Giovanni Carbone is Adjunct Professor at SAIS Europe
Professor of Political Science, University of Milan
Head of the Africa Programme, Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI)

Giovanni Carbone is Full Professor of Political Science at the University of Milan and Head of the Africa Programme at ISPI. His research activity focuses on the comparative study of politics, geopolitics and economic development of sub-Saharan Africa. Over the years he has conducted field research in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda. He has published academic articles in journals including Governance, Government & Opposition, Journal of Democracy, Third World Quarterly, Democratization, Journal of Development Studies, Journal of Modern African Studies, and African Security. His recent publications include “Anti-Westernism in Africa: meanings, roots and reach of a growing aversion” (Third World Quarterly, 2026) and “Better days to come? Military coups, economic growth and the restoration of democracy in sub-Saharan Africa” (African Security, 2025, with A. Pellegata). His published books include Political leadership in Africa. Leaders and development south of the Sahara (Cambridge University Press 2020, with A. Pellegata) and L'Africa. Gli stati, la politica, i conflitti (Il Mulino, 2021, IV edition). He also wrote and/or edited several ISPI Reports and Policy Papers on African issues, including The third way? The Mattei Plan in the aid crisis (forthcoming 2026, with L. Ragazzi), Rebooting Italy’s Africa policy: making the Mattei Plan work (2025, with L. Ragazzi), Is Africa turning against the West? (2023, with L. Ragazzi), Sahel: 10 years of instability. Local, regional and international dynamics (2022, with C. Casola), Europe and Africa. The long search for common ground (2021). Carbone received his PhD from the London School of Economics.