Profile
Tommaso Fonti

Tommaso Fonti

PhD Candidate in International Relations and Political Science
twitter
linkedin
email
Spoken languages
English, Italian

phd


PhD Thesis Title: The Political Economy of Interdependence: Climate, Security, and Industrial Policy in a Fragmented and Warming World

PhD Supervisor:  Cédric Dupont

This thesis explores how globalization is being recalibrated and what this means for climate and industrial policies. It develops a theoretical framework that explains economic integration as the outcome of a balance between political vulnerability and the stabilizing force of global supply chains. This results in a globalization that is increasingly fragmented and selective, varying across sectors and depending on states’ perceptions of risk. The thesis develops this idea in a long theoretical introduction and then proposes three empirical papers. The first examines how states design climate and industrial policies in strategic sectors such as critical minerals. The second studies how citizens’ views on vulnerability and dependence shape their support for climate policy. The third analyzes how firms adapt investment and lobbying strategies when navigating the tensions between openness and protection. Together, these contributions link the global distribution of power to the politics of climate change across international, domestic, and firm levels. 

 

Profile
 

Tommaso is a PhD Candidate in International Relations and Political Science at the Graduate Institute. Originally from Milan, Italy, he has an academic background spanning political science, economics, and international relations, with studies at Pompeu Fabra (Research Master in Political Science), the University of Milan (MSc in Economics and Political Science, BA in International Relations), and Sciences Po (Environmental Policy). His PhD research investigates how geopolitical instability impacts climate change, focusing on security concerns and their influence on trade policy and climate politics. Previously, Tommaso has worked as a research assistant at Bocconi University’s Social Inclusion Lab (Dondena) and as a predoctoral researcher at Centro Studi Luca D’Agliano. He is also an elected member of Milan’s City District Council, leading the Social Policy and Mobility Committee. These roles inspire his research on urban politics, with work in progress on how pedestrianization policies impact political behaviour in cities.
 

Research Interests

 

  • International Political Economy
  • Trade and Economic Integration
  • Climate Politics and Policy
  • Urban Politics and Political Behaviour
  • Empirical International Relations

     

Publications and Works
 

  • Fonti (2023), “To which extent does innovation foster sustainable public service? An empirical approach to study how society impacts green innovation in its relationship with public services.” Bocconi University, Call for Papers in Memory of Prof. Andrea Gilardoni (2nd prize - € 1000) – Published on MUI - Management of Utilities and Infrastructure 

  • Clerici, Perotti and Fonti (2022), “Digitalizzazione e integrazione per il futuro della mobilità urbana. Politiche pubbliche e strategie degli operatori per costruire un ecosistema Mobility as a Service nelle città italiane.” – Agici Publishing Division

  • Fonti (2022), “How will the wind blow on the market? a comparison of top energy utilities in the US and the EU”, MUI - Management of Utilities and Infrastructure.