Andrea Dessì is Assistant Professor in International Relations and Global Politics at the American University of Rome (AUR). He previously headed IAI's "Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa" programme and "Italian foreign policy" programme. Andrea has worked extensively on US and European foreign policy towards the Middle East with a particular focus on the diplomatic and military history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, US policy towards Israel and Washington’s alliance frameworks in the Middle East. His research interests include security studies, the geopolitics of the Middle East and the intersection between global and regional trends and developments. Andrea holds a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) with a thesis on the US-Israel relationship during the 1980s. He worked with IAI between 2011-2023 and has contributed to a number of EU-funded projects and research tasks (FP7 & H2020).

Daniela Huber Daniela Huber is Assistant Professor in the Political Science Department of Roma Tre University. She is scientific advisor of the IAI's "Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa" programme, which she had led from 2019 to 2022, and co-editor of The International Spectator.

Previously at IAI she has scientifically coordinated the EU funded Horizon 2020 project MEDRESET (2016-2019), and has been involved as co-workpackage leader in the Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 projects SHAPEDEM-EU, BRIDGES, EU-LISTCO, as well as the Jean-Monnet Network EUMENIA.

Her research interests include IR theories and methodologies, international relations and contemporary politics in the Middle East, as well as EU and US foreign policy towards and their role in conflicts in the Middle East. On these issues, she has published two monographs (Palgrave and State University of New York Press), 15 peer-reviewed articles, 7 edited books, 6 book chapters and numerous research papers and commentaries. She has worked for the United Nations and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in the Middle East and has pursued extensive field research in the region as she lived for five years in Jerusalem, and organised/participated in workshops and conferences in Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey.