Francesca FRASSINETI

CURRENT POSITION

Adjunct Professor of History of Contemporary East Asia, Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

 
RESEARCH INTERESTS

International Relations of East Asia, contemporary Korean history and society, North and South Korean foreign policy, inter-Korean relations, EU-South Korea relations, security and defense policies in East Asia
 
EDUCATION

March 2020 - Ph.D. in Global and International Studies, Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna
Dissertation: "The Pitfalls of a Responsible Seonjinguk: A Role-based Approach to South Korea's Middle Power Activism across the Regional-Global Divide"

February 2014 - Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomatic Affairs (magna cum laude), University of Bologna, Forlì Campus

July 2011 - Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Diplomatic Affairs (magna cum laude), University of Bologna, Forlì Campus

 
GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS 

2024 - 2025 Project Title: The Gastrodiplomacy Leverage in Post-COVID Tourism Recovery: Comparing South Korea and Singapore’s Public Diplomacy Strategies towards Italy, Project No. AKS-2024-R040, Academy of Korean Studies (AKS)

2024 Visiting Research Fellow, Asan Institute for Policy Studies (Seoul)

2023 Non-resident James A. Kelly Korea Fellow, Pacific Forum

2023 Emerging Leader Fellowship, Republic of Korea's National Institute for Unification Education

2022 Next Generation Korea Peninsula Specialists Fellowship, National Council on American Foreign Policy

2022 Next Generation Policy Experts Network, Chatham House and Korea Foundation

2021 Emerging Leader Fellowship, Republic of Korea's National Institute for Unification Education 

2016 - 2019 Borsa di dottorato, MIUR - Università di Bologna 

 
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Since March 2024 Academic Consultant and Unit Convener, University of Canberra 

Since September 2016 Associate Research Fellow, Asia Centre, Istituto per gli studi di politica internazionale (ISPI)

2023 - 2024 Adjunct Professor of Negotiation Simulation in IR, Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna (Campus of Forlì)

2023 Contract Researcher, Area "South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific", Istituto Ricerca e Analisi della Difesa (IRAD)

2022 - 2023 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna 

2021-2022 Adjunct Professor of International Political Economy, Franklin University Switzerland

2021 - 2022 Pan European Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)

 
CONFERENCES

2024:

"The Gastrodiplomacy Leverage in Post-COVID Recovery: Comparing South Korea and Singapore’s Public Diplomacy Strategies,"7th Annual Workshop for the Social Science, Korean Studies Networks in Europe (SoKEN), Ca'Foscari University of Venice (paper co-authored with Bernard Keo);

“A Public Diplomacy Perspective on Corporations: South Korea’s Chaebǒl in Vietnam,” International Convention of Asian Scholars (ICAS), Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya (paper co-authored with Yunhee Kim);

Roundtable "Culinary Crossways: New Perspectives on the Gastronomic Heritage(s) of Asia," (convenor and presenter), International Convention of Asian Scholars (ICAS), Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya.

2023:

“Converging interests behind deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow,” ‘The Two Koreas in the Age of Uncertainty: What’s Next?’ international conference organized by ISPI in partnership with the General Consulate of the Republic of Korea to Milan, Milano, 23 novembre;

“South Korea’s Greater Engagement with NATO and Europe: Becoming a Reliable Security Partner Through a Thriving Defense Industry,” The World Congress for Korean Politics and Society, Yonsei University, Seoul, 30 giugno;

“By Hook or by Crook: Dimensions of ‘Moral Performance' in China and South Korea's Fight Against Covid-19,” The 8th AAS-in-Asia Conference, Kyungpook National University (KNU), Daegu, 25 giugno (paper co-authored with Giulia Sciorati);

“New Dynamics in the EU’s Security Relation with Northeast Asia,” NASS Northeast Asia Security Symposium, Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) Tokyo, in collaboration with the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS) and the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), 18 aprile (virtual);

2022:

Closing Conference of the project “Rome Foreign Policy Club: Working Group on Italy, Multilateralism and Future Challenges,” organizzato dallo European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) con il sostegno del Ministero degli Affari esteri e della Cooperazione internazionale (MAECI), Roma, 14 giugno;

“By hook or by crook: Dimensions of ‘moral performance’ in China and South Korea’s fight against Covid-19,” Conference on Resilience in the Post-COVID-19 World Disorder, Dipartimento di Sociologia e di Ricerca sociale, Università di Trento, 19 giugno (con G. Sciorati);

“South Korea’s public diplomacy during COVID-19: A litmus test for middle power standing,” Conference on Post-Pandemic Socio-Political Trajectories in Asia, Dipartimento di Scienze politiche e sociali, Università di Pavia, 25 maggio;

"Reframing the role of corporations in South Korea’s foreign relations: A public diplomacy perspectives,” 2022 IKSU Annual International Conference, University of Central Lancashire, 7 gennaio (con Y. Kim) (on-line).

2021:

“Assessing the climate-related security risks and stresses for Korea-Europe missions and operations,” Korea-Europe Policy Dialogue, KF-VUB Korea Chair & Sejong Institute, Bruxelles, 4-5 novembre.

2020:

“Northeast Asian security cooperation amid deteriorating threat environment: The interplay between the Korean Peninsula and regional developments,” Virtual Conference on the Como Process and Beyond: Towards a New Horizon on the Korean Peninsula," LUISS University, 13 novembre (on-line);

“The environmental dimension of South Korea’s pathway towards sustainable development,” Conference on social challenges and developments in South Korea," Università di Bologna con il sostegno del Consolato generale della Repubblica di Corea, Bologna, 23 settembre.

2019:

“Prospects for participation in South Korea’s foreign policy,” ISA-IDSS Conference on Regionalist Perspectives on World Order: Challenges and Responses," Seoul, 4 luglio;

“Moon Jae-in's 'Diplomacy with the People': Reconnecting with the domestic public to break the middle power impasse,” XXIX Conference of the Association for Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE), Roma, 11 aprile.

2018:

"South Korea’s foreign policy stuck on the ‘emerging’ middle power puzzle," XI Conference of the Italian Standing Group on International Relations (SGRI), Bologna, 13 ottobre;

"Traces of developmentalism in South Korea’s foreign policy: The influence of the seonjinguk discourse on middle power diplomacy," XV Korean Studies Graduate Students Conference in Europe, Università La Sapienza, Roma, 29 settembre;

"The degree of agency in the Asia-Pacific through the lens of South Korea’s middle power activism," VI Korea University Graduate Students Conference, Korea University, Seoul, 25 maggio.