South Asian/Indian politics and state-society relations; political discourse; security and peace studies; visual/documentary research projects in these fields of interest.
Background & Qualification
Denise is a scholar of South Asian politics. Presently, she is a doctoral researcher at the Institute for International Conflict Resolution and Reconstruction (IICRR), School of Law and Government, DCU. Her research work deals with state-society relations in India and in the broader context of South Asia. After an initial grounding in political and socio-economic dynamics of contemporary India obtained at the University of Milan, she pursued further specialisation in South Asian/Indian politics, IR, security and peace studies. She was a visiting research student at the Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University, Kolkata (2008-2009) and an Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) exchange scholar (CEP, 2011-2013) at the MMAJ Academy of International Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, where she completed her M.Phil. degree in International Studies in 2016.
- M. Phil. in International Studies (2016), MMAJ Academy of International Studies (AIS), Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi.
- Visiting research student, Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University, Kolkata. (2008-2009). UniAMO Postgraduate Programme for training activities in Southern and Eastern Asian countries (University of Milan – Fondazione CARIPLO).
- MA in Languages, Cultures, and International Communications (2007), Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Milan.
- BA in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation (2004), Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Milan.
Doctoral Research
Political discourse, state-society relations, and peacebuilding in India
Research Overview
My research project investigates the discursive politics of India’s response as a democratic state to a long history of claim-making in relation to major socio-political and economic transformations of the country. In particular, my thesis explores the role played by political discourse in both negotiating spaces of citizen participation and shaping peacebuilding dynamics in Indian society. By focusing on the discursive features characterising current debates on issues of public concern (e.g. socio-economic development and inclusion) in key sites of deliberation and decision-making, my project analyses the implications of political discourse and its dynamics for state-society relations and political processes in India today.