Dr. Yiorghos Leventis, Ph.D.

Professor of Diplomacy, Political Science & International Relations

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Dr. Yiorghos Leventis is the Director of the International Security Forum think tank, www.inter-security-forum.org, and Professor of Diplomacy and Political Science at UGSM-Monarch Business School. Dr. Leventis studied in the U.K., where he made extensive research in The National Archives (TNA). He read B.A. in Economics & Social Studies at the University of Manchester (1990), M.A. in Peace Studies and Ph.D. in European Studies at the University of Bradford (1992, 1998). He has been a Visiting Research Associate at King’s College at the University of London and an External Research Associate of the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy.

In 2004-06 he was based in Tokyo sponsored by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) for a Visiting Scholarship at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). At the same time he held the South East Europe research portfolio within the Peace & Governance Programme at the United Nations University headquarters in Tokyo. In 2006-08 he was Associate Professor in the Faculty of International Relations, Politics and European Studies at the New York University Skopje (fYROM).

Dr. Leventis has lectured and published widely on power sharing arrangements, geopolitical and security issues. Since the start of the current phase of negotiations for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem (March 2008) he has been serving honoris causa as a member of the Working Group on Security & Guarantees appointed by the President of the Republic of Cyprus.

Academic Positions Held
  • Professor of Diplomacy & Political Science, UGSM-Monarch Business School
  • Director of the International Security Forum, Cyprus
  • Visiting Scholar, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Peace & Governance Programme, United Nations University, Japan
  • Visiting Research Associate, King’s College, University of London
  • Associate Professor, New York University Skopje
Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D. in European Studies, University of Bradford
  • M.A. in Peace Studies, University of Bradford
  • B.A. Social Science & Economics, University of Manchester
Main Academic Interest
  • Defence & Security Policy Analysis
  • Geopolitics
  • Research on Conflicts
  • Power-sharing Arrangements
  • Disarmament
  • Reform of the UN
  • Multi-lateral Security Organizations.
Professional Positions Held
  • 2009 Onwards: Director, International Security Forum (www.inter-security-forum.org), Cyprus-based global think tank on foreign, defence & security policy issues.
  • 2008 Onwards: Member Working Group Security & Guarantees, Cyprus Comprehensive Settlement Negotiations – Honoris causa appointment by the President of the Republic of Cyprus
  • 2004: Evaluation Analyst, Development Associates, Virginia, US. Final evaluation of USAID-funded Cyprus Bi-communal Development Program (1998-2004) implemented through UNDP-UNOPS. Field: Capacity Building.
  • 2003-2004: Training Officer, Cyprus Academy of Public Administration, Nicosia.
  • 1999-2000: External Research Associate, Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy, Athens.
  • 1990-92: Team Member of the Comparative Conflict Analysis Study Group, Centre for Conflict Resolution, Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, U.K.
  • 1985-87: Non Commissioned Officer, 26-month national service, UN Liaison Office, National Guard General Staff, Cyprus.
Awards And Honours
  • Scholarship by the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. Peace Center Burg Schlaining, Austria.
  • Doctor Honoris Causa appointment by the President of the Republic of Cyprus.
Memberships
  • Member, ACBSP-Accreditation Council For Business Schools & Programs, USA
  • Member, ECBE-European Council For Business Education, Switzerland
  • British International Studies Association (BISA)
  • Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA, Chatham House, London)
  • Japan Center for Middle East Studies (JaCMES, Beirut)
  • Indian Defence Studies and Analyses Institute (IDSA, New Delhi)
  • Centre for Security Studies (CBS-CSS, Belgrade)
Languages
  • Greek
  • English
  • French
  • Italian
Books (Monographs)
  • The ESDP in the Eastern Mediterranean: High Time for a Grand Strategy? (forthcoming 2011).
  • Cyprus: The Struggle for Self-Determination in the 1940s. Prelude to Deeper Crisis; Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 2002. (278 pp.)
Books (Co-authored)
  • Crossing Over Cyprus: Studies on the Divided Island in the Eastern Mediterranean with Nanako Murata & Yasushi Hazama, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), 2008. Contributed Chapter: The British Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) in Cyprus: The Uniqueness of a Colonial Remnant
  • Towards a Viable International Law of Secession for Autonomous Territories Co-authored with Dr. Vesselin Popovski, OIC, Peace & Governance Program, UNU (forthcoming 2011, UNU Press, Tokyo).
Chapters in Collective Volumes
  • 2006: Quo Vadis Kosovo? Quo Vadis Kypros? in Aleksandar Fatic (ed.) Issues in Serbian Politics (in Serbian), Institute of International Politics and Economics (IIPE), Belgrade, May 2006.
  • The Future of the ESDP in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Role of Cyprus in Europe and Complex Security Issues, K. Zukrowska (ed.), Instytut Wiedzy, Warsaw, 2005.
  • Cyprus Stays under UK Sovereignty: the Debate in the British Government, 1945-47, in Cyprus and Europe. The Long Way Back, Eds Vassilis K. Fouskas and Heinz A. Richter, Bibliopolis, Mannheim und Mohnesee, Germany, 2003, (pp. 23-32).
Articles in Academic Journals
  • Cyprus: The Fictitious ‘Atlantia’ of MILEX 05. The EU in a Self-Limiting Crisis Management Role? (Modern Greek Studies Yearbook 2010, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis)
  • 2006: Quo Vadis Kosovo? Quo Vadis Kypros? Self-Determination at the Crossroads Review of International Affairs, IIPE, Belgrade, Vol. LVI-LVII, No. 1120-1, Oct. 2005 – Mar. 2006.
  • Self-government – Enosis or Immediate Enosis …The Cyprus Review, Vol. 13, no.1, pp. 75-87, Spring 2001.
  • The Politics of the Cypriot Left in the Interwar Period: 1918-1940, Synthesis: Review of Modern Greek Studies, Vol. 2, no.1, pp.1-14, 1997, The Hellenic Observatory of the European Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
  • Political and Religious Divisions in Israeli Society and their Impact on the Peace Process, (in Greek) O Phileleftheros, seven instalments, April 1992.
Publications in Conference Proceedings
  • The Cyprus Question: In search of new paradigms of interpretation. Paper contributed: ESDP in the Mediterranean: Cyprus role in European security; Paralleli: Istituto Euromediterraneo Del Nord Ovest & Italian Center for Turkish Studies (ICTS), Torino, Italy, 28 March 2008.
  • 10th International Asian Security Conference. Paper contributed: Turkey, Cyprus, the U.K. and the E.U.: Security Dilemmas in the Near East, Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, India, February 2008.
  • 10th Annual Conference on Economics and Security Cyprus: Paper contributed: The Fictitious Island of MILEX 05. Testing Ground for an Autonomous EU Operation? City College – Affiliated Institution of the University of Sheffield & South East European Research Centre (SEERC), Thessaloniki, Greece, May 2007.
Online Publications
  • Beginning of the End of the British Bases in Cyprus? Jan 2010, www.Inter-Security-Forum.org
  • In Search for a Comprehensive Security Architecture. Is NATO the Answer? Dec 2009, www.Inter-Security-Forum.org
  • Nuclear Arms Control & The Quest for Bases April 2009, www.Inter-Security-Forum.org
  • Missile Defence April 2009, www.Inter-Security-Forum.org
  • Looking Ahead: What Role for Russia? April 2009, www.Inter-Security-Forum.org
  • Calls for a New US Approach to Russia April 2009, www.Inter-Security-Forum.org
  • Britain: A Global or Regional Power? Calls for Defence Review April 2009, www.Inter-Security-Forum.org
  • Turkey: Tough Challenges for AKP Despite Landslide Victory July 2007, www.atlantic-community.org/index/Open_Think_Tank_Article/Turkey:_Tough_Challenges_for_AKP_Despite_Landslide_Victory
International Guest Speaker
  • Navigating Through Troubled Waters: Security Dilemmas in the Eastern Mediterranean, Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA), Bratislava, 29 Oct 2009.
  • Another Attempt on Solving the Cyprus Imbroglio. Mission Possible or Impossible? Japanese Middle East Studies Center (JaCMES), Beirut, 15 Oct 2008.
  • Turkey, Cyprus, the UK and the EU: Security Dilemmas in the Near East, at the Asian Security in 21st Century Conference, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, India, 5-7 Feb 2008.
  • Cyprus 1945-2005: Sixty Years of Conflict, 21st Century COE Program, Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, 31 Oct 2006.
  • 9th Annual Conference on Divided Societies at the Inter-University Center (IUC), Dubrovnik, Croatia; and Sarajevo, Bosnia – Herzegovina, April – May 2006.
  • Seminar on Unravelling the European Security and Defence Policy Conundrum in the Eastern Mediterranean, at the New York University Skopje, FYR Macedonia; United Nations University (UNU) and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Jan – Feb 2006.
  • Seminar on Cyprus 1945-2005: Sixty Years of Protracted Conflict, IIPE, Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro, Jan. 2006; Meiji and Meiji-Gakuin University, Tokyo, May 2006.
  • Seminar on Security Issues in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Strategic Location of Cyprus at the Frankfurt Peace Research Institute (FPRI), Germany; Dept of History and Political Science, University of Salzburg, Austria; Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade, Serbia, July 2005.
  • Lectures on Cypriot-British Relations, La Trobe University & Hellenic Studies Institutes & Societies, Melbourne & Sydney, Australia, Aug – Sep 1999.
Participation In International Conferences
  • Future of Iraq: Social, Economic and Political Issues in Question, Japanese Center for Middle East Studies (JaCMES), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Beirut, 17 Jan 2010.
  • 34th British International Studies Association (BISA) Conference, University of Leicester, UK, 14-16 Dec 2009.
  • Nuclear Futures: What Would Nuclear Disarmament Look Like? ISODARCO (International School on Disarmament & Research on Conflicts), Andalo (Trento), Italy, 11-18 Jan 2009.
  • 6th Pan European International Relations Conference: Making Sense of a Pluralist World, Department of Political Studies, University of Torino, Italy, 12-15 Sep. 2007.
  • GLOCAL Media in Transition: The Case of South-Eastern Europe 1990-2007, 1st Skopje International Conference in Communication Studies, 8-10 March 2007.
  • Community Building in the Multi-ethnic Societies of the Western Balkans – from the Human Security point of view, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tokyo, 22 March 2006.
  • The Memory of Violence/Genocide: Its Meaning in the Process of Peace Building, University of Tokyo, 18 March 2006.
  • The War on Terror: Results and Costs from Europe to Asia, ISODARCO (International School on Disarmament & Research on Conflicts), Andalo (Trento), Italy, 8-15 Jan 2006.
  • 55th Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs – 60 Years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Japan, 22-27 July 2005.
  • Constructing Security in Europe after Madrid ISODARCO (International School on Disarmament & Research on Conflicts), Andalo (Trento), Italy, 9-16 January 2005.
  • Violence by Armed Non-State Groups and International Security ISODARCO, Andalo (Trento), Italy, 11-18 January 2004.
  • Nuclear Weapons in the New International Context: Hopes of Reductions, Risks of Proliferation, ISODARCO, Candriai (Trento), Italy, 16-26 June 2003.
  • The Surge in Non-State Violence: Roots, Impacts and Countermeasures, ISODARCO, Andalo (Trento), Italy, 9-16 February 2003.
  • Cyberwar, Netwar and the Revolution in Military Affairs: Real Threats and Virtual Myths, ISODARCO, Trento, Italy, 3-13 August 2002.
  • South-Eastern Europe: Internal Dynamics and External Intervention ISODARCO, 15th Winter Course, Andalo (Trento), Italy, 20-27 January 2002.
  • Global Climate Changes and Impact on Natural Resources. ISODARCO, 22nd summer course at Candriai (Trento), Italy. 20-29 June 2001.
  • From the Caucasus to the Atlas Mountains: Tensions on the Southern Flank of Europe. ISODARCO 14th winter course at Andalo (Trento), Italy. 21-28 January 2001.
  • Nuclear Weapons in a Vulnerable World. ISODARCO, 21st summer course, Rovereto, Italy. 9-18 August 2000.
  • Security in Greater Europe after Kosovo: Economic and Political Dimensions. ISODARCO 13th winter course, Andalo (Trento), Italy. 23-30 January 2000.
  • The Future Security Structure of Greater Europe. ISODARCO 12th winter course, Andalo (Trento), Italy. 24-31 January 1999.
  • Technology Transfer. ISODARCO 19th summer course, Candriai (Trento), Italy. 25 August – 3 September 1998.
  • Russia and its Western Neighbours. ISODARCO 11th winter course, Andalo (Trento) Italy. 25 January – 1 February 1998.
  • The European Union the Mediterranean Region. ELIAMEP (Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy), Halki International Seminars, Halki, Dodecanese, Greece. 11-16 September 1997.
  • From Moscow to New Delhi: a Spine of Crises. ISODARCO 10th winter course, Andalo (Trento). 26 January – 2 February 1997.
  • The Weapons Legacy of the Cold War: Technical Problems and Opportunities. ISODARCO 18th summer course, Certosa di Pontignano (Siena), Italy. 29 July – 8 August 1996.
  • Racism, Xenophobia and Ethnic Conflicts. ISODARCO 17th summer course, Certosa di Pontignano (Siena), Italy. 10-20 August 1995.
  • The Resurgence of Nationalism: Ethnic Conflict and International Security. ASEN (Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism); LSE, London. 21 March 1995.
  • The New Security Architecture in Europe: the Role of the NGOs in the cooperation between NATO members and members of the ‘Partnership for Peace’ Programme. International Symposium, Greek Association for the Atlantic & European Cooperation, Zappeion Megaron, Athens, 16-17 December 1994.