Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development - CCSDD

Meet the CCSDD Research Assistants for the academic year 25/26 📖:

Chiara Giappichini

Chiara is a Research Assistant and second-year MAIA student in the Double Degree Program between the University of Bologna and Johns Hopkins University (SAIS). She holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Perugia, studied abroad at KU Leuven, and is also completing an Executive Master in Leadership for International Relations and Made in Italy, awarded to her through the America Youth Prize for Academic Talent. At the CCSDD, her research focuses on the Western Balkans—especially Kosovo, where she also took part in a humanitarian mission—and at SAIS she is deepening her interests in EU affairs, Middle Eastern politics, and gender issues. She has experience working with refugees in both Italy and Belgium. She speaks Italian, English, and French, and in her free time she enjoys traveling and hiking.

📖 When the Machete Speaks Louder than the Court: How Papua New Guinea’s attempt to balance both modern rights and local traditions has led to an undermining of state legitimacy, shown most visibly through Sorcery Accusation Related Violence (SARV).

Sarajevo Study Trip 🇧🇦 ⚖️

A cornerstone of experience.

Meet the CCSDD Research Assistants for the academic year 25/26 📖:

Addison Hollomon

Addison is a Research Assistant and first year MAIA student at SAIS from Seattle, Washington. Addison graduated from John Cabot University in Rome, Italy with a B.A. in International Affairs, focusing her studies on the nexus between religion and politics. After graduating, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco, where she worked in grassroots development, learned Moroccan Arabic, and drank a lot of mint tea. Addison is interested in migration, international development, and human rights in the MENA region. She speaks Arabic and Italian.

🇪🇺 Join us February 26 at 15:30 for Enlargement: Europe’s Next Chapter? A Conversation with Romano Prodi.

The event will open with remarks by Rector Renaud Dehousse and will be followed by a reception. This year’s gathering carries particular significance. February marks the 71st anniversary of SAIS Europe in Italy and coincides with the 150th anniversary of Johns Hopkins University.

Together, these milestones invite us to reflect on a shared tradition shaped by academic rigor, policy relevance, and global impact.

On February 14-15, research fellow Svetlana Chetaikina taught Election Observation and Reporting as a professional skills course at Johns Hopkins SAIS Europe. While she shared her expertise, she also had several colleagues working as electoral observors around the world zoom in to share their experiences with the students.

Svetlana Chetaikina is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Padua and a Research Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development in Bologna. She holds an LL.M. in Comparative Constitutional Law and a Ph.D. in Human Rights, Society, and Democratic Governance. Since 2014, she has served as a legal and election analyst in more than twenty OSCE/ODIHR election observation and assessment missions, and has also observed elections with The Carter Center. Her research focuses on political rights, gender equality, and electoral processes, and she has published on these themes in academic and policy-oriented venues.

In addition to her annual training on election observation and assistance at SAIS Europe, Svetlana developed an open online course on human rights for non-lawyers.

🗳️ This past weekend, CCSDD research fellow Svetlana Chetaikina held her skills course, Election Observation and Reporting, at Johns Hopkins SAIS Europe. This is a spin off of CCSDD’s research on electoral management.

🔜 More pictures and description of the activities

✍️ We are delighted to announce that the manuscript “Authoritarian Commitments to Democratic Ideals: The Role of Constitutional Preambles in Central Asia,” authored by CCSDD Director Justin O. Frosini and CCSDD Researcher Carna Pistan, has been accepted for publication in the Asian Journal of Comparative Law.

This research is part of CCSDD’s joint project with the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI) devoted to Democracy and Constitutionalism in Central Asia.
Building on Justin Frosini’s groundbreaking research on constitutional preambles, this article focuses on their function in authoritarian regimes. Using Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) as a case study, the authors examine how formally democratic constitutions adopted after the collapse of the Soviet Union coexist with consolidated autocratic rule.
While constitutional preambles in democratic systems typically affirm commitments to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, this article shows how authoritarian regimes strategically appropriate this language. The study analyzes how preambles operate as instruments of authoritarian governance, emphasizing their symbolic and practical significance and situating them within broader debates on constitutions in authoritarian regimes.

The preprint is available here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18484652

📚 Constitution-Building After the Arab Spring: A Comparative Perspective

The CCSDD was pleased to host an engaging discussion led by Professor Justin O. Frosini, with contributions from Francesco Biagi and Nathalie Bernard-Maugiron, exploring how constitutional frameworks have evolved in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

The conversation examined comparative experiences across countries, highlighting the challenges of democratic transition, institutional design, and the role of constitutional courts in periods of political transformation.

Events like this are at the heart of our mission: connecting academic research with real-world democratic developments and fostering dialogue across legal traditions and regions.

Thank you to all participants and attendees who contributed to a stimulating exchange of ideas.

ArabSpring AcademicDialogue

📚 Constitution-Building After the Arab Spring: A Comparative Perspective

The CCSDD was pleased to host an engaging discussion led by Professor Justin O. Frosini, with contributions from Francesco Biagi and Nathalie Bernard-Maugiron, exploring how constitutional frameworks have evolved in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

The conversation examined comparative experiences across countries, highlighting the challenges of democratic transition, institutional design, and the role of constitutional courts in periods of political transformation.

Events like this are at the heart of our mission: connecting academic research with real-world democratic developments and fostering dialogue across legal traditions and regions.

Thank you to all participants and attendees who contributed to a stimulating exchange of ideas.

🚨 Book presentation 📕

“Constitution-Building After the Arab Spring. A Comparative Perspective”

🗓️ Tomorrow, Thursday February 5th, Director Prof. Justin Orlando Frosini will host a book presentation with author Francesco Biagi and Nathalie Bernard-Maugiron.

🔗 Register at the link: https://jh.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qkxO9AnsToCTFSz-43cQ8A #/registration