Fiona De Cuyper

Fiona De Cuyper is a Research Assistant at The Arctic Institute and contributes to the Institute’s flagship weekly publication, The Arctic This Week, where she is in charge of the ‘Extractive Industries’ section.

Originally from Bruges, Belgium, Fiona is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Diplomatic Studies at the University of Oxford. Previously, she worked at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DG EU Affairs), the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU, conducted a research project on peacebuilding in the Western Balkans for the OSCE, and interned at the Belgian Embassy to the Russian Federation in Moscow (which is also accredited to Belarus, Armenia and Uzbekistan).

Recently, Fiona joined the Fresh Look at Eastern European Trends (FLEET)-Network at the Friedrich Ebert Stiftungs’ Regional Office for Cooperation and Peace in Europe to work on the future of East-West engagement. In addition, she joined the steering committee of the Oxford Network of Peace Studies and helps organise the annual OxPeace Conference. Fiona also serves as the Deputy Editor in Chief of European Studies Review (ISSN 2953-0377), Europe Regional Editor for the Oxford Diplomatic Dispatch, and Newsletter Co-Editor at Lossi 36 (an NGO focused on CEE, Russia, the Balkans, Baltics, and Central Asia).

Fiona has written articles on several topics, including the EU’s Arctic policy, the EU’s Russia policy, EU-Japan strategic cooperation, NATO in the Asia-Pacific, and EU foreign policy. Currently, she is writing about the influence of non-Arctic states on Arctic governance. Her research interests include polar geopolitics and geo-economics, disarmament, peacebuilding, EU-Russia relations, and the Eastern Neighbourhood. Fiona holds an LL.M in International and European Law, an MSc in European and International Governance, and a BSc in Social Sciences from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University.