Dario Cristiani

Dario Cristiani is a Senior Visiting Researcher at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at King’s College London and an Associate Senior Researcher at Istituto Affari Internazionali in Rome. From 2019 to 2025, he was Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS) in Washington D.C., working on Italian foreign policy, Mediterranean Security, Terrorism, and Global Politics. He is also a political risk consultant working with businesses operating in Mediterranean markets. Previously, he was a Visiting Researcher at the International Centre for Policing and Security at the University of South Wales in Pontypridd (UK) (2018/2020) and the director of the Executive Training in Global Risk Analysis and Crisis Management, (GRACM) and adjunct professor in International Affairs and Conflict Studies at Vesalius College (VUB) in Brussels (2014/2018). He received his Ph.D. in Middle East & Mediterranean Studies from King’s College London in 2015.

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    Articles by Dario Cristiani

    Italy’s Approach to Georgia Stirs Controversy

    Executive Summary: Italy’s increased bilateral engagement with the Georgian Dream government sharply contrasts with broader EU skepticism toward Tbilisi’s democratic backsliding. Rome’s approach is shaped by historical, cordial ties with

    Italy and Kazakhstan Work to Broaden Ties Beyond Energy

    Executive Summary:  Kazakh and Italian officials met in March to underscore their healthy bilateral relations and discuss increasing economic and trade cooperation. Kazakhstan and Italy’s strategic economic partnership gives the

    Italy Builds Closer Ties to Uzbekistan

    On April 26, 2023, Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto visited Uzbekistan. He first met with the Minister of Defense, General Bakhodir Kurbanov, and the President’s Special Representative for Foreign

    Jihadist Violence Grows in Benin

    On January 8, voters in Benin went to the polls to select the new Parliament. The overall turnout was not particularly high at 38.66 percent, but it was still higher

    Libya: Militants Assassinate Mayor of Misrata

    On December 17, 2017, Mohamed Eshtewi, the mayor of Misrata, was kidnapped and killed on his way home from the Misrata airport after returning from an official trip to Istanbul.

    Islamic State Reorganizes in Libya

    In August 2017, months after the group was pushed out of its former Libyan stronghold of Sirte, the Islamic State (IS) made a comeback in Libya. Reorganizing in a number

    Saharan Jihadist Leaders Establish New Alliance

    As the Islamic State loses ground in Iraq and Syria and its regional offshoots also weaken, al-Qaeda’s affiliates are regaining momentum. In Syria, the al-Qaeda affiliate group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

    AQIM’s Resurgence: Responding to Islamic State

    AQIM’s Resurgence: Responding to Islamic State Jacob Zenn and Dario Cristiani Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its allied militant groups have undergone something of an operational revival since

    Algeria’s Response to the Revolt in Libya

    African support for military intervention in Libya against Colonel Qaddafi has been far cooler than that displayed by the United States and Europe (see Terrorism Monitor, April 14). Among the