Dr. Silvia Bottega

Dr. Silvia Bottega holds a B.A. (Hons) in Political Science – International Relations (University of Perugia), a MA (Hons) in International Relations – Foreign Policy and International System (University of Perugia), and a Ph.D. in Strategic Science (University of Turin).

She firstly joined JSIA in 2016 as Assistant Professor and since then she has been teaching the following Courses: Sociology (Institutions and Social Change), International Law and Organizations, Ethics and War, Culture & Media Studies, UN and non-UN Peacekeeping and Peace Operations, International Relations – Theory and Practice, Foreign Policy Analysis, Military Alliances and Defence Diplomacy.

At the JSIA she also held the role of Assistant Dean for International Collaborations (2017-2018) and in 2018 she organised and participated in the First JSIA-Oxford University Summer School, UK.

In the past Dr. Bottega delivered seminars and courses in Japan (Hitotsubashi University’s Department of Sociology, Tokyo) and the Netherlands (Maastricht University’ Graduate School of Governance UNU-MERIT) respectively, and she worked as Researcher at the United Nations University’ Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) in Belgium, among others.

She previously conducted field research in the Philippines for her postgraduate thesis (Violence against Women and the ‘New Wars’, 2008), and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (political prisoners; hostage-prisoners’ exchanges, in 2009-2010). She defended her PhD Thesis (Diplomacy of captivity and the prisoners of war, 2012) at the University of Turin’s Doctoral School in Strategic Science (which collaborates with the Italian Army Officers’ School).

As a humanitarian practitioner she worked at the UNRWA’s West Bank Field Office in East Jerusalem (Gender mainstreaming/Poverty alleviation programmes), but she has also experience in the field of economic/trade analysis and economic diplomacy (Italy-Israel’s Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Tel Aviv; Italian Embassy’s Trade Office, Manila). As a Consultant she travelled to Ethiopia (African Union’s Hqs) and Nepal (SAARC) in 2014 for finalizing the outcomes of a UNU-CRIS research Project (“Capacity Building Initiative”) focusing on the role of regional and other intergovernmental organizations relevant in the field of “Peace and Security”.

Her main areas of interest are: the changing character of warfare and its humanitarian impact on different groups, including combatants, captives and hostages, women, displaced persons and refugees; the use of media for promoting social change (from photographic reportages to documentary movie-making); the legal and ethical aspects of armed conflicts, post-conflict scenarios (including criminal law and transitional justice) and peace-building.

She took part in various international conferences throughout the world, including the ISA Conference in San Francisco in 2018.