History of International Relations
History of European construction
History of the International Organization (from the 19th century)
History of Multilateral Diplomacy in the techno-scientific (Aerospace and electronic) and military fields
History of contemporary France (starting from 1914)
International History of Technology
International diplomatic-military history sec. XIX and XX
History of NATO
Techno-scientific diplomacy
History of Science Diplomacy

Aviation cooperation
Space cooperation
Experts and expertise in multilateral diplomacy
Science Diplomacy
Techno-scientific diplomacy
Airplane transport
European transport policies and negotiations
Arms cooperation
Secret services
European defense-political and operational aspects
Relations between experts / technicians and decision makers / political references in the international dimension of the decision-making process
Role of war in multilateral diplomacy and international organization

Please contact the teacher in good time, setting up a zoom appointment via e-mail david.burigana@unipd.it, to agree on a thesis subject so as to be able to clarify the possible themes for a thesis, the aims of the thesis, the methods of bibliographic research and sources, and the times and methods of drafting the thesis itself.

Starting from the AY 2024-25, the subjects of the three-year and master's theses that I assign relate to the historical-internationalist field of Science, Technology and Foreign Policy. My discipline is History of International Relations, so based on my courses I deal with the 19th and 20th centuries, in particular up to the 1990s, and no later. I study the operational history approach, that is, the use of History to suggest indications on the present time. This implies attention to the current developments of some themes or research areas. For the purposes of the Thesis, operational history involves a specific approach from the beginning of the research and drafting of the Thesis. In the editorial phase, it is in fact a matter of bringing out from the research results the elements useful for the analysis and criticism of the present phenomenon.

Particular attention is given to Science Diplomacy, and to the specific case of Space Diplomacy. We invite you to consult the sites https://www.spacediplomacy.it/ and https://www.sciencediplomacy.it/.

The Theses can deal with areas such as Space in its various applications - human and robotic exploration, Earth Observation, Satellites, Law and New Space Economy - the Poles, Microelectronics, Aeronautics and Civil and Military Aviation, cooperation of armaments, the use and role of Science and Technology in conflicts, Chemistry, Biology, Medicine; of national or European policies; of international arenas such as Agencies - e.g. the European Space Agency or UNOOSA (United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs - or COSPAR or the International Astronautical Federation or the International Astronomical Union; of national and international actors, such as experts and advisors, diplomats, politicians, managers of public or private enterprise, scientists.

Particular attention is given to archival sources - paper, images, video, audio - to the role of the press - online archives of newspapers, as well as of the Newspaper Library, but also of the Teche RAI in Venice - to oral history. Thanks to a collaboration with the Historical Archives of the EU (Florence) https://www.eui.eu/en/academic-units/historical-archives-of-the-european-union, it is possible to plan a mission to the archives of a single day to allow the student to make use of original documentation in his/her thesis.

Consistent with their development, it is possible to include a storytelling product in the Theses (SEE an example https://www.sciencediplomacy.it/storytelling-lab/), a Science Communication technique also applicable to political and social sciences, and obviously to History.

The thesis is then an opportunity to share with the student their research experience and their university and institutional network thanks to the research projects that the teacher directs and his participation in two doctorates dedicated to space and more specifically general in Science and Technology, as well as Co-Director of the International School on Science & Diplomacy of the Ettore Majorana Foundation (Erice, TP) founded by Antonino Zichichi.