AZZARELLI Andrea | MaCI - Université Grenoble Alpes

Andrea AZZARELLI

is a contemporary history researcher holding a PhD from the University of Milan (2019). Prior to joining Grenoble Alpes University, he was a postdoc fellow in the ERC project The Dark Side of the Belle Epoque (University of Padova), delving into the history of paramilitary groups in Belle epoque France.

'My research centers on law enforcement bodies, political violence, Italian criminality and the influence of private violent groups on State institutions. I adopt a methodological approach grounded in policing and security studies, along with comparative and transnational perspectives.'

Project at the MaCI

A global market of violence. Firearms surveillance in European ports from 1890 until 1939 (England, France, Italy)

December 2023 - November 2025

It unravels the evolution of gun control in Europe and its influence on State power and violence. Its objective is to trace the impact of the widespread distribution of firearms at the outset of the 20th century on societal perceptions, policing strategies, apprehensions, and institutional transformations in Europe.

'I will investigate the historical shift in three European countries – France, England, and Italy – from permissive gun control policies to stringent controls between 1890 and 1939. Despite their political and institutional differences (democratic vs authoritarian regimes), these nations shared a common transformation. I aim to uncover the reasons and methods behind this shift through an analysis of policing practices in key European ports – London and Liverpool in England, Marseille and Le Havre in France, Naples and Venice in Italy –, simultaneously examining the central ministries' correspondence in London, Rome, and Paris. Adopting a comparative and transnational approach, I will organize international conferences and workshops with experts on gun control, exploring global and transnational issues.

I have a profound interest for subjects pertaining to political violence, state-building, and the efficacy of police institutions in governing territories and societies. Analyzing paramilitary groups’ history in Belle Epoque France, I discovered the pivotal role of guns in shedding light on violence and States capacity to control or use it. With GlobArms, I plan to utilize my expertise in policing, security, and comparative research to analyze the impact of early 20th-century gun control policies on the development of contemporary European statehoods.'

For this research, Andrea will collaborate with the CERDAP². He will be working closely with Aurélien Lignereux, Professor of Contemporary History at IEP Grenoble and member of CERDAP². His research focuses on the police forces and their establishment, missions and composition, mainly in nineteenth-century Europe and Napoleonic France. Initially editor-in-chief, he has since been director of the journal Annales Historiques de la Révolution Française, which covers all the revolutionary movements that affected the world between the 1770s and the 1830s.

Activities

14-15 May 2024 - Conference Legge e (dis)ordine. Le forze di polizia e la repressione dei Fasci siciliani (1892-1895)
4-5 June 2024 - Workshop Decoding european history through guns: Methodologies and research approaches
14 June 2024 - Presentation The Historian Facing Violence in Sources - "When Revolvers Dictated the Rules of Social Conflict: Police, Strikebreakers, and Violence in Pre-War Paris (1900-1918)" (MSH)
12-14 September 2024 - Conference Il controllo delle armi nella Francia della Terza Repubblica. Le norme, le prassi e la repressione giudiziaria del 1913 (1870-1918) - "Alors qu’on sait que dans toute famille parisienne il y a un ou plusieurs revolvers" - Gargnano (Italy)
15 October 2024 - Seminar Acteurs, pratiques et représentations de la sécurité, XIXe-XXIe siècles at the University of Paris Sorbonne, directed by Arnaud-Dominique Houte
26-29 March 2025 - Conference European Social Science History - 'A peaceful citizen [...], I now stride out equipped and vigilant, prepared to confront any assailant who dares to attack me. The Evolution of Gun Control in Third Republic France. Norms, Practices, and the Judicial Repression of 1913 (1870-1918)' Panel 'Arms and State Sovereignty in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Europe.'

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Funded by the French government's Programme d'Investissement Avenir and implemented by ANR France 2030