Giuseppe Spatafora

Born and raised in Palermo, Italy, Giuseppe Spatafora started his DPhil in International Relations at Oxford in 2019, supported by the AHCR Open-Oxford-Cambridge Doctoral Training Program Studentship and the Scatcherd European Scholarship. His research interest lies in the area of international security, civil wars, and alliance theory. For his DPhil project, Giuseppe researches variation in external support for armed groups in a civil war: why do foreign actors choose to support warring parties? How does support vary, and why? And what consequences does it have for the evolution of the conflict and relations among armed actors and external sponsors? In order to answer these questions, Giuseppe follows a mixed method research design, combining in-depth case studies with quantitative analysis. 

Before starting the DPhil, Giuseppe earned an MPhil in International Relations as a Kellogg Scholar at Oxford. His MPhil dissertation was on the effect of interstate alliances on immediate and general deterrence. He also has a BA in International Affairs, Economics and History (summa cum laude) from John Cabot University in Rome. Aside from academia, Giuseppe loves history, art, languages, and football.