Carlotta Marchi

Carlotta Marchi holds a PhD in History, awarded in September 2021 through a joint doctoral PhD between the Università degli Studi di Pavia (Italy) and Aix-Marseille Université (France). Between 2023 and 2024, she held a postdoctoral research fellowship in History and Institutions of Africa at the University of Pavia. Her research focuses on the colonial and postcolonial history of Libya and Egypt, with particular attention to the interplay between Islam, nationalism, and state formation in North Africa. Her proposed research project for the 2025–2026 fellowship investigates the politicisation of Islam in post-independence Libya (1949–1969). The study explores how Western powers instrumentalised Islam as a means of political legitimation in their regional and international strategies. Through an analysis of diplomatic sources and political discourses, the project aims to understand how Islam was mobilised as a tool of influence in relations with the Kingdom of Libya, particularly in the context of the country’s transition from colonial rule to independence and its strategic position in Cold War geopolitics.