The School of Transnational Governance is delighted to inject another dosis of high-level policy-making experience in its faculty with the appointment of Adjunt Professor Stefano Manservisi. Prof Manservisi has been at the heart of EU policy-making for 35 years, with a particular focus on the Union’s cooperation with partner countries across the world.
Manservisi is currently Special Advisor to Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni and Chair of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF). He was Head of Cabinet to Mario Monti, to Romano Prodi and to Federica Mogherini. Previously, he was Director-General for Development and Political Relations with Africa, Caribbean and Pacific, then Director-General for Migration and Home affairs and finally EU Ambassador to Turkey. His last position was Director-General for International Cooperation and Development, which was recently renamed DG International Partnerships. Manservisi will share a wide range of insights into international and diplomatic relations with STG students and fellows in his new role. He also lectures at Sciences-Po/Paris School for International Affairs.
During his visit at the School’s Palazzo Buontalenti last week, Prof. Manservisi engaged in a conversation with the Young African Leader Fellows in the framework of the Africa’s Potential Series. In his talk, Prof. Maservisi shared his professional career, and personal experiences in working with and on the African continent. He discussed the relationship between the EU and Africa and described how it has changed over the years. He also addressed the situation today, pointing out challenges and opportunities. One the one hand, Africa can count on a young population, and on openness to innovation and entrepreneurship. On the other, it struggles with good governance and unattractive conditions for business creation. In this complex picture, the “transnational concept is particularly important”, Manservisi underlined, “because Transnational Governance is not only about the relation among states, but it also takes other actors into account”, therefore being better suitable to address new kinds of challenges.
Regarding the narrative of Europe and Africa as a partnership of equals, Manservisi explains that "the partnership of equals remains a political formula", as the two continents are not equal, in light of their common history. However, according to Manservisi this formula aims to fix imbalances of the past, as “the intention to be equal in what we are doing, that is the ambition.”
Get to know Professor Stefano Manservisi.