Giada Lagana

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT GIADA LAGANA

I am a Lecturer in Politics at Cardiff University, School of Law and Politics (LAWPL), where I have worked since 2019 in a variety of research and teaching roles before being appointed to a permanent position in 2025. From 2023 to 2026, I held a prestigious Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, which supported my research on socio-spatial governance between the island of Ireland and the United Kingdom.My academic path has been international and interdisciplinary. I obtained a BA (magna cum laude) in Italian and History at the University of Pavia, an MA in International Relations at Université de La Rochelle, and a PhD in Political Science at the University of Galway. I am also a Cardiff University Education Fellow, having completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Academic Practice (Galway), and I hold a DAEFLE professional qualification for teaching French as a foreign language (Université de La Rochelle).My research focuses on conflict management, peacebuilding, governance, and European integration, with particular expertise on Northern Ireland. It has been supported by national and international funders, and I have held visiting research and teaching positions in Germany, France, Ireland, Denmark, the USA and (from 2026) Hong Kong.I currently serve as President of the Irish Association for Contemporary European Studies (IACES), where I coordinate an Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Activities Support to Institutions and Associations grant. I am also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (UK).My first book, The European Union and the Northern Ireland Peace Process (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021), examines the EU’s role in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. My second book, under contract with Oxford University Press, explores the role of civil servants in conflict management and peacebuilding in Northern Ireland. Alongside these, I have published extensively on Irish politics, cross-border cooperation, and metagovernance.