Sandra Dias Fernandes is an Associate Professor with Habilitation in the Department of Political Science at the University of Minho, where she has been teaching and conducting research since 2001.
She served as Director of the Research Centre in Political Science (CICP), which, under her leadership, received an Excellent rating in the most recent FCT evaluation. She holds a degree in International Relations from the University of Minho, a Master in European Studies, and a PhD in Political Science with a specialization in International Relations from the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). In 2022, she obtained her Habilitation in Political Science and International Relations with a lecture on relations between the European Union and Russia.
Her scientific work focuses on European geopolitical dynamics, international security, multilateralism, and EU–Russia relations, with a consolidated specialization in Portugal's external action and international politics, particularly within the European and Atlantic contexts. It includes publications in indexed scientific journals and leading international publishers, and she is the author and editor of several collective volumes on geopolitics and foreign policy, addressing topics such as the war in Ukraine, the post-Soviet space, and the challenges to the liberal international order.
She has held international editorial roles, notably as editor and co-editor of the Journal of Contemporary European Studies and associate editor of Frontiers in Political Science and Frontiers in Human Dynamics, in the sections dedicated to refugees and conflicts. Her career includes research and teaching periods at institutions such as CEPS (Brussels), MGIMO (Moscow), the University of Tartu (Estonia), and the University of Washington (Seattle).
Recognized for her ability to bridge academia, diplomacy, and civil society, she has coordinated seminars, conferences, and debate series on European security, foreign policy, and strategic culture. She has also participated in international initiatives promoted by institutions such as the Latvian Parliament, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, as well as various national and foreign ministries.
Distinguished with merit grants from the FCT, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and Sciences Po, she also received the Jacques Delors Prize for the best dissertation on European integration. She is a regular presence in national and international media, contributing to public debate on current international affairs.
Her trajectory reflects a long-standing commitment to public service in higher education, the internationalization of knowledge, and the promotion of an open academic culture in the face of contemporary challenges to the international order.
