Fabio Petito is Senior Associate Research Fellow in ISPI and Head of the "Religions and International Relations" Programme promoted by ISPI and the Freedom of Religion or Belief & Foreign Policy Initiative (FoRB&FPI), University of Sussex - UK. He is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Sussex. He has taught at SOAS in London, the ESCP-EAP in Paris and at ‘L’Orientale’ in Naples. He holds a Laurea in Economic and Social Disciplines from Bocconi University and received his PhD in IR from the LSE, where he was also editor of the journal Millennium. Among his publications: Religion in International Relations (2003), Civilizational Dialogue and World Order (2009) and Towards a Postsecular International Politics(2014). ). Recent articles include ‘Encounter, Dialog, and Knowledge: Italy as a Special Case of Religious Engagement in Foreign Policy’, The Review of Faith and International Affairs, with S Thomas, 13, no 2 (2015); “An Italian foreign policy of religious engagement: challenges and prospects”,The International Spectator, with P. Ferrara, 51, no 1, (2016); and“Dialogue of Civilizations in a Multipolar World: Toward a Multicivilizational-Multiplex World Order”,International Studies Review, 18 no 1, (2016): 78-91 . He has been the principal investigator of the ‘Bridging Voice’ British Council-sponsored policy dialogue on ‘FoRB and Foreign Policy: A transatlantic dialogue for a multilateral approach to religious freedom’ (2014-16) whose main recommendations can be found in F Petito, D Philpott, S Ferrari, and J Birdsall, “FoRB - Recognising our differences can be our strength: Enhancing transatlantic cooperation on promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief”, Policy Brief (2016).

He is the Director of the Freedom of Religion or Belief and Foreign Policy Initiative at the University of Sussex, http://forbforeignpolicy.net/ and since 2012 has been the Scientific Co-ordinator of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs-ISPI initiative on ‘Religions and International Relations’.