CONFERENCE
SISP SERVICE
Alberto Bitonti is Lecturer of Political Theory and Political Communication and Post-doc Research Fellow at Università della Svizzera Italiana (Switzerland), Professor of Politics at IES Abroad Rome, Lecturer of Lobbying & Advocacy at Università di Urbino, and Adjunct Professor of Methodology of Social Sciences at LUISS Guido Carli University (Italy).
He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Political Science at Yale University (New Haven, CT), at the Governance Lab (NYU – Northeastern University), at the School of Public Affairs at the American University (Washington DC), at the Newberry Library of Chicago (IL), and made research and taught in various universities and research institutes (Umbra Institute of Perugia, IULM, Eurispes, IED, CENSIS, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Uninettuno University, etc.), earning his Ph.D. (Università di Roma Tre, 2011) by developing research on the philosophy of lobbying and the concept of Public Interest.
Member of the Board of the Journal of Public Affairs, and Editor of the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs (with Phil Harris, Craig S. Fleisher, and Anne S. Binderkrantz).
He coordinated or co-coordinated various international research projects, such as:
- (2022-2023) Deliberative Quality in Trade-Related International Organizations, funded by the Swiss Network for International Studies;
- (2015-2017) Lobbying in Europe, on lobbying in EU Member States (with Phil Harris)
- (2012-2013) EMEDUS (funded by the EU Commission) on media literacy and education practices
Trying to bridge the gap between academic research and policy action, he provides strategic advice to a variety of NGOs and public institutions, working with various organizations to promote open government and innovation in the political world. He launched the Open Lobby coalition.
He is a digital enthusiast.
- Lobbying, public affairs, and interest groups politics
- Political communication and rhetoric
- Democracy and democratic innovations
- Digital innovation
- Italian politics
Books
– Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs (edited with Phil Harris, Craig S. Fleisher, and Anne S. Binderkrantz), Springer, Cham 2022 (also available online here as live reference work).
– Lobbying in Europe. Public Affairs and the lobbying industry in 28 EU countries (ed. with Phil Harris), Palgrave Macmillan, London 2017 (www.lobbyingineurope.com).
– Classe dirigente. Il profilo del potere in Italia (with Gian Maria Fara), Datanews, Rome 2012.
Articles in Scientific Journals (peer-reviewed)
– Change of government and interest groups’ preference attainment on the formulation of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP): from Conte to Draghi (with Andrea Pritoni and Giuseppe Montalbano), «Italian Political Science Review / Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica», 2023
– Did COVID-19 change the political communication of polarizing leaders? The case of Salvini’s campaigning before and after the pandemic (with Rita Marchetti and Claudia Mariotti), «European Journal of Communication», https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231221140697.
– Lobbying, lobby, lobbisti, gruppi di interesse e di pressione: definizioni e problemi concettuali, «DPCE – Diritto Pubblico Comparato ed Europeo», Vol. XXIV, No. 3, 2022, pp. 463-478, https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.17394/105096.
– Beyond transparency. The principles of lobbying regulation and the perspective of professional lobbying consultancies (with Claudia Mariotti), «Italian Political Science Review / Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica», 2022, https://doi.org/10.1017/ipo.2022.16.
– Chi detta l’agenda? Le dichiarazioni pubbliche dei gruppi di interesse sul Recovery Fund (with Giuseppe Montalbano, Andrea Pritoni and Giulia Vicentini), «Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche», No. 3, 2021, pp. 460-487, https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.1483/102157.
– La polarizzazione politica nel campaigning di Salvini. Il caso delle elezioni regionali del 2020 (with Claudia Mariotti, Rita Marchetti and Anna Stanziano), «Comunicazione Politica», No. 2, 2021, pp. 199-222, https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.3270/101609.
– Democrazia digitale e voto a distanza. Fenomenologia di una diffidenza, «Rivista di Politica», No. 1, 2021, pp. 59-66, https://doi.org/10.1400/286296.
– Where it all starts: Lobbying, democracy and the Public Interest, «Journal of Public Affairs», 2020, Vol. 20, Issue 2, e2001, https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2001.
– Renzi e la lezione di Machiavelli, «Rivista di Politica», No. 1, 2015, pp. 8-12.
Scientific reports
– L’era della democrazia digitale. Una sfida per cittadini, imprese e politica (with Marialessandra Carro, Stefano Consonni and Claudio Di Mario), ADL Consulting, Rome 2019 (ISBN 978-88-944834-0-6).
– Perfeccionamientos a la Ley de Lobby (with Marcelo Drago, Jorge Sahd, Paul Miller, János Bertók, María Jaraquemada and Felipe del Solar), Centro de Estudios Internacionales UC – Consejo para la Transparencia, Santiago de Chile 2019.
– Informal media education in Europe (with Andrej Školkay), EMEDUS WP4 Final report, European Commission, Brussels 2013.
Book sections
2023
– The public accountability of lobbying in democracies (with Jean-Patrick Villeneuve), in Arco Timmermans (ed.), Handbook of Public Affairs Research and Strategy, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham (forthcoming)
– Regulation of Lobbying: Comparative State of the Art and Developments (with John Hogan), in Arco Timmermans (ed.), Handbook of Public Affairs Research and Strategy, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham (forthcoming)
– Knowledge management and digital tools for lobbying and public affairs (with Marialessandra Carro and Claudio Di Mario), in Arco Timmermans (ed.), Handbook of Public Affairs Research and Strategy, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham (forthcoming)
2022
– The potential of collaborative democracy, in Antonio Campati and Damiano Palano (eds.), Democracy and Disintermediation. A Dangerous Relationship, EDUCatt, Milano, pp. 59-83.
2021
– Lobbying, in Phil Harris, Alberto Bitonti, Craig S. Fleisher and Anne S. Binderkrantz (eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs, Springer, Cham (with Anne S. Binderkrantz).
– Lobbying regulation, in Phil Harris, Alberto Bitonti, Craig S. Fleisher and Anne S. Binderkrantz (eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs, Springer, Cham (with John Hogan).
– Prefazione a Digital Lobbying. Gestire strategicamente le relazioni istituzionali attraverso smart data e strumenti digitali (di Marialessandra Carro e Claudio di Mario), Carocci, Roma.
– NIMBY, in Phil Harris, Alberto Bitonti, Craig S. Fleisher and Anne S. Binderkrantz (eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs, Springer, Cham.
– Rhetoric, in Phil Harris, Alberto Bitonti, Craig S. Fleisher and Anne Skorkjær Binderkrantz (eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs, Springer, Cham (with Flavia Trupia).
– Junk Science, in Phil Harris, Alberto Bitonti, Craig S. Fleisher and Anne Skorkjær Binderkrantz (eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs, Springer, Cham.
2020
– Public Interest, in Phil Harris, Alberto Bitonti, Craig S. Fleisher and Anne S. Binderkrantz (eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs, Springer, Cham.
– Interest, in Phil Harris, Alberto Bitonti, Craig S. Fleisher and Anne S. Binderkrantz (eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs, Springer, Cham.
2019
– La rivoluzione della visione Open Lobby: open government e democrazia collaborativa, in Italia Decide, Rapporto 2019. Democrazia degli interessi e interessi della democrazia. Migliorare la qualità della decisione pubblica, il Mulino, Bologna, pp. 387-391.
2018
– Identità nazionale europea, progetto, chimera o non-sense?, in Alessandro Campi, Stefano De Luca and Francesco Tuccari (eds.), Nazione e nazionalismi. Teorie, interpretazioni, sfide attuali, Historica Edizioni, Cesena 2018, vol. 2, pp. 185-199.
2017
– Regional Development and Localized Approaches to Public Affairs: Public Affairs in Europe, in Phil Harris e Craig S. Fleisher (eds.), The SAGE Handbook of International Corporate and Public Affairs, Sage, London 2017, pp. 370-387 (with Phil Harris).
– Expanding the Boundaries: Public Affairs and its Relationship with Other Key Disciplines: Public Affairs and Political Philosophy, in Phil Harris and Craig S. Fleisher (eds.), The SAGE Handbook of International Corporate and Public Affairs Sage, London 2017, pp. 151-164.
2014
– Una nuova nozione della certezza tra questione gnoseologica, epistemologica e politica, in Albertina Oliverio (ed.), Rischi, paure, certezze, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli 2014, pp. 25-52.
– Un’analisi semantica e teoretica del concetto di interesse, in Alessandro Campi and Stefano De Luca (eds.), Il realismo politico. Figure, concetti, prospettive di ricerca, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli 2014, pp. 669-696.
– Informal Media Education in Europe: an Analysis of the Best Pratices, in Matteo Stocchetti (ed.), Media and Education in the Digital Age: Concepts, Assessments, Subversions, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2014, pp. 131- 148 (with Andrej Skolkay).
– Comunicazione politica on line: i partiti su Internet, in Eurispes, 26° Rapporto Italia, Datanews, Roma 2014, pp. 349-356.
2013
– L’insostenibile fondatezza del dubbio, in Eurispes, 25° Rapporto Italia, Datanews, Roma 2013, pp. 1-28.
– Donne al potere: un club un po’ troppo esclusivo, in Eurispes, 25° Rapporto Italia, Datanews, Roma 2013, pp. 97-114.
– La condizione economica delle famiglie (with Claudia Mariotti), in Eurispes, 25° Rapporto Italia, Datanews, Roma 2013, pp. 211-224.
– Tra le rughe della classe dirigente, in Eurispes, 25° Rapporto Italia, Datanews, Roma 2013, pp. 773-780.
2009
– Scenari di riferimento sulle paure (with Ester Dini and Elisa Manna), in Censis – Fondazione Roma (eds.), Paure globali, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2009, pp. 209-243.
