Three are the main topics of research: 1. the analysis of the
history and philosophy of human rights, considered as the research about different interpretations of human rights in the development of
the western constitutional history from XVI to XX century. In
particular in this perspective very important is the question of
the foundation of human rights through the analysis and historical
reconstruction of the concept of human dignity. 2. The second topic
regards the question of multiculturalism, that can be considered as
a doctrine of tolerance among different cultures coexisting in the
same territory (J. Raz), or as the situation of separated cultures
regulated by different legal regimes. 3. The third perspective of
research – which is at present the most important one – analyses
the history of international law from the XVI and XVII centuries
(F. de Vitoria and U. Grozio) until the current time, in order to
find in these doctrines the origins of the clash of civilizations.
At the ground of this perspective there is the conception of the
international law as the ideology of colonialism and
neo-colonialism.
A significant result of this research is the book Diritti e civiltà. Storia e filosofia del diritto internazionale, il Mulino, Bologna 2010.
The question of multiculturalism too in contemporary societies is an important topic of analysis.
Afterwards the research has analyzed the history of "humanitarian intervention" since the XIX century until the current doctrine of the "Responsibility to protect".
In this perspective the analysis has considered the relationships among humanitarian intervention, colonialism and neo-colonialism. The results of this research are expressed in the book Umano, non Umano. Intervento umanitario, colonialismo, «primavere arabe», Il Mulino, Bologna 2015.
Currently the topics of research regard the relations between colonialism, the colonial legacy and the process of Europe's building.
