Riccardo Gasco is a political analyst and PhD Researcher in International Relations at the University of Bologna. He is currently based in Istanbul, where he has lived since 2019, and serves as Foreign Policy Program Coordinator at IstanPol, a leading Istanbul-based think tank. He is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC), where he works on Turkish foreign policy. Previously, he was a Visiting Fellow at Sabancı University. 

Riccardo’s research focuses on Türkiye’s foreign policy, its strategic positioning between NATO and Russia, and the broader behavior of emerging middle powers in a shifting global order. He holds degrees in International Relations and Diplomatic Sciences from the University of Genoa and SOAS, University of London. 

He frequently contributes analysis to Italian, Turkish, and international media, offering commentary on Türkiye’s domestic politics, regional dynamics in the Middle East, and its complex relationships with Europe, the United States, China, and Russia. His publications cover topics such as Türkiye–China relations, the Kurdish issue, Turkish defense policy, EU–Türkiye relations, and broader questions of transatlantic diplomacy and strategic autonomy.