POLS IR Seminars Series
Human Nature Reconsidered.
Neurobiological Insights for Rethinking the "First Image"
Edoardo Landoni
POLS PhD Candidate
Discussant
Damiano Palano
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore | Milan
18 February 2026, h.14:30
SPS Seminar Room (Conservatorio)
Department of Social and Political Science
Via Conservatorio 7, Milano
Political science typically explains behaviour through institutions, norms, and strategic incentives, yet a growing body of evidence shows that affect, cognition, and evolved anatomo-physiological predispositions systematically shape how individuals perceive threat, form identities, and decide between conflict and cooperation. This paper brings neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and genetics into dialogue with political theory to articulate a non-determinist account of “human nature” that acknowledges substantial individual variability while identifying recurrent psychological mechanisms relevant to politics. By reframing the nature-culture debate as interaction rather than determinism, the paper revisits political realism and the ‘first image’ in IR theory, arguing that a neurobiological lens can underpin realist theory without recourse to metaphysical pessimism. Linking micro-mechanisms to outcomes such as nationalism, polarisation, and conflict dynamics, it offers an empirically anchored framework with implications for institutional design and democratic governance.
This seminar is part of the POLS International Relations (IRS) Seminar Series
(Organizing Committee: Andrea Locatelli, Martina Cocchi, Edoardo Landoni, Chiara Minora, Nourhan Mohammed)
For an overview of the PhD Political Studies Seminar Series, click HERE
It is increasingly common to see media and policy references to peacemaking as "transactional". Recent peace talks and deals that emphasize trade, minerals, oil and reconstruction profits reinforce the idea that peacemaking is moving from an era of a liberal peace to an era of transactional peace. But does this stand up to scrutiny? This session seeks to unpack the extent to which the label 'transactional' is accurate. To a large extent, peace has always had transactional elements - although they now seem more obvious. Accounts of peacemaking as transactional overlook the pragmatist literature that seeks to contextualise transactionalism and stress how actors and actions are con-constitutive.
