Florence Gaub

Florence Gaub (born 1977) is a Franco-German researcher, security expert and futurist who focuses on foresight based policy formation for international relations and security policy. She is director of the research division at the NATO Defense College (Rome). She worked as deputy director at the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) in Paris from February 2018 until May 2022, worked as foresight advisor at the General Secretariat of the Council and was Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Councils on Complex Risks (2021 - 2025).

Early life and education

Gaub studied political science at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (MA, 1997-2002) and part of these studies at SciencesPo Paris (2000 - 2001). She also obtained a Master's degree from Sorbonne University (2003 - 2004). Apart from her native languages German and French she says she speaks English, Arabic and Italian.

She obtained a PhD in International Politics from Humboldt University, Berlin, in 2009 with a dissertation on "Multiethnic armies and civil war: the cases of Nigeria, Lebanon and Bosnia-Herzegovina", for which she spent considerable time in the field and which was later also published as a book for Routledge in 2010.

Career

From 2009 till 2013 she worked at the NATO Defense College in Rome, coordinating Middle East research and conducting training courses for military officers from Arab countries. In 2013 Gaub joined the EUISS as head of the Middle East and North Africa programme where she was promoted to Deputy Director in 2018 and built up foresight capacities and capabilities until leaving the Institute in May 2022.