Doctoral Candidate

Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies

Main research areas

• Cyberwarfare and War theories
• Israel-Palestine and Middle East Politics
• War and Technology
• Virtual Representations and Simulations of War
• Hacktivism and Digital Rights
• Critical Theory

Current research

Fabio Cristiano is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Political Science. His research interest evolves around ontological debates on cyberwar and cyberwarfare. In his doctoral thesis - Ontologies of a Cyberwar. The Politics of Virtuality in the Struggle for Palestine - Fabio delineates an ontology of cyberwar that, transcending pure securitarian concerns, looks at the political subjectivities that are constructed through this specific context of war. Rooted in conflict studies, his research speaks to debates on virtuality/reality and unity/multiplicity in political thought. Other areas of interest are cyber-diplomacy and peacebuilding. 

Published Work

• Cristiano, F. (2018). “Internet Access as Human Right: A Dystopian Critique from the Occupied Palestinian Territory". Book chapter in Blouin-Genest G. et al. (2018, eds.), Human Rights as Battlefields, pp. 249-268. Basingtoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Cristiano, F. (2018). "From Simulations to Simulacra of War: Game Scenarios in Cyberwar Excercises", Journal of War and Culture Studies, 11(1) pp. 22-37.
• Cristiano, F. (2018). "Bodies of Cyberwar: Violence and Knowledge Beyond Corporeality". Book chapter in Rivas A. and Browne B. (2018, eds.), Researching Violence, pp. 145-160. Bristol: Policy Press.
• Cristiano, F. (2017). "Along the Lines of the Occupation: Playing at Diminished Reality in East Jerusalem", Conflict and Society, 3(1) pp. 130-143. Co-authored with Emilio Distretti.
• Cristiano, F. (2015). "Towards agonistic peacebuilding? Exploring the antagonism-agonism nexus in the Middle East peace process", Third World Quarterly, 36(9) pp.1736-1753. Co-authored with Karin Aggestam and Lisa Strömbom.    ​

Work in Progress

• Cristiano, F. (in preparation). "Aesthetics by Algorithms: Sovereignty and Disappearance in Palestine". Article co-authored with Emilio Distretti.
• Cristiano, F. (in preparation). "Affect and Empathy beyond Proximity: Drone Targeted Killings and Humanely Slaughtered Meat". Article co-authored with Kurtis Boyer.
• Cristiano, F. (in preparation). "War Desires Beyond the Body: Re-politicizing the Techno-Aesthetics of Violence through Digital Imaginaries". Article co-authored with Daniel Møller Ølgaard.
• Cristiano, F. (submitted) "Palestine". Book chapter in Mary Manjikian et al. (2019, eds) Palgrave Handbook on Global Cybersecurity, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Cristiano, F. (submitted) "Israel". Book chapter in Mary Manjikian et al. (2019, eds) Palgrave Handbook on Global Cybersecurity, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Teaching

Fabio Cristiano teaches the following courses at the Department of Political Science-Peace & Conflict Studies (FKV), BIDS - Interdisciplinary BA in Development Studies (UTVC), Graduate School of Social Science (SIMM) and Center for Educational Development (CED):

• FKVC31- Diplomacy, Negotiation and Mediation (convenor, lecturer and examiner)
• FKVB21- War and Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (convenor, lecturer and examiner)
• SIMM30 - Participatory Methods of Change and Development (lecturer)
• UTVC21 - Development in a Historical Perspective: Economic, Social and Political Transformation (lecturer and examiner)
• UTVC22 – Development Policy in Practice (lecturer and examiner)
• UTVC25 - Development Cooperation in Practice (lecturer and examiner)
• UTVC26 - Research Methods in Development Studies (lecturer and examiner)
• CED - Staff Pedagogical training in Open Networked Learning (co-facilitator and examiner)