Research

My research sits at the intersection of political philosophy/theory, legal theory, political ecology, and the history of political thought. I currently work on three interconnected strands. The first concerns the normative foundations of public authority: I investigate the conceptual relationships between sovereignty, the common good or public interest, and political legitimacy, arguing that these form a mutually reinforcing structure that grounds – and constrains – political power. The second strand brings this framework to bear on climate politics, challenging the widespread view that sovereignty is inherently an obstacle to effective climate governance and exploring how public authority might instead serve emancipatory ends in the Anthropocene. The third, currently in development, examines what I call 'folk internal critique': instances in which ordinary citizens, in the context of protests and social movements, hold political institutions accountable to their own stated commitments.

My earlier work has engaged with the history of political and legal thought – particularly on political temporality, philosophies of history, neoliberalism, and sovereignty.

Publications & WIP

Selected Publications:

 Volpi, A. (forthcoming). The Normative Loop at the Heart of Sovereignty: Public Authority, Legitimacy, and the Common Good. European Journal of Political Theory. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/147 48851261429363

Articles under review:

(Without title to preserve peer review)

• Article (review & resubmit, Philosophy & Social Criticism) defending the concepts of public interest from ‘sceptical’ critiques which reduce it to ideology.

• An article (under review, European Journal of Philosophy) defending the concepts of public interest and the common good from liberal and democratic critiques.

• An article (under review, Constellations) exploring the potential of sovereignty in the context of the climate crisis.

Work in progress:

• Article (in preparation) on the ‘eco-authoritarian’ horizon in relation to issues of sovereign power and climate change

• Article (in preparation) in constitutional theory on internal sovereignty as the normative foundation of public power in state and postnational contexts

• Article (in preparation) on instances of internal critique advanced in real-world protests – what I call “folk internal critique”

• Article (in preparation) on the ‘Greenlash’ as a case for ecological planning

• Article (in preparation) examining the relationship between sovereignty, the common good, and populism in post-neoliberal contexts

• Book project in development titled Climate Sovereignty: Political Authority Amidst the Environmental Crisis, based on my doctoral dissertation.

Peer-reviewed journal articles:

Volpi, A. (forthcoming). The Normative Loop at the Heart of Sovereignty: Public Authority, Legitimacy, and the Common Good. European Journal of Political Theory.

Volpi, A. (accepted with minor revisions*). Eco-Authoritarianism and Environmental Neo-Hobbesianism: A Genealogical Reconstruction. Philosophy and Public Issues.

Volpi, A., Porrino, A. (2024). History, Markets and Revolutions. Reviewing Foucaultʼs Contribution to the Analysis of Political Temporality. Foucault Studies 36, pp. 350-376. https://doi.org/10.22439/fs.i36.7222 or https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/article/940825/pdf

Volpi, A. (2023). Climate Activism, Sovereignty, and the Role of States: Envisioning Post-Liberal Climate Governance, Filozofia 78 (2023), pp. 104-119, https://doi.org/10.31577/filozofia.2023.78.10.Suppl.9

Volpi, A., Cera, A. (2023). Beyond Neoliberal Presentism: An Eco-Temporality for the Anthropocene. Anthropocenica 4, pp. 22-39. https://doi.org/10.21814/anthropocenica.4683

Volpi, A. (2022). Reich der Freiheit o American Way of Life? Kojève e la «fine della storia». Dianoia. Rivista di Filosofia 34(1), pp. 113 – 127. DOI: 10.53148/DI202234007 or https://www.dianoia.it/dianoia-numero.asp?nm=34

Porrino, A., Volpi, A. (2021). Lʼorologio e il calendario. Simbologia politica del tempo a partire da Walter Benjamin. Materiali di Estetica. Terza Serie 2(8), pp. 155-173. https://doi.org/10.54103/mde.i8.2.16983

Volpi, A. (2021). Il disastro come mezzo. Power and Democracy 2 (2), pp. 45–56. https://ojs.aduei.com/index.php/pad/article/vi ew/20

Edited Volumes:

Pennacchioni, G., Volpi, A. (eds.) (2024). Filosofia e critica dellʼantropocene. Studi Europei, Milano: Mimesis Edizioni. https://www.mimesisedizioni.it/libro/9791222311876

Book Chapters: 

Volpi, A. (forthcoming). Lo spettro della sovranità si fa “doppio movimento”? In Benhabib, S. (forthcoming). Lezioni milanesi per la Cattedra Rotelli, Favara, G. (ed.), Milano: Mimesis.

Volpi, A. (2025). La crisi climatica, il ruolo dello Stato e la necessità di un’ecologia politica critica. In Volpe, A., Mordacci, R. (eds.), Etica tradizionale ed etica critica, Roma: Castelvecchi.

Volpi, A., Pennacchioni, G. (2024). La strana (non) morte dellʼAntropocene. In Pennacchioni, G., Volpi, A. (eds.) (2024). Filosofia e critica dellʼantropocene, pp. 7-24, Milano: Mimesis Edizioni.

Volpi, A. (2024). The Role of Sovereignty in Climate Politics: From Obstacle to Ally? in A. Lukšič, Remic, B., Jovanovska, S. (eds.), The Public, the Private and the Commons. Challenges of a Just Green Transition. Založba Univerze v Ljubljani. Link.

Volpi, A. (2023). Note sul rapporto tra sovranità, cambiamento climatico e globalizzazione, in M. Occhipinti et al. (eds.). Le sfide della contemporaneità. Approcci pluridisciplinari per uno sguardo multiprospettico. IPS Edizioni.

Special Issues: 

Giovanola, B., Sala, R., Volpi, A. (eds.) (2025). Reasonableness: Old Virtue for a New Era. Ethics & Politics 3.

Book Reviews:

Volpi, A. (2026). Diritti umani, cittadinanza globale e sovranità nell'epoca della globalizzazione [Review of the book: Mazzola, D. (2024). Freedom and Borders: A Theory of Citizenship for the Age of Globalization. Bingley: Emerald Publishing]. Iride: Filosofia e discussione pubblica, 1, 239–250. https://doi.org/10.1414/121156