Rocco Walter Ronza is Associate Research Fellow at ISPI for the Africa Programme and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Political Sciences of the Catholic University of Milan and ASERI. He holds a PhD in Sociology and Social Research from the University of Trento. He taught courses and seminars at the Pazmany Peter Catholic University in Budapest and the University of Stellenbosch, where he is a recurrent visiting researcher.
Rocco has been a member of the South African Association of Political Studies (SAAPS) since 2008 and has published articles on South African politics and democratization in Italian academic journals such as Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica and Stato e Mercato. His interviews on Southern Africa’s current affairs have appeared in the media in Italy and abroad (Limes, Nigrizia, L’Unità, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Radio24, Class Cnbc, Sky TG 24, RaiNews24, RSI - Radiotelevisione svizzera, Limesonline.com, Infobae.com). His publications include “Periferie dell’Occidente. Italia e Sudafrica nell’ordine liberale, 1795-1996” (2019).
His research interests include elections and democratization, language regimes, comparative political economy and political development, and urban studies, with special regard to South Africa and the Southern African region.