Julian Campisi recently completed his PhD in Political Science at York University (2018). He is a postdoctoral researcher at Glendon College and Lecturer on Political Science at the University of Toronto, Scarborough. Julian participated in an interview series conducted by the European Community Studies Association in Canada. Junior scholars were invited to respond to the questions on what drives their research agenda. Canada hosts many academics who are doing important research on European Politics.
What attracted you to the field of European Studies/ fascinated you about the EU?
The idea of a supranational federation with so many different countries that came together through different steps and levels of integration is such a neat global experiment of governance. As a European, and a student of politics, this field of study was always very appealing to me. Questions like why and how European cultures and languages could work so closely with one another; how guaranteed are the four freedoms; what are the effects of Erasmus programme on integration, and more, are very interesting and complex. I wanted to learn more about the intricacies of the institutions, of multilevel governance, and of what exactly ‘success’ looks like for the EU, and if it will continue in the future. Finally, the ability to research and travel across Europe was always going to be appealing!
What is the most important issue to be addressed in your research?
I would say that the most important issue that my research addresses lies within the fundamental relationship between economics and politics, or business and government. I study political risk and determinants of foreign investments, and the factors that underpin investment-related decisions by private actors (firms), which, in developed economies of Europe, are often societal and political in nature, and generally more subtle than things like expropriation or nationalization or civil war, that many investors fear in the global south. So the issue of European political ‘stability’ and member state ‘attractiveness’ for economic investments is of utmost importance to my research, and obviously to the functioning of the single market, and for the prospect of a successful Union as well. Managing competing interests from civil society and government and business is complex, but something we need to focus on more!
Julian Campisi's research interests are predominantly in the field of political risk analysis in emerging and developed economies, and the methodologies that underpin risk assessments in the private and public realms. He focuses on how this intersects in the applied sense with institutions, democratic and economic development. He also studies the determinants of FDI at the institutional, political, and socio-cultural levels, and how these can contribute to international business decisions. Julian was a visiting scholar in 2015-16 at LUISS University in Rome, and has recently published in the Journal of Political Risk, Thunderbird International Business Review, and Italian Journal of Public Policy, in addition to other outlets. He completed his MA at UBC Vancouver in European Studies, and his BA at U Ottawa in International Studies. He currently teaches courses on Canadian politics, public relations and global cultures, in addition to providing consulting advice to the political risk industry. He is currently writing a chapter on populism as risk for an edited volume, and a book on the political risk industry.
