# Antonios Nestoras

Antonios Nestoras is a Greek academic, policy expert, Deputy Executive Director of the European Liberal Forum (ELF) and Funding Director of the European Policy Innovation Council. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Future Europe Journal. He is known for his work in geopolitics, European integration, and policy advocacy, as well as his contributions to academia and think tank activities within the European Union.

## Academic career

Antonios Nestoras completed his undergraduate studies in Greece before pursuing graduate education in the Netherlands, where he was awarded the Huygens Scholarship for International Talent at Leiden University. He later earned a double doctoral degree in Social and Political Sciences from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the University of Antwerp (UA). His doctoral thesis, "Belonging to the West? Geopolitical Mythmaking in Modern Greece from the Enlightenment to the Euro-crisis," introduced the concept of Analytic Geopolitics, a historical-structural approach for analyzing geopolitical myths. The dissertation explored Greece's geopolitical alignment with Europe and the West, blending political myth and international relations theories.
Dr. Nestoras is an adjunct professor at the Brussels School of Governance at VUB, where he teaches geopolitics and technopolitics. His academic work focuses on international relations, European integration, and political myth. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and think-tank reports, contributing to the understanding of Greece’s geopolitical behavior and broader EU policy challenges.

## Professional career

As Deputy Executive Director of ELF, Dr. Nestoras oversees initiatives aimed at bridging the gap between academic research and policy-making, fostering dialogue among stakeholders, and advocating for liberal values across Europe. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Future Europe Journal and curates the Liberal Reads podcast, focusing on liberal perspectives on pressing European issues. He is a frequent speaker and contributor to discussions on the EU's geopolitical challenges, including relations with the Western Balkans. He has spoken about the EU's enlargement process, advocating for staged integration as a pragmatic approach to integrating Western Balkan countries. In an interview during a visit to Serbia, he emphasised the importance of Serbia’s leadership in the European integration process and addressed challenges such as geopolitical competition from Russia and China.
In 2024, Dr. Nestoras was a candidate in the European Parliament elections, representing the Democrats (DIMOKRATES) party. During the campaign, he emphasised the importance of EU defence and security in a volatile geopolitical environment, advocating for the EU's strategic autonomy and enhanced integration processes.
In 2024 he co-funded the European Policy Innovation Council, a think tank focused on tackling Europe’s most pressing challenges in innovative ways such as digital storytelling, research-driven events, and influencer partnerships.

### Books

Dr. Nestoras is the author of Belonging to the West: Geopolitical Myths and Identity in Modern Greece (2024), published as part of the Geopolitics and International Relations series. The book examines Greece’s enduring quest for European belonging and introduces Analytical Geopolitics as a new framework for understanding international relations.
He also authored the chapter "The View from Europe’s Borders: Greece and the CSDP as a Security Provider" in the book The Common Security and Defence Policy: National Perspectives (2015), edited by Daniel Fiott and others. The book explores various national perspectives on the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).