Nathalie Tocci Joins SAIS Europe as Professor of the Practice
SAIS Europe is pleased to announce that Nathalie Tocci, one of Europe’s most influential voices in international affairs and a leading public intellectual, will join the faculty as Professor of the Practice beginning in the 2025–26 academic year. Her appointment represents a significant step forward in advancing SAIS Europe’s Vision 2030 strategy, which seeks to reinforce the school’s academic leadership and global engagement.
Her appointment underscores SAIS Europe’s commitment to integrating real-world policy expertise into the classroom. As a prominent voice in European strategic thinking and diplomacy, Tocci embodies the school’s mission to connect theory and practice through teaching, research, and public dialogue. Her presence is expected to enrich the intellectual life of the SAIS Europe community and strengthen the institution’s capacity to convene high-level debates on global challenges.
Tocci’s depth of experience, developed across academia, policymaking, and international media, will bring significant value to SAIS students. Her global network and extensive contributions to European and international strategy will offer students unparalleled access to the ideas and actors shaping Europe’s role in the world.
Tocci will play an active academic role at SAIS Europe. She will teach graduate-level courses at the intersection of European governance and global affairs and contribute to the development of the School’s executive education programs. She will continue to serve as Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in Rome until the conclusion of her current mandate.
About Nathalie Tocci
Nathalie Tocci brings to SAIS Europe a distinguished profile that bridges scholarly excellence and high-level policy engagement. She is currently Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), part-time professor at the European University Institute’s School of Transnational Governance, Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen, and an independent non-executive director at the utility company Acea. She previously served as Special Advisor to EU High Representatives Federica Mogherini and Josep Borrell, where she played a central role in drafting and implementing the European Global Strategy.
Her academic and advisory experience spans premier institutions in Europe and the United States, including the Harvard Kennedy School, the College of Europe (Bruges), the European University Institute (Florence), the Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels), and the Transatlantic Academy (Washington, DC). She has also served on the boards of major European energy companies Edison and Eni.
Tocci’s research interests include European foreign and security policy, regional integration, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, energy and climate, multilateralism, and conflict resolution. Her most recent publications include A Green and Global Europe (Polity, 2022), Framing the EU’s Global Strategy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), and The EU and Conflict Resolution (Routledge, 2007).
A widely respected commentator, she writes regularly for Politico Europe, La Stampa, The Guardian, Foreign Affairs and Prospect Magazine, and appears frequently on international outlets including the BBC, CNN, Sky News, and The New York Times. She is a Europe’s Futures Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna and is represented by Chartwell Speakers and Elastica.
With the addition of Nathalie Tocci, SAIS Europe reaffirms its commitment to academic innovation, global dialogue, and the preparation of future leaders in international affairs.
For more information about Nathalie Tocci and her role at SAIS Europe, please contact:
Susannah Tillson
Director of Marketing and Communications
Johns Hopkins SAIS Europe
[email protected]
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