Filippo Boni
Biographic Data
| ID | 3081929 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Filippo Boni |
| GIVEN NAMES | Filippo |
| FAMILY NAME | Boni |
| SIGNATURE | BONI F |
| AFFILIATIONS | The Open University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6794-0740 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 39 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 24 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
China’s port investments and influence abroad
China’s investments in port infrastructure globally have sparked considerable debate as to whether or not they translate into greater influence over host countries. Yet, the existing literature presents mixed findings on the extent and mechanisms of this influence. This study contributes to these debates through a comparative analysis of the ports of Vado Ligure in Italy and Gwadar in Pakistan. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach, including groun…
City diplomacy as a strategic partnership
Cities are increasingly recognised as key agents in international relations, yet they are often overlooked as independent actors with their own priorities. By adapting the concept of strategic partnerships (SPs), originally devised for state actors, this article conceptualises city diplomacy as a distinctive, subnational SP. We argue that non-material factors—including mutual trust, shared objectives, and spatial synergies—are key in enabling eff…
Symbolic power and the reception of Chinese narratives on the China–Pakistan economic corridor
The emphasis on “discourse power” and “telling the China story” has been central to China’s international engagement over the past decade. While existing scholarship has critically examined the projection of China’s narratives, scant attention has been paid to how these narratives are contested, adapted, or fragmented across scales and audiences in partner countries. By deploying Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic power, specifically its mechanisms o…
Emerging issues and new frontiers in federalism, regionalism and territorial governance
This essay marks the transition to a new editorial team at Regional & Federal Studies and offers a broad review of emerging themes and future directions in the study of federalism, regionalism, and territorial governance. Building on the journal’s legacy, it identifies key areas of conceptual and empirical development, highlights ongoing shifts in the global research landscape, and calls for greater geographical and epistemological diversity beyo…
Does Populism Matter in EU–China Relations? The Cases of Italy and Czechia
This article investigates whether populism affects the foreign policy of European Union (EU) member states towards China and, if so, through what mechanisms. In order to answer this question, we examine the cases of Italy and Czechia, both of which went through turbulent relations with China in the recent decade whilst also experiencing several government changes between populist and non‐populist parties. Our analysis reveals that whilst populist…
Global China and Pakistan’s federal politics
The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the most prominent projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative. While its geopolitical and financial implications have received much attention, CPEC’s mediation through the structures of Pakistan’s federal system has remained comparatively understudied. To fill this gap, this article analyses CPEC’s evolution between 2013 and 2023, revealing both the continuing centralisation of the manage…
De-risking, re-balancing and recentralising
China's Belt and Road Initiative is the most visible manifestation of the country's wider internationalisation efforts in which infrastructure connectivity projects are central. Existing spatialised narratives of these projects have usefully focused on long-standing geopolitical binaries and bilateral state relations, as well as newer spatial ontologies of corridors, zones and networks. Yet they tend to underplay central-local state relations in …
Afghanistan 2022
2022 was the first full year under Taliban rule. Partly overshadowed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, political and economic developments in Afghanistan received comparatively much less attention than those occurring in the former Soviet space. Nevertheless, Afghanistan witnessed a tumultuous year, amid domestic political adjustments, ethnic power struggles and a dramatic economic and humanitarian situation. Socio-economic conditions have overall…
Authoritarianism, democracy and de/centralization in federations
What is the impact of democracy/authoritarianism regime change on de/ centralization in federations? Based on the annual coding of three politicoinstitutional aspects, 22 policy fields, and five fiscal categories, this article maps de/centralization in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan from the establishment of their respective federal orders to 2020. It shows that de/centralization varies greatly across its different dimensions as …
Afghanistan 2019
Afghanistan in 2019 was characterised by the Presidential elections, held on 28 September, and whose results were announced at the end of December 2019, and by the peace talks between the US and the Taliban. Against such backdrop, the analysis presented in this article traces the evolution of peace talks between the US and the Taliban during the year under examination, and accounts for the developments that characterised the peace process. The la…
The US-China Rivalry in South Asia and Pakistan’s hedging dilemma
China’s re-emergence as a great power, and the ensuing competition with the United States over the norms, rules and values underpinning the international order, has signalled the return of great power rivalry in global politics. Asia is at the very heart of these dynamics, as testified by the competing Belt and Road Initiative and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategies, with significant implications for Asian states that are learning how to na…
Strategic partnerships and China’s diplomacy in Europe
As discussions of a ‘new cold war’ between China and the West intensify, it has never been more important to understand how China engages internationally. Crucially, as of 2022, China has established 110 ‘strategic partnerships’, without stipulating any formal treaty of alliance, but we know little about strategic partnerships and how China uses them, despite their centrality as a foreign policy tool. Departing from the assumption of the state as…
Federalism and regime change
The extent to which de/centralization is shaped by regime change in federations that have experienced periods of autocratic rule is yet to be fully explored. To this end, this article measures static and dynamic de/centralization in Pakistan – a federal country under autocratic rule for long periods – since the introduction of its first constitution in 1956. Drawing on an original dataset compiled by the authors, this article challenges the narra…
Afghanistan 2021
Afghanistan in 2021 was characterised by the withdrawal of US troops and by the sudden fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August. After 20 years of war, and US$ 2.3 trillion spent in the conflict, the US was eventually out of Afghanistan and the Taliban back in power. The latter’s ability on the battleground did not translate in the capacity to govern the country, whose population suffered a dramatic deterioration in living conditions, also due to t…
Foreword. Asia in 2020
[...]most countries implemented a set of measures that resulted in a «global lockdown rush»4 that were characterized by a high degree of policy convergence – aside that is from a few notable exceptions discussed below. Governments throughout Asia had to impose strict lockdowns, while simultaneously pouring vast amounts of resources to boost testing capacity and provide financial support to businesses and families. Visible adverse effects are alre…
Afghanistan 2020
The year 2020 was a landmark year for Afghanistan. The country witnessed the signing of the peace deal between the US and the Taliban as well as the beginning of intra-Afghan negotiations that, for the first time since 2001, brought together representatives from the Taliban and the Government of Afghanistan. These two political milestones occurred in parallel to the long-delayed final announcement of the September 2019 Presidential elections resu…
Foreword. Asia in 2019
agenda barbara onnis, China's 2019: Xi Jinping's tireless summit diplomacy amid growing challenges axel berkoFsky, Mongolia 2019: Crisis, obstacles & achievements on the domestic, economic and foreign policy fronts
The Impact of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor on Pakistan’s Federal System
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is often portrayed as the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative. While much attention has been devoted to its geopolitical repercussions, its impacts on Pakistan’s federal system and interprovincial relations have not yet been explored. Organized around interviews conducted in 2015, 2018, and 2019, this article demonstrates that the construction of the economic corridor is acting as a centripetal fo…
Afghanistan 2018
The year 2018 was characterized by parliamentary elections, held on 20 October. While the elections represented an important moment for Afghanistan’s democracy, both the run up and the aftermath were characterized by confusion and insecurity, with the election results still not announced by the end of 2018. The security situation remained volatile hindering not only political processes but also the country’s economic growth. Civilian casualties c…
Foreword. Asia in 2020
policy characterized by growing resilience, fading responsibility and increasing uncertainty
India at 70
This introduction to the 2017 Annual Conference of the British Association for South Asian Studies offers an overview of the collection of selected articles presented at the conference. Overall, the Special issue consists of six articles, including four research articles addressing a wide range of topics spanning from the role of women during the Emergency rule (1975–1977) to the difficult relationship between minorities and the Hindu majority in…
The China-Pakistan axis
The China-Pakistan axis: Asia’s new geopolitics." Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 54(4), pp. 573–574
Civil-military relations in Pakistan
This article analyses how the dynamics of civil-military relations in Pakistan have ensured policy continuity towards China. By looking at the development of the port of Gwadar, which represents the flagship project of Sino-Pakistani cooperation during the last 15 years, this article contends that the continuity in Pakistan’s policies towards China in the post 9/11 period is explained by a broad-based consensus among the Pakistani elites, in whic…
Fighting to the end
Fighting to the end: the Pakistan army's way of war." Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 52(4), pp. 573–574
Strategic partnerships and China’s diplomacy in Europe
As discussions of a ‘new cold war’ between China and the West intensify, it has never been more important to understand how China engages internationally. Crucially, as of 2022, China has established 110 ‘strategic partnerships’, without stipulating any formal treaty of alliance, but we know little about strategic partnerships and how China uses them, despite their centrality as a foreign policy tool. Departing from the assumption of the state as…
Federalism and regime change
The extent to which de/centralization is shaped by regime change in federations that have experienced periods of autocratic rule is yet to be fully explored. To this end, this article measures static and dynamic de/centralization in Pakistan – a federal country under autocratic rule for long periods – since the introduction of its first constitution in 1956. Drawing on an original dataset compiled by the authors, this article challenges the narra…
Civil-military relations in Pakistan
This article analyses how the dynamics of civil-military relations in Pakistan have ensured policy continuity towards China. By looking at the development of the port of Gwadar, which represents the flagship project of Sino-Pakistani cooperation during the last 15 years, this article contends that the continuity in Pakistan’s policies towards China in the post 9/11 period is explained by a broad-based consensus among the Pakistani elites, in whic…
The Impact of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor on Pakistan’s Federal System
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is often portrayed as the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative. While much attention has been devoted to its geopolitical repercussions, its impacts on Pakistan’s federal system and interprovincial relations have not yet been explored. Organized around interviews conducted in 2015, 2018, and 2019, this article demonstrates that the construction of the economic corridor is acting as a centripetal fo…
Global China and Pakistan’s federal politics
The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the most prominent projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative. While its geopolitical and financial implications have received much attention, CPEC’s mediation through the structures of Pakistan’s federal system has remained comparatively understudied. To fill this gap, this article analyses CPEC’s evolution between 2013 and 2023, revealing both the continuing centralisation of the manage…
Authoritarianism, democracy and de/centralization in federations
What is the impact of democracy/authoritarianism regime change on de/ centralization in federations? Based on the annual coding of three politicoinstitutional aspects, 22 policy fields, and five fiscal categories, this article maps de/centralization in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan from the establishment of their respective federal orders to 2020. It shows that de/centralization varies greatly across its different dimensions as …
Does Populism Matter in EU–China Relations? The Cases of Italy and Czechia
This article investigates whether populism affects the foreign policy of European Union (EU) member states towards China and, if so, through what mechanisms. In order to answer this question, we examine the cases of Italy and Czechia, both of which went through turbulent relations with China in the recent decade whilst also experiencing several government changes between populist and non‐populist parties. Our analysis reveals that whilst populist…
De-risking, re-balancing and recentralising
China's Belt and Road Initiative is the most visible manifestation of the country's wider internationalisation efforts in which infrastructure connectivity projects are central. Existing spatialised narratives of these projects have usefully focused on long-standing geopolitical binaries and bilateral state relations, as well as newer spatial ontologies of corridors, zones and networks. Yet they tend to underplay central-local state relations in …
Fighting to the end
Fighting to the end: the Pakistan army's way of war." Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 52(4), pp. 573–574
Fighting to the end
Fighting to the end: the Pakistan army's way of war." Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 52(4), pp. 573–574
The China-Pakistan axis
The China-Pakistan axis: Asia’s new geopolitics." Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 54(4), pp. 573–574
Civil-military relations in Pakistan
This article analyses how the dynamics of civil-military relations in Pakistan have ensured policy continuity towards China. By looking at the development of the port of Gwadar, which represents the flagship project of Sino-Pakistani cooperation during the last 15 years, this article contends that the continuity in Pakistan’s policies towards China in the post 9/11 period is explained by a broad-based consensus among the Pakistani elites, in whic…
India at 70
This introduction to the 2017 Annual Conference of the British Association for South Asian Studies offers an overview of the collection of selected articles presented at the conference. Overall, the Special issue consists of six articles, including four research articles addressing a wide range of topics spanning from the role of women during the Emergency rule (1975–1977) to the difficult relationship between minorities and the Hindu majority in…
Afghanistan 2018
The year 2018 was characterized by parliamentary elections, held on 20 October. While the elections represented an important moment for Afghanistan’s democracy, both the run up and the aftermath were characterized by confusion and insecurity, with the election results still not announced by the end of 2018. The security situation remained volatile hindering not only political processes but also the country’s economic growth. Civilian casualties c…
Foreword. Asia in 2020
policy characterized by growing resilience, fading responsibility and increasing uncertainty
Foreword. Asia in 2019
agenda barbara onnis, China's 2019: Xi Jinping's tireless summit diplomacy amid growing challenges axel berkoFsky, Mongolia 2019: Crisis, obstacles & achievements on the domestic, economic and foreign policy fronts
The Impact of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor on Pakistan’s Federal System
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is often portrayed as the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative. While much attention has been devoted to its geopolitical repercussions, its impacts on Pakistan’s federal system and interprovincial relations have not yet been explored. Organized around interviews conducted in 2015, 2018, and 2019, this article demonstrates that the construction of the economic corridor is acting as a centripetal fo…
Afghanistan 2021
Afghanistan in 2021 was characterised by the withdrawal of US troops and by the sudden fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August. After 20 years of war, and US$ 2.3 trillion spent in the conflict, the US was eventually out of Afghanistan and the Taliban back in power. The latter’s ability on the battleground did not translate in the capacity to govern the country, whose population suffered a dramatic deterioration in living conditions, also due to t…
Foreword. Asia in 2020
[...]most countries implemented a set of measures that resulted in a «global lockdown rush»4 that were characterized by a high degree of policy convergence – aside that is from a few notable exceptions discussed below. Governments throughout Asia had to impose strict lockdowns, while simultaneously pouring vast amounts of resources to boost testing capacity and provide financial support to businesses and families. Visible adverse effects are alre…
Afghanistan 2020
The year 2020 was a landmark year for Afghanistan. The country witnessed the signing of the peace deal between the US and the Taliban as well as the beginning of intra-Afghan negotiations that, for the first time since 2001, brought together representatives from the Taliban and the Government of Afghanistan. These two political milestones occurred in parallel to the long-delayed final announcement of the September 2019 Presidential elections resu…
Afghanistan 2019
Afghanistan in 2019 was characterised by the Presidential elections, held on 28 September, and whose results were announced at the end of December 2019, and by the peace talks between the US and the Taliban. Against such backdrop, the analysis presented in this article traces the evolution of peace talks between the US and the Taliban during the year under examination, and accounts for the developments that characterised the peace process. The la…
The US-China Rivalry in South Asia and Pakistan’s hedging dilemma
China’s re-emergence as a great power, and the ensuing competition with the United States over the norms, rules and values underpinning the international order, has signalled the return of great power rivalry in global politics. Asia is at the very heart of these dynamics, as testified by the competing Belt and Road Initiative and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategies, with significant implications for Asian states that are learning how to na…
Strategic partnerships and China’s diplomacy in Europe
As discussions of a ‘new cold war’ between China and the West intensify, it has never been more important to understand how China engages internationally. Crucially, as of 2022, China has established 110 ‘strategic partnerships’, without stipulating any formal treaty of alliance, but we know little about strategic partnerships and how China uses them, despite their centrality as a foreign policy tool. Departing from the assumption of the state as…
Federalism and regime change
The extent to which de/centralization is shaped by regime change in federations that have experienced periods of autocratic rule is yet to be fully explored. To this end, this article measures static and dynamic de/centralization in Pakistan – a federal country under autocratic rule for long periods – since the introduction of its first constitution in 1956. Drawing on an original dataset compiled by the authors, this article challenges the narra…
Afghanistan 2022
2022 was the first full year under Taliban rule. Partly overshadowed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, political and economic developments in Afghanistan received comparatively much less attention than those occurring in the former Soviet space. Nevertheless, Afghanistan witnessed a tumultuous year, amid domestic political adjustments, ethnic power struggles and a dramatic economic and humanitarian situation. Socio-economic conditions have overall…
Authoritarianism, democracy and de/centralization in federations
What is the impact of democracy/authoritarianism regime change on de/ centralization in federations? Based on the annual coding of three politicoinstitutional aspects, 22 policy fields, and five fiscal categories, this article maps de/centralization in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan from the establishment of their respective federal orders to 2020. It shows that de/centralization varies greatly across its different dimensions as …
Global China and Pakistan’s federal politics
The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the most prominent projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative. While its geopolitical and financial implications have received much attention, CPEC’s mediation through the structures of Pakistan’s federal system has remained comparatively understudied. To fill this gap, this article analyses CPEC’s evolution between 2013 and 2023, revealing both the continuing centralisation of the manage…
De-risking, re-balancing and recentralising
China's Belt and Road Initiative is the most visible manifestation of the country's wider internationalisation efforts in which infrastructure connectivity projects are central. Existing spatialised narratives of these projects have usefully focused on long-standing geopolitical binaries and bilateral state relations, as well as newer spatial ontologies of corridors, zones and networks. Yet they tend to underplay central-local state relations in …
Symbolic power and the reception of Chinese narratives on the China–Pakistan economic corridor
The emphasis on “discourse power” and “telling the China story” has been central to China’s international engagement over the past decade. While existing scholarship has critically examined the projection of China’s narratives, scant attention has been paid to how these narratives are contested, adapted, or fragmented across scales and audiences in partner countries. By deploying Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic power, specifically its mechanisms o…
Emerging issues and new frontiers in federalism, regionalism and territorial governance
This essay marks the transition to a new editorial team at Regional & Federal Studies and offers a broad review of emerging themes and future directions in the study of federalism, regionalism, and territorial governance. Building on the journal’s legacy, it identifies key areas of conceptual and empirical development, highlights ongoing shifts in the global research landscape, and calls for greater geographical and epistemological diversity beyo…
Does Populism Matter in EU–China Relations? The Cases of Italy and Czechia
This article investigates whether populism affects the foreign policy of European Union (EU) member states towards China and, if so, through what mechanisms. In order to answer this question, we examine the cases of Italy and Czechia, both of which went through turbulent relations with China in the recent decade whilst also experiencing several government changes between populist and non‐populist parties. Our analysis reveals that whilst populist…
China’s port investments and influence abroad
China’s investments in port infrastructure globally have sparked considerable debate as to whether or not they translate into greater influence over host countries. Yet, the existing literature presents mixed findings on the extent and mechanisms of this influence. This study contributes to these debates through a comparative analysis of the ports of Vado Ligure in Italy and Gwadar in Pakistan. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach, including groun…
City diplomacy as a strategic partnership
Cities are increasingly recognised as key agents in international relations, yet they are often overlooked as independent actors with their own priorities. By adapting the concept of strategic partnerships (SPs), originally devised for state actors, this article conceptualises city diplomacy as a distinctive, subnational SP. We argue that non-material factors—including mutual trust, shared objectives, and spatial synergies—are key in enabling eff…
Political science (19 works) · Law (16 works) · Politics (16 works) · Economics (14 works) · China (11 works) · Law (11 works) · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East (10 works) · Development economics (9 works) · Political economy (8 works) · Belt and Road Initiative (7 works)