Dr Sergio Catignani (He/Him/His)

Professor Sergio Catignani is Reader/Associate Professor in International Relations. He joined the University of Exeter in 2013.

Professor Catignani has an MA (Hons) Political Studies (Aberdeen), MLitt (Research) International Relations (Aberdeen), and DPhil War Studies (King's College London) and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Between 1 September 2010 and 31 August 2011 Professor Catignani was a Leverhulme Research Fellow and conducted an empirical study on the British Army's adaptation to the insurgency campaign in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Although funded by the Leverhulme Trust, the study was sponsored by then Land Warfare Director General, Major General Nick Carter, currently Chief of the Defence Staff.

He was between 2014 and 2018 Principal Investigator on a joint funded ESRC-Ministry of Defence grant titled, “Sustaining Future Reserves 2020: Assessing Organisational Commitment in the Reserves”. With co-investigator, Dr Victoria Basham (Cardiff University), he examined the impact that Reserve service has both on reservists and their spouse/partners, the ways in which reservists balance their work, family and Reserve commitments and how their spouses/partners provide support at enabling reservists to balance such commitments.

Professor Catignani is an Associate Editor of European Journal of International Security and the Critical Military Studies journal and sits on the editorial board of the new Studies in Contemporary Warfare book series (IB Tauris).

Biography:

Prior to joining the University of Exeter in 2013, Professor Catignani was a Lecturer in Strategic and Security Studies in the Department of International Relations, University of Sussex (2009-2013), Assistant Professor in International Security in the Political Institute, Leiden University (2008-2009), Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute Florence (2007-2008), and Lecturer in War Studies in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London (2005-2007).

In his free time, Professor Catignani enjoys spending time with his wife, two sons and daughter, rambling along the British coast or countryside with their English cocker spaniels by their side and working on his allotment.

Research supervision:

Professor Catignani's research interests comprise, amongst other things, military sociology, critical military studies, civil-military relations, institutional innovation and transformation, contemporary security issues (esp. insurgency and stabilization operations and military humanitarian interventions, the militarisation of counter-narcotics and policing within urban spaces), and gendered perspectives on security, military personnel and family issues. He is happy to supervise in the above areas.