Valeria Zanier

Valeria Zanier has been an Associate Professor at the University of Bologna ("Alma Mater") since 2022. Her research focuses on the social and economic history of socialism and of the Cold War. In particular, she studies the reconfiguration of transnational networks following decolonization in East Asia, analyzing the circulation of technologies and resources to identify elements of continuity and change. On this topic, she served as a senior Marie Curie Fellow (IEF/FP7) at the London School of Economics and Political Science between 2013 and 2016, working on the project "China’s economic relations with Western Europe in the Cold War." Her research also encompasses Italy's economic engagement with East Asia during the twentieth century, specifically examining the *Banca Italiana per la Cina* (1920–1948) and Eni’s commercial expansion into the People's Republic of China. Valeria Zanier is a Co-PI on the collaborative project "Bloc-Building and (Dis-)Continuity: Cross-border connections and transformations in industrial enterprises in East Central Europe and China, 1945–1960," funded by the DFG, NCN, and GCNR under the WEAVE-UNISONO program (2025–2028).