Profile
Abstract
Paolo Zucconi is Research Assistant at the Research Institute for Social Cohesion of Leipzig University (FGZ) and PhD candidate in Global Studies at the Graduate School Global and Areas Studies. He is also Research Associate at the University of St. Andrews Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Causasus Studies, Research Fellow at the Global Center for Security Studies and Research Affiliate at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies in New Zealand.
Professional career
- since 07/2020
Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter - since 06/2019
Research Associate at the University of St. Andrews Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Causasus Studies - since 05/2019
Research fellow at the Global Center for Security Studies - 10/2014 - 09/2016
Political risk analyst at Analytic Observer
Education
- 10/2018 - 02/2019
Postgraduate certificate in Intelligence and National Security - 09/2016 - 11/2018
Master of Science in International Security Studies - 09/2011 - 10/2014
Bachelor´s degree in Political Science and International Relations
My research project focuses on evolution of the Visegrad cooperation since 1993 and the role of Russia in the region: partner or enemy? Firstly, the project investigates how Putin´s Russia exploits the rise of populism in the region for a new affinity with the political leadership in Hungary, to some extent, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In Poland, as the country is historically anti-Russian, the project investigates the role of Moscow in fuelling the increasing distance of the country from the fundamental values on which the European Union was founded. For the EU as a whole, this represents a challenge in formulating joint responses to Moscow's global politics.
Secondly, the project examines the implications - at the societal level - of the combination of political, economic, diplomatic, cultural activities of Putin´s Russia with political history (i.e. partitions of Poland, Hungary´s revolutions), ethnical argument (pan-slavic sentiments, Russophile traditions), economic dependencies (i.e. energy), geo-strategic argumentation (i.e. NATO accession). Based on the increasing relevance of Russia's foreign policy, the focus of the empirical study is on the domestic consequences for social cohesion in Germany's eastern neighbors.