Lidia Santarelli completed her Ph.D. in History and Civilization at the European University Institute, Florence, with a dissertation on the Italian occupation in Greece during the Second World War. A member of the Research Project on "The Impact of Nazi and Fascist Rule in Europe, 1938-1950," sponsored by the European Science Foundation, she has taught (2002-2005) contemporary history at the University La Sapienza Rome, where she has developed several courses on war and conflicts in the twentieth century. Between 2003 and 2005 she also taught history of South-Eastern Europe at the University of L'Aquila, Italy. Her main areas of interest are: war, civil war and ethnic conflicts; nation building and nation state in thes Balkans; Fascist culture and ideology; military violence, war crimes, systems of occupation. She has published extensively on topics related to her research activity.  [Last Updated 2006]