In Spring 2027, Giacomo Lemoli, postdoctoral researcher at Franklin Switzerland, will join CUNEF Universidad in Madrid as Assistant Professor of Political Science.
At CUNEF, Lemoli will become part of the newly established Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, combining research with teaching at undergraduate and master’s level. His work will continue to focus on comparative politics, political economy, ethnic politics, and civil conflict.
The appointment follows an academic path that has already taken him across four countries. After completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Bocconi University in Milan, Lemoli moved to the United States to pursue his PhD at New York University. He later returned to Europe for a two-year research fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, before coming to Lugano to join Professor Oliver Strijbis and the DIVIDE research team at Franklin.
During this time, Lemoli has published research from his doctoral work in leading political science journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, conducted fieldwork and experiments in Spain and Italy, and collaborated with research teams across Europe and the United States.
At Franklin, much of his work has centered on DIVIDE, a research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation that examines the relationship between direct democracy, political identities, and polarization.
Working alongside Professor Oliver Strijbis, Miku Matsunaga, Giona Panarello, and Sofia Simeoni, Lemoli has contributed to research exploring what happens when questions of self-determination are put directly to voters and how referenda can affect political identities, intergroup relations, and polarization.
In 2026, the team conducted a panel survey during a contested referendum in Italy and is currently carrying out experimental research around an independence referendum campaign in Canada. Their work examines how these political events can reshape identities and attitudes, looking at factors ranging from campaign messages and social interactions to people’s attachment to different groups.
Lemoli and Strijbis are also working together on research into language reforms and support for independence in the Basque Country, applying their work on identity and political behavior to one of Europe’s most prominent cases of regional separatism.
For Lemoli, the research itself has been only one part of his experience at Franklin. Working alongside Strijbis, the Political Science faculty, and the PhD researchers has given him the opportunity to collaborate closely within a growing research team, while Franklin’s Faculty Development Fund has provided additional support for his work.
He has also represented Franklin at academic conferences in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. At the same time, teaching at the University has allowed him to build further classroom experience alongside his research, a combination that will continue to define his role at CUNEF.
His move to Madrid will not end the collaboration. Lemoli will continue working with the DIVIDE team on several ongoing projects, while pursuing his research on political economy, ethnic identity, conflict, and political participation at CUNEF.
Franklin congratulates Giacomo on his appointment and looks forward to continuing the collaboration!