Riccardo Nanni is completing his PhD in International Relations at the University of Bologna, studying the role and influence of Chinese stakeholders in Internet governance. Prior to it, Riccardo obtained a MA (cum laude) in Human Rights and Multilevel Governance at the University of Padova, during which he spent six months in China at Guangzhou University. After graduating, he worked as project manager at the Women Centre of Padova and held a traineeship position at the EU Delegation to China.

His discussion relates to his research on the extent of China's contribution to increased state influence in multi-stakeholder Internet governance. He analyses Chinese stakeholders’ actions in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), adopting a regime-theoretic and historical-institutionalist approach, allowing the investigation of change and continuity in ICANN’s norms and Chinese stakeholders’ stances towards the existing governance model. He applies a threefold method: network analysis, expert interviews, and document analysis.