Arianna Giovannini / Professoressa Associata

Arianna Giovannini is Professor (II band) of Political Sociology in the Department of Economics, Society and Politics (DESP). Before moving to the University of Urbino in 2023, Arianna was Associate Professor of Local Politics and Public Policy and the Deputy Director of the Local Governance Research Centre at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. Between July 2019 and February 2020, and again between October 2021 and March 2022, Arianna was the Director of IPPR North, the leading think-tank for the North of England, on a secondment basis. Previously, she was a Researcher at the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI), University of Sheffield, and she worked at the University of Leeds (POLIS). She also held academic positions at the University of Huddersfield and at Leeds Metropolitan University, where she was awarded a PhD in 2014. Before moving to the UK, she gained her undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of Urbino.

Arianna's research focuses on territorial politics, multi-level governance, devolution, regional inequalities, regionalism and regionalist parties, and democracy – both in the UK and in comparative European perspective. Recently, Arianna's work in these areas has concentrated on devolution in England, and in particular in the North; the politics, governance and political economy  of regional policy; the changing landscape of local government; the new municipalism; and asymmetric regionalism. Arianna has written extensively on these topics, publishing in academic journals such as  Environment and Planning C, Territory, Politics, Governance, Policy & Politics, Regional and Federal Studies, The Political Quarterly and Political Studies.

Arianna’s work actively engages with policy and practice. She has published many influential policy reports (e.g. with IPPR North, APSE, Unlock Democracy) and regularly provides evidence to Parliamentary Committees and policy advice to policy makers, in particular on devolution, local government and multi-level governance dynamics.

Arianna regularly appear on international, national and regional broadcast media, including SkyNews and BBC News, and I write for a range of online and print publications.

Between 2017 and 2023, Arianna was an elected Trustee of the UK Political Studies Association (PSA). Previously, she was also co-convenor of the PSA Local Politics Specialist Group (2015-18), and of the PSA Italian Politics Specialist Group (2010-2017). Arianna is a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society of Arts), Visiting Professor at the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS, Newcastle University), Visiting Fellow at the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place (University of Liverpool), Associate Fellow at the Centre on Constitutional Change (University of Edinburgh) and Associate Fellow at IPPR North. Between 2020 and 2023 Arianna was on the editorial board of the Italian Journal Polis.

In 2024, Arianna was awarded the UK Political Studies Association's Joni Lovenduski Prize for outstanding professional contributions to political studies by a mid-career scholar.

Books:

Giovannini, A., Seddone, A. and Vampa, D. (2024) Territorial Governance in Times of Crisis. Regional Responses, Communication and Public Opinion in Italy during the Covid19 pandemic. Cham: Palgrave.

Willett, J. and Giovannini, A. (2024) An Introduction to UK Politics. Place, Pluralism and Identities. London: Sage

Giovannini, A. and Mosca, L. (eds) (2021). Politica in Italia 2020. I Fatti e le Interpretazioni dell'Anno. Bologna: Il Mulino.

Berry, C. and Giovannini, A. (eds) (2018) Developing England’s North: The Political Economy of the Northern Powerhouse, Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Hayton, R., Giovannini, A. and Berry, C. (eds) (2016) The Politics of the North: Governance, Territory and Identity in Northern England, Leeds: University of Leeds. E-book available at this link: http://ow.ly/TTGA304WLrv

Book Chapters:

Giovannini, A. (2022) ‘The 'evolution' of devolution: assessing Labour’s legacy in England’. In M. Gordon and A. Tucker (eds.) The New Labour Constitution Twenty Years On, Oxford: Hart Publishing

Giovannini, A. (2021) ‘In the eye of the storm: English local government and the COVID-19 crisis’. In R. Bryson, L. Reardon, L. Andres and A. Ersoy (eds.) Living with Pandemics: People, Place and Policy, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar

Giovannini, A. (2021) ‘Levelling Up’. In Brexit and Beyond, UK in a Changing Europe Report

Giovannini, A. and Raikes, L. (2021) ‘Looking North: the multi-level governance of economic policy’. In C. Berry, J. Froud and T. Barker (eds.)  The Political Economy of Industrial Strategy in the UK: From Productivity Problems to Developmental Dilemmas, Agenda Publishing

Giovannini, A. and Mosca, L. (2021) Introduzione. L’Anno del Covid-19: l’Italia al Bivio. In Giovannini, A. and Mosca, L. (eds) Politca in Italia 2020. I Fatti e le Interpretazioni dell'Anno. Bologna: Il Mulino.

Barnett, N., Giovannini, A., Griggs, S. and P. O’Brien (2021) ‘Working in and Against Hybrid Landscapes: Reflections on the Skills and Capabilities of Chief Officers in UK Local Government’. In H. Sullivan, H. Dickinson and H. Henderson (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant, Basingstoke: Palgrave

Giovannini, A. and Rose, J. (2020) ‘England: The North-South Divide’ (with J. Rose), in M. Garnett (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of British Politics and Society, Abingdon: Routledge

Giovannini, A. (2018) ‘The Uneven Governance of Devolution Deals in Yorkshire: opportunities, challenges and local (di)visions’. In C. Berry and A. Giovannini (eds), Developing England’s North. The Political Economy of the Northern Powerhouse, Basingstoke: Palgrave,  pp.163-196.

Berry, C. and Giovannini, A. (2018) ‘Powerhouse Politics and Economic Development in the North’. In C. Berry and A. Giovannini (eds), Developing England’s North. The Political Economy of the Northern Powerhouse, Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2018, pp.1-20.

Berry, C. and Giovannini, A. (2018) ‘A Better Place’. In C. Berry and A. Giovannini (eds), Developing England’s North. The Political Economy of the Northern Powerhouse, Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2018, pp.307-317.

Hayton, R., Giovannini, A. and Berry, C. (2016) ‘The Idea and the Identity of the North’. In R. Hayton, A. Giovannini and C. Berry (eds.) The Politics of the North: Governance, Territory and Identity in Northern England, Leeds: University of Leeds, 2016.

Journal Articles:

Giovannini, A. and Griggs, S. (2024) 'Addressing the elephant in the room: what’s the local in local government studies? Local Government Studies, online first https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2024.2359456

Barnett, N., Giovannini, A. and Griggs, S. (2024) ‘Serial Adapters? Local Government Chief Officers and the Navigation of Space and Time’, Environment and Plannig C: Politics and Space, 42(2), pp. 215-230

Giovannini, A. and Wood, M. (2022) ‘Understanding Democratic Stress’, Representation, 58(1), pp. 1-12

Giovannini, A. (2021) ‘The 2021 Metro Mayor Elections: Localism Rebooted?’, The Political Quarterly, 92(3), pp. 474-485

Giovannini, A. and Mosca, L. (2021) ‘The year of Covid-19. Italy at a crossroads’, Contemporary Italian Politics, 13(12), pp. 130-148 

Giovannini, A. (2020) ‘COVID-19 and English Devolution’, Political Insight, 11(3), pp. 40

Giovannini, A. and Vampa, D. (2020) ‘Towards a New Era of Regionalism in Italy? A Comparative Perspective on Autonomy Referendums’, Territory, Politics, Governance, 8(4), pp. 579-597

Vampa, D. and Giovannini, A. (2019) 'Autonomia differenziata come processo dal basso: i referendum regionali in prospettiva comparata' in Economia e Società Regionale, 3/2019, pp. 71-81

Albertazzi, D., Giovannini, A. and Seddone, A. (2018) ‘“No Regionalism Please, We Are Leghisti!” The Transformation of the Italian Lega Nord Under the Leadership of Matteo Salvini’, Regional and Federal Studies, 28(5), pp. 645-671

Prosser, B., Renwick, A., Giovannini, A., et al (2017) ‘Citizen Participation and Changing Governance: Cases of Devolution in England’, Policy & Politics, 45(2), pp.251-69

Giovannini, A. (2016) ‘Towards a ‘New English Regionalism’ in the North? The Case of Yorkshire First’, the Political Quarterly, 87(4), pp.590-600

Giovannini, A., Polverari, L. and Seddone, A. (2016) ‘Visions of Europe: emerging challenges for the European project in the aftermath of the 2014 European Parliament elections’, Italian Political Science Review, 46(4), pp.115-130

Giovannini, A. (2016) ‘Leadership, Carisma e Identità: il caso dello SNP sotto la guida di Alex Salmond’ (Leadership, Charisma and Identity: The SNP under the lead of Alex Salmond), Ragion Pratica, 1, pp. 84-114

Cox, E. and Giovannini, A. (2015)  ‘Northern Voices.How Far Can a Bottom-up ‘New Regionalism’ Go Towards Answering the English Question?’, Juncture, 22(1), pp. 53-59

Albertazzi, D. and Giovannini, A. (2015) ‘Surviving the Perfect Storm: Italy after the 2013 General Election’, Journal of Modern Italian Studies,  Special Issue, 20(4), pp. 427-437

Giovannini, A. and Willett, G. (2014) ‘The Uneven Path of English Devolution. Top Down vs. Bottom Up Regionalism in England – Cornwall and the North East Compared’, Political Studies, 62(2), pp.343-360 

Giovannini, A. and Newell, J. (2013) ‘Italy and the UK: Politics, Citizens’ Engagement and the State of Democracy in Comparative Perspective’, Polis, Special Issue, 27(2), pp. 197-206

Reports (selected):

Power to the People? The route to English Devolution – Report for Unlock Democracy, Aprile 2024 (with J.S. Davies)

Under Pressure. The Future of Councillor-Officer Relationships – Report for the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), Dec. 2023 (with N. Barnett, S. Griggs, D. Howarth, S. Jaffares, and C. Love)

The Future of Local Councils – Report for the Society of Local Council Clerks, Jan. 2023 (with S. Griggs, A. Jones, S. Parker & J. Rose)

Levelling Up: Caring for Place, Empowering Connectors and Redesigning Our Culture of Governance – IPPR North Briefing Paper, Dec. 2022 (with S. Griggs)

State of the North 2021/22: Powering Northern Excellence – IPPR North Report, Jan 2022 (with J. Webb, M. Johns, et al)

APSE (2021) Local By Default - APSE Local Government Commission 2030 Final Report

Barnett, N., Giovannini, A. and Griggs, S. (2021) Local Government in England - Forty Years of Decline, Unlock Democracy Report

Raikes, L., Giovannini, A. and Getzel, B. (2019) State of the North 2019: Divided and Connected: Regional Inequalities in the North, the UK and the developed world - IPPR North Report

Barnett, N., Giovannini, A. and Griggs, S. (2019) Ensuring the leadership of the new municipalism, APSE Report