Consultant on international development cooperation and humanitarian action. Internationalist engineer, has worked for the Catholic Church, international nongovernmental organisations and the European Union in post/during-conflict countries like El Salvador, Colombia, Pakistan and Afghanistan for a dozen years. Research interests on issues of state formation, institution-building and security in development.
Deep understanding of social and political processes for institutional development
Strong methodological base on QCA (qualitative comparative analysis)
Custom, data-centric solutions, qualitative and quantitative
Critical security analysis for development, information security, data protection
Entrées
Evoluzione dinamica dell’epidemia Covid-19 in Italia
Per provare a capire se le necessarie misure di contenimento dell’epidemia stanno funzionando, può essere utile osservare l’andamento del coefficiente , dove N è il totale cumulato dei positivi al virus, oppure il totale dei pazienti ospedalizzati o dei morti o altre serie temporali. Il contagio è un fenomeno esponenziale, almeno nella prima fase, che Read more about Evoluzione dinamica dell’epidemia Covid-19 in Italia[…]
State policies as combinatorial algebra
There are moments in history when policy reversals seem so neat at first glance that can be described as simple combinations of vectorial repertoires. With some disturbing constants, though. In this example I consider Iranian state policy governing the apperance of women’s heads as decreed first by the Shah in 1936 and then by Khomeini Read more about State policies as combinatorial algebra[…]
Banal power for totalitarian systems
Hannah Arendt’s famous thesis is as often quoted as misunderstood. While she was proven wrong in assessing Eichmann’s historical role and personality, even where she erred, she did it in a creative, felicitous way. Eichmann’s evil deeds were indeed banal if we refer to the feudal autonomy of agency enjoyed by castellans in the banal regime of 9-10th century Read more about Banal power for totalitarian systems[…]
A Bayesian look at the Mullah Omar affair
Regardless of the merits of Bette Dam’s recent report and the solidity of its evidence, a simple Bayesian observation shows that the conditional probability of the Taliban being an ISI proxy given that Mullah Omar lived marginalised in an Afghan village after 2001, is actually greater than its a priori probability.
Digitally signing documents across Europe: an Italian perspective
The European Union’s eIDAS regulation of 2014 sets standards for the mutual recognition and inter-operability of digital signatures and identities across Europe. The user experience from Italy is not so smooth, though.
Death and rescue in the Central Mediterranean: overcoming the limits of private outsourcing
The search-and-rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean were overall successful in saving thousands of lives in the years 2014-2017. Compared with the previous years, the rescues reduced and stabilised the fatality rate for the persons attempting a dangerous sea crossing. Several NGOs contributed significantly to this joint effort coordinated by the Italian Coast Guard’s Maritime Read more about Death and rescue in the Central Mediterranean: overcoming the limits of private outsourcing[…]
Barabbas’ version: analysis of a major terror attack in Rome, A.D. 64
(C) NASA/IPAC Our correspondent reports from the great city of the Caesars. A few months ago, on 19th July of the tenth year of divus Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, DCCCXVII a.U.c.,1 a raging fire destroyed large swathes of the city of Rome. To undiscerning eyes it looked like any of the previous fires that Read more about Barabbas’ version: analysis of a major terror attack in Rome, A.D. 64[…]
Participation without power and property in new governance models
Everybody wants more participation, not less. But the current social project for Europe ultimately offers a kind of feeble, diluted participation that we will affectionately call le objet petit p: a participation without effective decision-making powers, that does not affect social property relations. An ancient form of collective property still practiced in Northern Italy suggests Read more about Participation without power and property in new governance models[…]
A user’s vision of a libre, decentralised Internet
In order to make the Internet a freer, more decentralised, less oligarchical place, users should have full control on their online identity and this should be separate from other online services like email, instant messaging, microblogging, social networking etc. Online services, in turn, should be based on open standards, yes like good old email and Read more about A user’s vision of a libre, decentralised Internet[…]
Version control and editorial workflow in Ghost
Ghost2Git — Version control and editorial workflow management for multi-author blogs in Ghost, sort of Ghost offers a great platform for blogging. It’s nimble and neat, a welcome break from WordPress especially if what you want to do is focus on blogging and content and you do not need a general purpose CMS. Ghost Read more about Version control and editorial workflow in Ghost[…]
Kidnapped by Terrorists
Kidnappings by terrorist groups are on the rise globally. The chances of surviving this ordeal vary greatly according to the nationality of the victim. This is particularly true for aid workers, one of the groups worst hit by this plague. Two journalists – an Italian and an Afghan – were abducted in Helmand, Afghanistan ten Read more about Kidnapped by Terrorists[…]
Bringing Zotero to Ghost
The blogging platform Ghost.org has been around for a few years now, bringing a welcome gust of fresh air in the world of blogging infrastructure dominated by the WordPress juggernaut. Ghost is designed to focus on content, a place where you write and read and enjoy doing it, reducing the administrative overhead of blog-keeping. Ghost runs Read more about Bringing Zotero to Ghost[…]
Referendum costituzionale 2016: essere indecisi è paradossalmente normale
Essere confusi e non riuscire a scegliere tra il SI e il NO nel referendum di conferma della riforma costituzionale del 4 dicembre in Italia è normale perché la differenza tra gli effetti delle due opzioni sul funzionamento dell’ordinamento della Repubblica nel medio e lungo periodo è minima. O così dice il paradosso di Fredkin. Sul referendum Read more about Referendum costituzionale 2016: essere indecisi è paradossalmente normale[…]
Colombia: referendum, low turnout and activist minorities
After 52 years of civil war and four years of negotiations, a wafer thin minority of Colombian voters rejected the historical peace agreement with the FARC-EP guerrillas. If the president and his adviser were searching for popular legitimacy, they miscalculated. One decision in particular seems ill advised, the lowering of the minimum threshold of votes Read more about Colombia: referendum, low turnout and activist minorities[…]
Restorative Justice and Political Violence in Democratic Societies
Review of: Guido Bertagna, Adolfo Ceretti and Claudia Mazzucato (eds.), Il libro dell’incontro: vittime e responsabili della lotta armata a confronto. Milan: il Saggiatore, 2015, 466pp., ISBN: 9788842821458. [Lit.: The book of the encounter: victims and militants of the armed struggle face each others] A shorter version of this review has been published on the Read more about Restorative Justice and Political Violence in Democratic Societies[…]