Meet the researchers and coordinators involved in the AURELA project.
OUR TEAM
KEVIN PARTHENAY
PROJECT CO-COORDINATOR
RESEARCHER
Kevin Parthenay is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Tours and a Junior Member of the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF, 2022–2027). He is also an Associate Researcher at the United Nations University (UNU-CRIS), at the CERI of Sciences Po, and at the Institut de Recherche Juridiques et Interdisciplinaires (IRJI). He is currently Co-Chair of the Observatoire Politique de l’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes (OPALC) at Sciences Po and leads the REGPOL-ALA research program, funded by the French National Research Agency (2023–2027). He also co-directs the French-Brazilian program AURELA (2026–2029).
Rafael Mesquita
PROJECT CO-COORDINATOR
RESEARCHER
Rafael Mesquita is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Political Science Department of the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE, Brazil) and co-coordinator of the French-Brazilian project AURELA (2026‐2029). His research focuses on multilateralism, international organizations, and Latin American regionalism.
RESEARCHER
ANA PAULA TOSTES
Ana Paula Tostes is a Full Professor and coordinates the Jean Monnet Chair at the Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), Brazil. She is a professor in the Department of International Relations and the Institute of Social and Political Sciences (IESP). She was a visiting professor at the Freie Universität Berlin (FUB/Alemanha), associate professor in the Department of Political Science and James Madison College (JMC) at Michigan State University (MSU/USA). She holds productivity fellowships from FAPERJ (CNE and Prociência/UERJ) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
Carlos R. S. Milani
RESEARCHER
Carlos R. S. Milani is Full Professor of International Relations at the Rio de Janeiro State University’s Institute for Social and Political Studies (IESP-UERJ), and Director of the Interdisciplinary Observatory on Climate Change (OIMC). His research agenda, funded by Brazil’s National Science Council (CNPQ), the Rio de Janeiro Research Foundation (FAPERJ) and the Climate and Society Institute (iCS), includes comparative foreign policy, international development cooperation, south-south relations, and the international politics of climate change.
CAROLA KLOECK
RESEARCHER
Carola Klöck is Associate Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po Paris. Before joining Sciences Po’s Centre for International Research (CERI) in 2018, Carola held positions at the Universities of Gothenburg, Antwerp and Göttingen. She obtained her PhD from ETH Zurich in 2013 and her habilitation (venia legend) from the University of Göttingen. Carola researches the politics of climate change adaptation and global climate change negotiations with a focus on small (island) states.
Diogo Cunha
RESEARCHER
Associate Professor of Political Theory and Brazilian Political Thought at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE). He was a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford and Université Paris-Saclay. His research focuses on democratic theory, intellectual history, Brazilian political thought, conservatism, and the international circulation of political ideas and concepts.
RESEARCHER
Frédéric ramel
Frédéric Ramel is a Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po Paris, where he has taught since 2012. He also coordinates the Groupe de recherche sur l'action multilatérale (GRAM), a thematic network of the CNRS. His current research focuses on multilateralism, cultural and musical diplomacies, global issues, and the role of emotions and sensibilities in international relations.
Layla Dawood
RESEARCHER
Associate Professor of International Relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), where she coordinates the Graduate Program in International Relations and the Security and Defense Studies Laboratory (LabSeg). Her research focuses on International Relations Theory and International Security, with particular emphasis on U.S. and Chinese defense policies, nuclear deterrence, non-proliferation, and Brazilian nuclear policy.
Marcelo Medeiros
RESEARCHER
Full Professor of Comparative International Politics at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and Senior Research Fellow of the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Former Rio Branco Chair of International Relations at the University of Oxford, his research focuses on comparative politics, international relations, Brazilian foreign policy, European Union–Latin America relations, governance, and democracy.
Marcos guedes
RESEARCHER
Full Professor of Political Science at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and CNPq Research Fellow. He holds a PhD in Government from the University of Essex and was awarded the Simón Bolívar Chair at Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris III. His research focuses on international security, Brazilian foreign policy, regional integration, Mercosur, U.S. foreign policy, cybersecurity, and international relations theory.
Mélanie albaret
RESEARCHER
Mélanie Albaret is Full Professor at the Law School-Centre Michel de l’Hospital of Clermont Auvergne University, France. She holds a PhD in Political Science, with a specialization in International Relations, from Sciences Po Paris. Her research focuses on contestation in international organizations, international negotiations, South and multilateralism in particular Latin American participation in the United Nations. She is co-coordinator of the CNRS Thematic Network GRAM. Her publications include ‘Négocier et contester au Conseil des droits de l’homme des Nations unies’ in the journal Négociations and ‘Dissenting at the United Nations: Interaction orders and Venezuelan contestation practices (2015-16)’ (with Elodie Brun) in Review of International Studies.
PABLo BRAGA
RESEARCHER
Associate Professor of International Relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), where he coordinates the Laboratory for Global Political Analysis (LABMUNDO). He is also an International Relations Analyst at FUNAG (Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). His research focuses on Brazilian and comparative foreign policy, climate justice, human rights, race and gender, South–South relations, and the challenges posed by democratic backsliding, climate change, and the crisis of multilateralism.
Samuel faure
RESEARCHER
Samuel B. H. Faure is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM) and lectures on European defence policy at UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles and Sciences Po Paris. Co-editor of the scientific journal Politique européenne, his research focuses on strategic autonomy and the rearmament of Europe in the context of the war in Ukraine.