Wolfgang Minatti

I am a PhD Researcher at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute in Florence. With a background in Political Science and International Relations, I focus on violent non-state actors, rebel strategy and governance in civil wars.

My PhD project investigates the legitimation of state and non-state actors during civil war. I develop a theoretical framework that allows to map the micro-dynamics of legitimacy and elaborates on the processes that lead to the legitimation of certain actors in the eyes of a population. For the project, I am advised by Professor Jeffrey Checkel.

Before joining the European University Institute in 2019, I obtained a Bachelors’ degree at the University Innsbruck (Austria) and a Masters’ degree at Leiden University (The Netherlands). In between my studies I have also worked in Cairo (Egypt) as an intern for the Austrian Economic Chamber.