Nikolaos Tzifakis is Lecturer in International Relations in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Peloponnese, and Research Associate at the Centre for European Studies in Brussels. He is a graduate of the Department of Political Science and International Studies of Panteion University of Athens (1996), and holds an MA with distinction in International Relations and Strategic Studies (1997) and a PhD in International Relations from Lancaster University, UK (2002). His research interests include contemporary developments in the Balkans, EU external policies and international relations theory. In 2008, he was awarded the Marcel Cadieux Distinguished Writing Award for his co-authored article with Professor Asteris Huliaras in International Journal. Tzifakis has served as Deputy Director-General (December 2009–January 2011) and, previously, as Head of the International Cooperation Department (December 2007–December 2009) at the Konstantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy.