Hi, I'm Davide Giacomo Zoppolato
Full-Stack Researcher & Developer passionate about Geopolitics, Global China, and Coding.
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PartnersGeopolitics
Exploring global political dynamics, state power, and territorial strategies in international relations.
Global China
Studying China's role in global governance, development policies, and its interactions with the Global South.
Security, Violence & Space
Analyzing how security, infrastructure, and spatial control shape territory, violence and geopolitics.
Critical Law and Development
Investigating how legal systems perpetuate power hierarchies and reinforce inequality.
Energy & Power
Researching how energy infrastructures shape development and power relations.
Coding & Critical Theory
Using code and computation to explore social and geopolitical questions.
Applied Research
Geospatial Intelligence & Risk Mapping
Advanced spatial analysis for assessing infrastructure vulnerabilities and governance-related risks across time and space.
LLM-Powered Multilingual Text Mining
Large-scale data collection, processing and analysis across sources times space and languages
Full-Stack Platforms & Dashboards
Development of scalable data platforms and systems with maps, feedback systems, and real-time KPIs and authentication
RAG Knowledge Systems
Retrieval-augmented generation for multilateral policy intelligence at scale
Legal-Tech Automation
AI-powered legal analysis and compliance monitoring
Publications
My Work
Education
Education
Experience
Teaching
Awards
PhD in Geography
West Virginia University, USA • 2025
Department of Geology and Geography
Areas: Critical Geopolitics, Computational Social Science, GIS
Dissertation: 'China's Path to (In)Securities: An Analysis of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor'
PhD in Comparative Law
University of Macerata, Italy • 2023
Honors for the particularly outstanding scientific results contained in the thesis
Dissertation: 'China's Challenge to Universalism: Openings, Legal Encounters and Authoritarian Ordering'
Combined Bachelor and Master of Science in Law
University of Turin, Italy • 2016
5 Years combined bachelor's/master's degree in law (JD equivalent)
Thesis: 'Subsidies to Renewable Energy and State-Owned Enterprise (SOEs) in light of WTO jurisprudence'
Teaching
Global Sustainability
West Virginia University, USA
Enrollment:
• Spring 2025: 52 students Fall 2024: 39 students Fall 2023: 34 students
Syllabus Highlights:
Explore global sustainability through a world-regional lens
Analyze challenges via environmental, economic, political, and human geography perspectives
Assignments include social media analysis, group presentations, and weekly discussions
Critical GIS
Pakistan
Enrollment:
• 35 students across 6 NGOs, weekly meetings
Syllabus Highlights:
Explore Open Source GIS with QGIS
Critically examine mapping, power, and colonialism
Apply participatory methods and fieldwork for spatial data collection
Assignments include GIS analysis, open data collection, and a QGIS-based fieldwork trip
International Law
Italy
Enrollment:
• 28 students
Syllabus Highlights:
Introduce the sources, subjects, and foundational principles of international law
Examine the role and functioning of key institutions such as the UN, ICJ, and regional courts
Explore contemporary issues including sovereignty, recognition, and humanitarian intervention
Law and Development
Enrollment:
• Spring 2026
Syllabus Highlights:
Examine key theories and debates in law and development
Analyze the role of global institutions, legal reform, and aid in development contexts
Explore legal pluralism, informality, and access to justice in comparative perspective
Critically assess case studies from the Global South with attention to power and resistance
Analyze Law and Imperialism
Global China
Enrollment:
• Fall 2025
Syllabus Highlights:
Examine China's geopolitical strategies and global rise
Explore spatial transformations via Belt and Road investments
Analyze CPC documents and development diplomacy narratives
Assess China's influence on political and economic dependencies in the Global South
Employ Text Mining and Discourse Analysis
Full-Stack Research
Enrollment:
• Fall 2025
Syllabus Highlights:
Introduce mixed methods research integrating qualitative, quantitative, and spatial analysis with a strong focus on coding
Learn Python for text mining, data collection, and geospatial analysis
Gain hands-on experience with APIs, web scraping, and interactive data visualization
Experiment with qualitative methods
Build interactive dashboards
My Data
Media & Official Narratives
7,426 articles from embassies and national/provincial newspapers (English, Chinese, Urdu)
Reference: Telling the China Story: Symbolic power and the reception of China's narratives in Pakistan
Key Stats:
972 articles – Chinese Embassy in Islamabad (Chinese)
4,316 – National English media (e.g., CPEC Info, Dawn, Tribune)
845 – Urdu provincial media (Daily Azadi, Awami Awaz, etc.)
Methodology:
Content scraped using R with RVEST
Cross-validated national media with Dawn & Express Tribune
Categorized reception vs. projection narratives
Conferences
18
Total Presentations
4
Countries Covered
13
Cities Visited
Social Media Geopolitics
25 March 2025 — Detroit, USA
Bare Life Resistance
22 March 2025 — Detroit, USA
Researching Global China
25 February 2025 — Open University, UK
Interested in collaboration, exchange, or shared inquiry?
Get in TouchI'm based in Brooklyn and work across the US, Europe, China, and South Asia. Always open to interdisciplinary dialogue and grounded partnerships.