Researcher
Silvia Maria Colombo
Dr Silvia Maria Colombo is a Researcher and Faculty Advisor at the NATO Defense College where she contributes to the NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC). Previously she held senior research positions at the International Affairs Institute (IAI) and acted as the head of the Mediterranean and Middle East Programme.
Her research work focuses on contemporary politics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the EU and US foreign policy towards and their role in conflicts in the Middle East as well as the implications for NATO. Among her research interests there is also the geopolitics and security of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Politics from the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa and a Master’s Degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. She speaks Arabic fluently.