Sophia Kalantzakos is Global Distinguished Professor in Environmental Studies and Public Policy at New York University. Kalantzakos takes a strong interdisciplinary approach to transformations in the Anthropocene and their geopolitical repercussions. Calling on her prior experience as a member of the Hellenic Parliament and a government minister with substantial international experience in EU policies and NATO, she focuses on challenges that are reshaping international politics across the globe such as cross-border mobility and forced migration, resource competition, and global environmental governance. Since moving to NYU she has made regular appearances on Bloomberg, CNN, and Fox as a political commentator on Greece, Europe, China, environmental issues, and rare earths. During her political career, she was an active contributor of op-ed pieces in the Greek press and in the wider European press. Her courses reflect a strong focus on gender and diversity in the realm of public policy. At present, Kalantzakos is leading the Environmental Humanities Research Initiative at NYUAD, which is committed to fostering environmental dialogue across disciplines.
RCC Research Project: Djibouti: The Transformative Power of Geography
Former Research Project: EU-China: New Partnerships for the Anthropocene
Selected Publications:
- China and the Geopolitics of Rare Earths. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.
- The EU, US, and China Tackling Climate Change: Policies and Alliances for the Anthropocene. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2018. See esp. chap. 4, “What Makes EU-China Collaboration a Better Fit for the Anthropocene?”
- with Asteris Huliaras. “The Gulf States and the Horn of Africa: A New Hinterland?” Middle East Policy XXIV, no. 4 (Winter 2017): 63–73.
- “River Rights and the Rights of Rivers: The Case of Acheloos.” In Can Nature Have Rights? Legal and Political Insights, edited by María Valeria Berros and Anna Leah Tabios Hillebrecht. RCC Perspectives: Transformations in Environment and Society no. 6 (2017): 45–51.
- “A Paradox in Today's Europe: Greece's Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis.” The Jean Monnet Papers on Political Economy 15 (2017).
- with Asteris Huliaras. “Looking for an Oasis of Support: Greece and the Gulf States.” In Foreign Policy Under Austerity, edited by Spyridon N. Litsas and Aristotle Tziampiris, 49–76. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.