Publications & Interviews

My ORCiD: 0000-0001-7956-8755

~ Chapter 4, “‘Swiping Right’—The Ethics of Using Tinder as a Recruitment Tool in the Field“, in Researching Central Asia: Navigating Positionality in the Field, edited by Jasmin Dall’Agnola and Aijan Sharshenova, Springer, October 2023 [open access]

~ “Hiring, Firing, Atomizing; Manpower Agencies and Precarious Labor in Kazakhstan’s Oil Sector“, International Labor and Working-Class History, Cambridge University Press, online since August 2023 [open access]

~ “Introduzione“, co-authored with Daniele Artoni and Carlo Frappi, in Daniele Artoni, Carlo Frappi and Paolo Sorbello (eds.), Armenia, Caucaso e Asia Centrale: Ricerche 2022 (Eurasiatica, vol. 19, 2023) – ISBN 978-88-6969-667-1 [open access]

~ Capitolo 9, “Gli effetti della guerra in Ucraina sulle direttrici di export per gli idrocarburi centroasiatici verso l’Europa“, Focus Sicurezza Energetica, n. 6-2023, Osservatorio di politica internazionale – Parlamento Italiano, volume a cura dell’Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI) [link] [pdf]

~ Capitolo “Kazakhstan e Russia tra dipendenza economica e distanza diplomatica”, in Guerra Globale: Il conflitto russo-ucraino e l’ordine internazionale, a cura di Memorial Italia, Corriere della Sera Inchieste, RCS MediaGroup, Milano. – 23 gennaio 2023. [recensione]

~ Edited book with Anja Mihr and Brigitte Weiffen, Securitization and Democracy in Eurasia: Transformation and Development in the OSCE Region, Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2022. [open access]

~ Academic article on the tension between private companies and institutions in forming the European energy policy towards Central Asia. The EU and European transnational companies in Central Asia: relocating agency in the energy sector, co-authored with Gian Marco Moisé (Central Asian Survey, 2022) [open access]

~ Capitolo 5, “La strategia Gnl della Russia passa dall’Artico“, Focus Sicurezza Energetica, n. 3-2021, Osservatorio di politica internazionale – Parlamento Italiano, volume a cura dell’Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI) [link] [pdf]

~ “Introduzione“, co-authored with Daniele Artoni and Carlo Frappi, in Daniele Artoni, Carlo Frappi and Paolo Sorbello (eds.), Armenia, Caucaso e Asia Centrale: Ricerche 2021 (Eurasiatica, vol. 18, 2021) – ISBN 978-88-6969-550-6 [open access]

~ Chapter on the “oil complex” in Kazakhstan and the Caspian region. Oil, Capital, and Labour Around the Caspian, co-authored with Maurizio Totaro, in Rico Isaacs and Erica Marat (eds.), The Routledge Handbook on Contemporary Central Asia, 2021. [book]

~ Academic article on a series of events in Kazakhstan in 2020. Kazakhstan 2020: Between a rock and a hard place (Asia Maior, vol. 31, 2020, pp. 505-520) – ISBN 978-88-3313-828-2  [link] [open access]

~ Capitolo 9, “Covid-19 e ricadute su strategie energetiche europee in Asia centrale“, Focus Sicurezza Energetica, n. 1-2021, Osservatorio di politica internazionale – Parlamento Italiano, volume a cura dell’Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI) [link] [pdf]

~ Working paper on the effects of low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic for Kazakhstan’s economy. Kazakhstan’s oil dependent economy caught between two crises for Friedrich Ebert Stiftung – Kazakhstan, October 2020 – [link] [pdf]

~ “Introduzione“, co-authored with Carlo Frappi, in Carlo Frappi and Paolo Sorbello (eds.), Armenia, Caucaso e Asia Centrale: Ricerche 2020 (Eurasiatica, vol. 15, 2020) – ISBN 978-88-6969-453-0 [open access]

~ Academic article on change and continuity in Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan 2018-19: Change and Continuity amid Economic Stagnation (Asia Maior, vol. 30, 2019, pp. 473-489) – ISBN 978-88-3313-491-8 [link] [open access]

From the Foreword: “Another example worth remembering, drawn from the class of countries classified by Freedom House as «Not Free», is that of Kazakhstan. As shown by Paolo Sorbello, in the Central Asian country, in spite of the unexpected decision made public in March by Nursultan Nazarbayev to step down from the presidency, the former President continued to be firmly in control of the ultimate power. Also, the harassing of opposition forces and independent media persons continued unabated.”

~ Academic article on the influence of energy politics and commercial ties in diplomatic relations between Italy and Central Asian countries, with a particular reference to Kazakhstan: “Italian Business in Central Asia: In and Around the Energy Sector” in Carlo Frappi e Fabio Indeo (eds.), Monitoring Central Asia and the Caspian Area Development Policies, Regional Trends, and Italian Interests, (Eurasiatica, vol. 13,  2019) – ISSN 2610-8879 [open access]

~ Chapter 8, ‘Oil and Gas Political Economy in Central Asia: The international perspective‘, in Slawomir Raszewski (ed.), The International Political Economy of Oil and Gas, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2017 – ISBN 978-3-319-62556-0 [details]

~ Capitolo 13  ‘Disintegrazione e reintegrazione: le politiche energetiche regionali e internazionali dopo la fine dell’URSS‘, in Simone Attilio Bellezza (ed.), Atlante geopolitico dello spazio post-sovietico: Confini e conflitti, La Scuola, Brescia, pp. 175-186, 2016. ISBN: 978-8-8350-4262-4

~ Capitolo 14 ‘Multivettorialismo obbligato: la politica estera del Kazakistan dopo il 1991‘, in Simone Attilio Bellezza (ed.), Atlante geopolitico dello spazio post-sovietico: Confini e conflitti, La Scuola, Brescia, pp. 187-198, 2016. ISBN: 978-8-8350-4262-4 [English title: Integration and disintegration: Regional and international energy policies after the fall of the USSR]

~ Chapter 6, ‘Pipelines and Hegemonies in the Caspian: a Gramscian Appraisal‘, in Andreas Heinrich and Heiko Pleines (eds.), Export Pipelines from the CIS Region Geopolitics, Securitization, and Political Decision-Making, ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart, March 2014 –  ISBN 978-3-8382-0639-4

Review by Columbia University Press: This timely collection offers fresh perspectives to the analysis of the ‘New Great Game’ – the fight for access to the Caspian Sea region’s energy resources. To date, the export of the Caspian crude oil and natural gas has only been assessed geopolitically, which oversimplifies the political dynamics of the region and neglects to acknowledge the Caspian countries as actors in their own right.

~ Academic article on power relations between the Kremlin and the Russian national energy companies (Gazprom & Rosneft), co-authored with Ludovico Grandi: From concentration to competition: The struggle for power between the Kremlin and Gazprom through the study of TNK-BP and South Stream (Irish Slavonic Studies, November 2013) – ISBN 9781905952458

~ Academic article on Bulgarian nuclear energy, co-authored with Elvira Oliva: Nuclear Energy in Bulgaria: Strategic Implications for the EU and Russia (European Perspectives, June 2012) – ISSN 1855-7694

Cited/referenced in:
¤ Michael Sander (2013) ‘Conceptual proposals for measuring the impact of international regimes on energy security‘, Energy Policy, vol. 63 [Working Paper – pdf]

~ Book on The Role of Energy in Russian Foreign Policy towards Kazakhstan (LAP Publishing, June 2011) – ISBN 9783844382211
full text available here

Cited/referenced in:
¤ Simon Pirani (2012) ‘Central Asian and Caspian Gas Production and Constraints on Export‘, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
¤ Karl Erik Bragtvedt Henriksen (2013) ‘Kazakhstan’s Energy in Foreign Policy‘, MA thesis University of Oslo

Reviewed in:
¤ Daryl Morini (2011) – e-ir.info

Browse my other publications in English and in Italiano.

Online Conferences:

Panel contribution and training session at CaspianToday’s conference on “Labour issues in Mangistau” – Aktau 13-14 January 2023
[link1 – link2 – link3]

Università di Trento – Workshop – La Cina in Asia Centrale prospettive multidisciplinari contributo: “Il ruolo della Cina nel settore petrolifero del Kazakhstan dall’indipendenza a oggi”
Febbraio 2022 [link]

Panel contribution at a conference organized by TESPAM and the Eurasian Research Institute on “Recent transformations in the oil and gas sector in Central Asia”
March 2021 [link-video]

Online conference organized by the Economic Research Institute in Astana – contribution: “Between Low Oil Prices and Pandemic: Kazakhstan’s Road to Economic Recovery”
October 2020 [link – video]

Interviews I gave:

Intervista sull’attacco terroristico vicino Mosca e le conseguenze per i migranti centroasiatici in Russia per Radio3 Mondo
Marzo 2024 [link]

Interviewed about the forest fires that spread across northern Kazakhstan at Meduza
September 2023 [link]

Video correspondence to TRT World on the parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan.
March 2023

Intervista sulle elezioni parlamentari in Kazakhstan per l’agenzia di notizie Radiotelevisione Svizzera RSI
Marzo 2023 [link – audio (dal min. 18)]

Interviewed about the potential of a gas link through Turkey to bring Turkmenistan’s gas to Europe at Magasinet rØST.
March 2023 [link – in Danish]

Interviewed about Kazakhstan’s parliamentary elections for Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty‘s Majlis Podcast.
March 2023 [link]

Intervista sulle elezioni presidenziali in Kazakhstan per l’agenzia di notizie Adnkronos.
Novembre 2022 [link]

Intervista sull’Asia centrale, la sua storia recente e le relazioni diplomatiche dopo l’inizio della guerra in Ucraina per il programma radiofonico “Il cielo sopra Pechino” di Radio Beckwith Evangelica.
Aprile 2022 [link]

Intervista sul ruolo del Kazakhstan nel conflitto russo-ucraino per il quotidiano La Ragione.
Aprile 2022 [link-video]

Interviewed about Russia’s war in Ukraine and the consequences for Kazakhstan by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty‘s local service.
March 2022 [link in Russian; in Kazakh]

Interviste sul “gennaio di sangue” in Kazakhstan gennaio 2022
– in radio su: Radio3 Mondo, Radio Vaticana, Radio Onda d’Urto,
– in video su: Geopolitica.info, Laboratorio Morion, Memorial Italia.
– in giornali su: GlobalProject.info, EastJournal, Geopolitica.info, Ca’ Foscari NEWS.

Interviews on Kazakhstan’s “Bloody January” January 2022
– radio: This is Hell!
– video: Geopolitics & Empire (also featured at BBC World and TRT World).

Interviewed about cost-cutting corporate strategies in Kazakhstan’s oil sector by Vlast.kz 
October 2021 [link in Russian; in Kazakh]

Interviewed about oil worker protests in Kazakhstan in 2021 by Vlast.kz [in RU]
August 2021 [link]

Video correspondence to TRT World on the Informal Turkic Summit of 31 March 2021.
March 2021

Interviewed about doing journalism in Kazakhstan. East Journal November 2020 

Answered via video to questions regarding the New (Old) Oil Crisis by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung – Kazakhstan.
June 2020 [link – video]

Interviewed by Sergei Duvanov, for his YouTube show Polyton, on doing journalism in Kazakhstan. [in RU]
November 2019 [link – video]

Intervista sulle dimissioni di Nazarbayev e le elezioni in Kazakistan su Kiosk – Voci e idee da luoghi non comuni , programma di Marco Magnano e Laura Luciani su Radio RBE.
Giugno 2019 [link – audio]

Interviewed by Yerbol Ismailov, for his YouTube series Vтему, on resolving labour conflicts. [in RU]
April 2019 [link – video]

Interviewed by MeydanTV, an opposition news outlet from Azerbaijan, on the economic and political interests behind the TAP pipeline and possible alternatives.
April 2017 [link-EN]

Interviewed by Rebeka Foley, contributor at Freedom House on the appointment of Azerbaijan’s First Lady to the post of Vice President.
March 2017 [link-EN – link-AZ]

Interviewed by Muhammad Tahir, chief of the Turkmen bureau at Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty on the effect of lifting state subsidies for Turkmenistan’s economy and society.
April 2016 [link-TM – link-RU]

Interviewed by Wade Shepard at vagabondjourney.com on the effects of the Western Europe – Western China highway for Kazakhstan.
January 2016 [link]

Interviewed by Andrej Matisak for Pravda.sk on the potential effects of an expansion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
December 2015 [link-EN – link-SK]

Interview on Qishloq Ovozi, Bruce Pannier’s blog on Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Part of a panel with Muhammad Tahir and Luca Anceschi on Kazakhstan’s economic policies after the free float (and fall) of the tenge.
August 2015 [link – audio]

Intervista su Kazakistan, petrolio, economia e geopolitica dell’Asia centrale su Nessun luogo è lontano, programma di Giampaolo Musumeci su Radio 24.
Agosto 2015 [link – audio]

Interview in the Russian-language newspaper Kursiv on the Kazakhstan-Iran-Turkmenistan rail link.
July 2015 [link – full newspaper]

Interview in the Russian-language newspaper Kursiv on Turkish Stream.
June 2015 [link]

Interview on Qishloq Ovozi, Bruce Pannier’s blog at Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Part of a panel with Muhammad Tahir, Steve LeVine and John Roberts on Turkmenistan’s options for natural gas exports.
May 2015 [link]

Interview on the arrest of Anar Mammadli in Azerbaijan. On Eastbook.eu
December 2013. [link]

Intervista sui problemi geopolitici ed energetici nell’Artico e sulle relazioni internazionali in Kazakistan per Caffè Mondo, su OltreRadio.
Dicembre 2013 [link – audio]

Intervista sullo Speciale Italia-Russia di MilanoFinanza.
Settembre 2013. [pdf]

Interview in the Català magazine Extramurs.
October 2013. [link]

Reviewed Books:

‘When Salary is not Enough …’. Private Households in Central Asia, Eckhard Dittrich & Heiko Schrader (eds), Zürich: LIT Verlag, 2015 – published in Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 69, n. 8, November 2017 (link)

Building Business in Post-Communist Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia: Collective Goods, Selective Incentives, and Predatory States, Dinissa Duvanova, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2013 – published in Studies of Transition States and Societies, vol. 8, n. 3, December 2016 (link)

Sino-Russian Oil and Gas Cooperation. The Reality and the Implications, Keun-Wook Paik, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012 – published in Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 66, n. 6, July 2014 (link)

Negotiating Diplomacy in the New Europe, Stefanos Katsikas, IB Tauris, London, 2012 – published in Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 66, n. 2, February 2014 (link)

Russian Energy Security and Foreign Policy, Adrian Dellecker and Thomas Gomart, (Eds.), Routledge, London, 2011 – published in  Journal of Contemporary European Research, vol. 7, n. 3, 2011 (link)