Susana Ferreira holds a PhD in International Relations and International Security from the NOVA University of Lisbon and the Instituto Universitario General Gutiérrez Mellado. She is a researcher with the Instituto Português de Relações Internacionais (IPRI), NOVA University and the Centro de Investigação de Segurança e Defesa do IUM (CISDI). She has been a visiting scholar at the Instituto Universitario General Gutiérrez Mellado and at the Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University.