behaviours. Recognising the complexity of contemporary democracies, this line combines longitudinal and comparative approaches to analyse phenomena such as ideological change, political polarisation and unequal participation across social groups. 

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In an increasingly globalised and interconnected world, international migratory movements and their management have come to be at the forefront of political discussions; ranging from policies and practices of social exclusion/inclusion at the local level, to international policies regarding human displacements linked to violent political conflicts, climate change, and rising global inequalities in the context of resource depletion. Recognising the multi-faceted characteristics of migration, this line of research encompasses analysis at various geographical scales and sites, as well as various dimensions, including discursive, legal and physical bordering practices.