Dr. Francesco Giumelli specializes in international sanctions and illicit trade. His expertise encompasses international security, European studies, international organizations, foreign policy, and global governance. Dr. Giumelli employs diverse qualitative and quantitative research methods to analyze intricate dynamics within international sanctions, security complexes, and trade relations.

His research covers the entire sanctions policy cycle, from scrutinizing objectives to evaluating success, implementation, and evasion. This extends his focus to illicit trade dimensions, particularly sanctions evasion, which contributes to academic discussions on informality. He also explores how crises, like the Covid-19 pandemic, foster the expansion and radicalization of informal practices.

Dr. Giumelli published three monographs with ECPR Press, Routledge, and Il Mulino, in addition to numerous academic articles in journals like International Affairs, the Journal of Common Market Studies, and Global Governance. He earned his PhD at the University of Florence and has served as the deputy director of the IR department at the University of Groningen, Netherlands.  Since 2017 he is the Chair of the CA21133 – Globalization, Illicit Trade, Sustainability and Security (GLITSS).