Search
photo of Sara Silvestri

Dr Sara Silvestri

Senior Lecturer in International Politics

School of Policy & Global Affairs Department of International Politics

Contact details

About

Overview

Currently Senior Lecturer in International Politics, Dr Silvestri is in charge of specialist courses on Islamism, religion and politics, and the EU. She also supervises a number of PhD students working on the Middle East, Islam, and religion in international politics.

She joined the department in September 2006, after completing her MPhil, PhD and ESRC Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Cambridge, where she collaborates with POLIS & St Edmund's College. Her international and multi-disciplinary training includes a humanities degree at La Sapienza (Rome), and specialisations in church-state relations (as a Marie Curie Fellow in Paris) and in EU migration policies (at the ULB, Belgium). She has also held positions at the University of Bristol, London Metropolitan University, and the Cambridge Muslim College.

Policy work

Dr Silvestri has directed the Islam in Europe programme at the European Policy Centre (Brussels) and has been a research consultant to the British Council, Ethnobarometer, the European Commission, and the British Government. Prior to that, she had worked in the Cabinet of the European Commission President and had been an Associate Fellow with Chatham House (London).

As an expert on Islam in Europe, religion, and intercultural relations, Sara serves in the advisory board of the British Council's 'Our Shared Future' programme, the ESRC 'Radicalisation Research' portal, and the EuroMediterranean Foundation Anna Lindh (for which she contributed to the first Gallup opinion poll of the EuroMediterranean region).

International conferences and invited talks

Dr Silvestri has presented her work at major academic conferences (e.g. BISA, ISA, PSA, UACES, EUSA, WOCMES, METROPOLIS) and has been an invited speaker at a number of prestigious academic and policy-oriented institutions and expert meetings around the world, including: European Parliament, European Commission, Woodrow Wilson Centre for International Scholars, Canadian Federal Government, German Ministry of the Interior/ migration, Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Migration Policy Institute, House of Commons (UK), WISE Muslim women world conference (Malaysia), Casa Asia and Casa Arabe (Spain), Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Arab League, EPC and CEPS (Brussels), IAI, IPPR, The Women Forum, The Vatican, Caritas Internationalis, Georgetown Univ., CIPMO and FIERI (Turin), Milan Univ., Copenhagen Univ., Helsinki Univ., TAPRI, LSE, SOAS, UCL, Oxford Univ., Cambridge Univ., Birmingham Univ. Edinburgh Univ., Lancaster Univ., Sussex Univ, Bogazici Univ. & Marmara Univ. (Turkey), Johns Hopkins Univ., Kuwait Univ., Kingdom of Morocco.

Other professional activities

Current external engagements

- Trustee, Council on Christian Approaches to Defense and Disarmament

- Trustee, Centre for Catholic Social Thought and Practice

Past Service to Academia and the Policy World:

- Co-convenor, BISA working group on Religion, Security and International Relations

- Treasurer, ISA section on Religion and International Relations

- Editorial board member, British Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

- United Nations Alliance of Civilisation: member of “global experts” group

- Scientific Advisor, Anna Lindh Foundation’s report of intercultural trends

- Advisory Board member, British Council project Our Shared Future

- Advisory Board member, Radicalisation Research

Qualifications

  • PhD (International Studies), University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, January 2002 - July 2006
  • MPhil, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2000 - October 2001
  • Laurea (Arts: Modern Languages and History), Università degli Studi di Roma Unitelma Sapienza, Rome, Italy, November - March 1999

Employment

  • Student Engagement Lead, City, University of London, United Kingdom, May 2020 - October 2023
  • UG Director, City, University of London, United Kingdom, January 2017 - August 2018
  • Deputy Head of Department, City, University of London, United Kingdom, August - December 2016
  • Senior Tutor for Research & Member of Research & Ethics Committee, City University London, London, United Kingdom, October 2009 - December 2014
  • Senior Lecturer, City, University of London, United Kingdom, September 2006 - present
  • Research Consultant, British Council, United Kingdom, January - June 2006
  • ESRC Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, January 2006 - August 2017
  • Research Fellow, London Metropolitan University, United Kingdom, July - December 2005
  • Visiting Lecturer convening MA module on Political Islam, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom, January 2005 - June 2006
  • Marie Curie Fellow, University of Paris Sud, France, November 2003 - January 2004
  • Free Lance Journalist, self-employed, Italy, September 1998 - September 2000

Languages

English (can read, write, speak, understand spoken, peer review), French (can read, write, speak, understand spoken, peer review), German (can read, understand spoken), Italian (can read, write, speak, understand spoken, peer review) and Spanish; Castilian (can read, understand spoken)

Teaching

IPM010 - Political Islam
IP2028 - Religion and Politics in an Age of Global Change
IPM111 - Dissertation Workshop - term 2 only

Research

Research Summary

Dr Sara Silvestri is an interdisciplinary social scientist fascinated by the role of faith in society and in international relations and its implications for the governance of an increasingly diverse Europe. Her research, teaching, and publications focus on Islam, political mobilisation, and transnational networks; the emergence of Muslim institutions and pressure groups in Europe; Political Islam; Muslim-government relations and European public policies towards religion; the nexus immigration-integration-social exclusion; the debate on 'radical' versus 'moderate' Islam.

She recently completed an ESRC-funded collaborative comparative research project on the impact of British counterterrorism upon Irish and Muslim communities, presented in Parliament on 7/7/2011. Her book 'Europe's Muslim women: beyond the burqa controversy', based on unprecedented empirical research in 5 countries, is forthcoming.

Dr Silvestri has been the recipient of numerous research grants (including ESRC, NORFACE, ESF), is a member of Euro-Islam.info and the Muslims in Britain Research Network. Since 2007 she jointly convenes the BISA working group on Religion, Security and International Relations. In June 2011 she co-convened a major ESF-sponsored international conference on religion, gender and multiculturalismheld in Sweden.

Expertise

Islam and Muslim political mobilisation in Europe; Islamism; Religion, Politics, and Public Policy; Governance of Religious Pluralism, Faith-based movements and lobbies, Radicalisation, counter-terrorism; Migration, Integration, EU.

PhD supervision

Strong and motivated candidates with a developed proposal are welcome in Dr Silvestri's areas of expertise (Islam, religion, migration, terrorism, EU). She is also available to supervise Middle East related projects in conjunction colleagues specialising in the region. Potential candidates must make sure that they fulfil all the requirements in our PhD guidance pages before making speculative inquiries and applications.

Publications

Featured publications

  1. Silvestri, S. (2016). Misperceptions of the 'Muslim Diaspora'. Current History, 115(784), pp. 319-321

    [publisher’s website]

  2. Hill, C., Silvestri, S. and Cetin, E. (2016). Migration and the Challenges of Italian Multiculturalism. Italian Politics, 31(1). doi:10.3167/ip.2016.310114

    [publisher’s website]

  3. Silvestri, S. and Mayall, J. (2015). The Role of Religion in Conflict and Peacebuilding. UK: British Academy. ISBN 9780856726187.
  4. Mandaville, P. and Silvestri, S. (2015). Integrating religious engagement into diplomacy: challenges and opportunities. Issues in Governance Studies, 67, pp. 1-13

    [publisher’s website]

  5. Hickman, M.J., Thomas, L., Nickels, H.C. and Silvestri, S. (2012). Social cohesion and the notion of 'suspect communities': A study of the experiences and impacts of being 'suspect' for Irish communities and Muslim communities in Britain. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 5(1), pp. 89-106. doi:10.1080/17539153.2012.659915

    [publisher’s website]

  6. Silvestri, S. (2011). Faith intersections and Muslim women in the European microcosm: Notes towards the study of non-organized Islam. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34(7), pp. 1230-1247. doi:10.1080/01419870.2011.565779

    [publisher’s website]

  7. Silvestri, S. (2009). Islam and Religion in the EU Political System. WEST EUROPEAN POLITICS, 32(6), pp. 1212-1239. doi:10.1080/01402380903230678

    [publisher’s website]

  8. Silvestri, S. (2008). Europe's Muslim Women: Potential, Aspirations and Challenges. Brussels: King Baudouin Foundation. ISBN 9789051306330.

Publications by category

Chapters (9)

  • Silvestri, S., Hill, C. and Cetin, E. (2016). Migration and the challenges of Italian multiculturalism. In Carbone, M. and Piattoni, S. (Eds.), Berghahn Books.
  • Silvestri, S. (2012). Comparing burqa debates in Europe: sartorial styles, religious prescriptions and political ideologies. In Ferrari, S. and Pastorelli, S. (Eds.), Religion in Public Spaces Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. ISBN 9781409450580.
  • Silvestri, S. (2012). Institutionalizing British and Italian Islam: Attitudes and Policies. In Yilmaz, H. and Aykaç, Ç.E. (Eds.), Perceptions of Islam in Europe Tauris Academic Studies. ISBN 9781848851641.
  • Silvestri, S. (2010). Moderate Islamist groups in Europe: The Muslim Brothers. In Hroub, K. (Ed.), Political Islam: Context versus Ideology London: Al Saqi. ISBN 9780863566592.
  • Silvestri, S. (2010). Public Policies towards Muslims and the Institutionalisation of "Moderate Islam" in Europe: some critical reflections. In Triandafyllidou, A. (Ed.), Muslims in 21st century Europe Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780415497091.
  • (2010). Public policies towards Muslims and the institutionalization of ‘Moderate Islam’ in Europe: Some critical reflections. In Muslims in 21st Century Europe (pp. 55-68). Routledge.
  • Silvestri, S. (2007). Does Islam challenge European Identity? In Faltin, L. and Wright, M.J. (Eds.), The religious roots of contemporary European identity Continuum Intl Pub Group. ISBN 9780826494825.
  • Silvestri, S. (2007). Muslim Institutions and Political Mobilisation. In Amghar, S., Boubekeur, A. and Emerson, M. (Eds.), European Islam: Challenges for Society and Public Policy Brussels: Ceps. ISBN 9789290797104.
  • Silvestri, S. (2007). Europe and Political Islam: encounters of the 20th and 21st century. In Abbas, T. (Ed.), Islamic political radicalism Edinburgh Univ Pr. ISBN 9780748625284.

Conference paper and proceedings

Journal articles (5)

  • Nickels, H., Thomas, L., Hickman, M. and Silvestri, S. (2012). De/Constructing ‘Suspect’ Communities: A Critical Discourse Analysis of British Newspaper Coverage of Irish and Muslim Communities, 1974-2007. Journalism Studies, 13(3)

    [publisher’s website]

  • Nickels, H., Thomas, L., Hickman, M. and Silvestri, S. (2012). Constructing ‘Suspect’ Communities and Britishness: Mapping British Press Coverage of Irish and Muslim Communities, 1974-2007. European Journal of Communication, 27(2)

    [publisher’s website]

  • Silvestri, S. and Bailey, J. (2007). Introduction (to thematic issue on) Religion Politics and International Relations. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 20(3), pp. 359-360
  • Silvestri, S. (2007). Radical Islam: Threats and Opportunities. Global Dialogue, 9(3-4)
  • Silvestri, S. (2005). EU relations with Islam in the context of the EMP’s cultural dialogue. Mediterranean Politics, 10(3)

Reports (3)

Working paper

Professional activities

Events/conferences (4)

  • University of Cambridge, speaker at conference Faith in Politics? Churchill College (2013).
    Description: presented ongoing research on faith in European Union
  • Higher Education Academy/ Islamic Studies Network : speaker at expert seminar Social scientists examine Islam and the lives of Muslims. London (2012).
  • EMERGING TRENDS IN EUROPEAN POLICIES TOWARD ISLAM AND MUSLIM COMMUNITIES: A CRITICAL LOOK FORWARD. Johns Hopkins University, Bologna, Italy (2011).
    Description: ISLAM AND EUROPE: RELIGION, LAW, IDENTITY
  • Caritas Internationalis, The Female Face of Migration: guest speaker in panel on domestic workers. Saly, Senegal (2010).

Keynote lectures/speeches (11)

  • Regent Park Mosque: panel speaker at “community question time" on Muslims in the Media. London (2013). event in collaboration with Westminster Council and Fulham Borough
  • House of Lords: panel speaker in public discussion event Representation and Reality organised by Federation of Student Islamic Societies. Westminster, London (2013).
  • LUISS University: guest panelist on Security in the Mediterranean. Rome, Italy (2013).
  • NECE network & German Federal Government: guest panel speaker at conference "Participation Now! Citizenship Education and Democracy in Times of Change". Cordoba, Spain (2012).
  • Hay Festival: speaker in panel discussion on “conflict in cities”. Hay-on-Wye, Wales (2012).
  • Keynote speaker at conference Occident-Orient Research Network. University of Birmingham (2012).
  • How can we use the lessons from Northern Ireland to inform our Prevent strategy? De Montfort University, Leicester (2011). speaker in working group session of Home Affairs Committee conference "The Roots of Violence Radicalisation"
  • Meeting of the High Level Advisory Group for a Renewed Strategy of The Anna Lindh Foundation. European Commission, Brussels (2011). speaker in plenary, session 3
  • Muslim women in Europe. Committee on Equal Oppoprtunities, Council of Europe, Strasbourg (2011). gave evidence to committee for their report on Muslim women in Europe
  • Hounslow Muslim Women Conference: guest speaker. Hounslow, UK (2010).
  • European Parliament, European Socialist Group : guest speaker at expert seminar The Challenge of Radicalization. Brussels, Belgium (2008).

Media appearances (22)

  • BBC Radio 4, Beyond Belief programme, Religion & Globalisation. guest speaker in a programme lasting 1h
  • Washington Times: quoted in piece on Islamists in Egypt. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/10/cairo-as-islamist-political-parties-dominate-elect/?page=all#pagebreak
  • Norway's Atrocity: The Mental Tunnel. authored comment piece in Open Democracy portal, http://www.opendemocracy.net/sara-silvestri/norways-atrocity-mental-tunnel
  • Reuters - "Like Al Qaeda: Norway's killer aimed at publicity". quoted in this article by Reuters' Peter Apps, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/27/us-norway-publicity-idUSTRE76Q4RK20110727
  • SIR EUROPE - Dal Sospetto al Rifiuto. interview on my collaborative research project on Irish, Muslims and Counter-terrorism in Britain, http://www.agensir.it/pls/sir/v3_s2doc_b2.europa?tema=Sir+Europa+italiano&argomento=dettaglio&id_oggetto=220940
  • BBC Radio 4, Sunday Programme. interview on Islamism and revolution in Egypt
  • BBC Radio4, Sunday Programme. interview on 10 years after 9/11
  • REFORMA - Ponen en la mira el velo islamico. quoted in Mexican paper article on Islamic veil
  • ISLAM CHANNEL, Politics & Media programme. guest speaker in programme lasting approx 1h
  • BBC Radio4, "Sunday Programme". Live interview on burqa debate in Europe and UK
  • Oltre Radio (Italian radio), interview on Syria. interview on Syria crisis with focus on Islamism and sectarian confrontation, available on www.oltreradio.it
  • The Conversation: author of piece ‘Will the burqa debate in Britain lead to a French-style ban?’ available on http://theconversation.com/britain-does-not-need-a-french-style-burqa-ban-18265
  • The Conversation: author of piece 'No point in knee-jerk burqa ban after suspect has bolted'. available at http://theconversation.com/no-point-in-knee-jerk-burqa-ban-after-suspect-has-bolted-19847
  • BBC London: Live interview on burqa court case.
  • Večernji List (main Croatian newspaper), author of comment piece on Egypt. title of article: “Obje strane ponašaju se kao u doba Mubaraka” (Both sides act as the Mubarak era), p.13
  • Channel News Asia, live interview on forthcoming papal election. Channel News Asia is a major Singapore-based English-speaking TV
  • Voice of Russia, participant in discussion on Muslim radicalisation. broadcast 27 Feb 2013, available for download: http://ruvr.co.uk/2013_02_27/terror-Birmingham-RUSI-Irfan-Naseer/
  • BBC News (TV), commented live on Italian elections. broadcast at prime time 7.15pm
  • La Stampa (Italian daily), interview in article by C.Gallo on Pope’s resignation,p.12. Full longer version of interview also available, in English & Italian, on La Stampa’s website,
http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/vaticano/dettaglio-articolo/articolo/benedetto-xvi-benedict-xvi-benedicto-xvi-22420/
  • RAI Radio1 (main Italian national radio), interview on multiculturalism, in programme “Tra cielo e. broadcast 11.29am, available : http://www.rai.it/dl/radio1/2010/programmi/Page-aeaf2bd1-d80d-4036-89d8-fb158530da2f.html
  • NTN 24 (Colombian TV), live interview on Iran attacks on British embassy.
  • London Biggest Conversation Radio (LBC), interview on London and multiculturalism.

Radio programmes (2)

  • news. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) (2015). recorded on 14 dec 2015 not sure when it was broadcast
  • news. BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (2015). I was guest interviewed on Islam and terrorism

Other

  • - Co-convenor, BISA working group on Religion, Security and International Relations - Treasurer, ISA section on Religion and International Relations - Editorial board member, British Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies - United Nations Alliance of Civilisation: member of “global experts” group - Scientific Advisor, Anna Lindh Foundation’s report of intercultural trends - Advisory Board member, British Council project Our Shared Future - Advisory Board member, Radicalisation Research .