Dr. Florence Gaub

Dr. Florence Gaub is a political scientist, futurologist and publicist and since 2023 Research Division Director of the NATO Military Academy (NATO Defense College - Rome - where she was already from 2009 to 2013). The focus of her work is on analyzing future scenarios, trends, challenges and opportunities on how societies can be prepared for the future. She advises governments and international organizations.

An expert on security and conflict in the Middle East and North Africa, she has also worked for the European Union (EU). Since 2023, she has been a member of the Future Council on Complex Risks and a visiting professor (College of Europe). She is also Honorary Vice President of the European Forum Alpbach. She was Foresight Advisor to the Council of the European Union and President and Founder of the Futurate Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to the future. From 2013 to 2022, she was Deputy Director and previously Senior Analyst of the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS - Paris - foresight capacity building, editor of formats such as the “What if.?” series of the Chaillot Papers). In 2019, she authored the report “Global Trends to 2030” for the EU Foresight Network.

The Franco-German author and journalist is a sought-after expert on European and international foreign and security policy for the media and governments. Her research career has taken her from conflicts and wars in the Middle East and North Africa to institutional change and geopolitical shifts.

Dr. Gaub, who considers herself a “real optimist”, studied Political Science, French and Modern History (Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich - Magistra, M. A. - semester abroad at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris, Sciences Po Paris - Political Science and Government) and the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Diplome d'Etudes Approfondies, International Relations and Affairs). Her doctorate followed at the Humboldt University (Berlin - Doctor of Philosophy, Military Sociology). From 2012 to 2015 she was a reserve officer in the French army (Major). From 2020 to 2022, her expertise was in demand at the World Economic Forum's Future Council on Frontier Risks. Dr. Gaub taught from 2007 to 2009 at the Historical Institute of the University of Potsdam (Military Studies) and at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques.

In addition to post-conflict analysis (Iraq, Lebanon, Libyan war), she examined conflict structures and the geopolitical significance of the Arab world, as well as focusing on Afghanistan and the consequences of climate change in the Arab region. She emphasizes Europe's responsibility - globally a model continent whose focus will be more on geopolitics in the future. The power aspect is modified - in future it will be about connections, no longer dominated by the size of a country, its army, its population or its financial power. Alliances are important. Everything is currently becoming clear in Ukraine's war against Russia.

Dr. Gaub is a unique futurist, an experienced security analyst and IR expert (International, Economic, and Human Security in a Changing World), who is shaping today's discussions on future-oriented policy making as a high-level advisor and speaker, combining cutting-edge academic excellence with practical innovation.

She speaks German, French, English and Arabic.