Dr. Linde Desmaele is an Assistant Professor of Intelligence and Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) at Leiden University. Her work sits at the intersection of international relations and security studies, with a focus on nuclear politics, US alliances and European security. Before joining Leiden University, Linde held fellowships at MIT and Columbia University. She holds a PhD from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where her dissertation earned the 2022 Global Strategy PhD Prize. She is committed to bridging academic research and policymaking through active engagement in practitioner-academic discussions. At Leiden University, Linde also contributes to the MSc in Crisis and Security Management and the BSc in Security Studies.

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Dr. Linde Desmaele is Assistant Professor of Intelligence and Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) at Leiden University. Her work sits at the intersection of international relations and security studies, with a focus on nuclear politics, US alliances and European security. She is also engaged in the development of realist theory.

Her first book, Europe’s Evolving Role in US Grand Strategy: Indispensable or Insufferable? (Routledge, 2023), examines Europe’s shifting role in US strategic thinking as Washington seeks to focus on the Middle East and East Asia. Her research has been featured in several peer-reviewed academic journals, including European Security, International Politics, Journal of Strategic Studies, Survival, Strategic Studies Quarterly and International Studies Review.

Prior to joining Leiden University, Linde was a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the MIT Security Studies Program and a Belgian-American Educational Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University. She is also part of the 2024 cohort of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Nuclear Scholars Initiative.

Linde holds a PhD from the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Her dissertation received the 2022 Global Strategy PhD Prize, jointly awarded by the European Security and Defence College (European External Action Service) and the Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations. She also completed the 15th cycle of the High Studies Security and Defense program at the Belgian Royal Military Academy. In addition, she holds M.A. degrees from Seoul National University’s Graduate School of International Studies and KU Leuven.

Committed to connecting academic research and policymaking, Linde regularly participates in practitioner-academic discussions and public seminars. At Leiden University, she contributes to the MSc in Crisis and Security Management and the BSc in Security Studies.

Publications