Ludovica Castelli

Ludovica Castelli is a researcher in the IAI's "Multilateralism and global governance" programme, where she co-manages the Institute's activities within the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium (EUNPDC) and leads research on non-proliferation and disarmament. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Leicester, where she was part of the ERC-funded ‘Third Nuclear Age’ project. Her research interests include Historical International Relations, particularly conceptual history, Middle Eastern nuclear politics, and US nuclear proliferation discourse. Ludovica has presented her work at numerous academic and Track 1.5 venues across  the US, Middle East, and Europe, and published her research in academic journals, policy papers, and commentaries. She is also a co-author of the book The Global Third Nuclear Age (Routledge, 2025). 

Her publications include:
- (with Andrew Futter et al.), The Global Third Nuclear Age. Clashing Visions for a New Era in International Politics, Routledge, 2025
- (with Jacopo Scita), “Proliferation Risks in the Persian Gulf and the Prospects for Chinese Nuclear Diplomacy”, in Bourse & Bazaar Special Reports, February 2024
- (with Olamide Samuel), “Justifying attacks on nuclear facilities”, in The Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 30, No. 1-3 (2023), p. 83-105
- “Why Does Saudi Arabia Want to Acquire the Nuclear Fuel Cycle?”, in Stimson Commentaries, 3 March 2023