Mr Francisco Javier Montilla Aguilera

PhD candidate in International Relations at the University of Granada and Project Officer at the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies (FUNDEA), where he manages and conducts research within European-funded projects on security, foreign interference, disinformation, and the prevention of violent radicalisation. He holds Bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Public Administration and in Law, as well as an MA in Advanced International and European Studies from the University of Granada. He previously worked as a Research Intern in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the same university. His doctoral research examines foreign interference through disinformation as an instrument of power in International Relations, with a particular focus on its conceptualisation, its impact on democratic resilience and international security, and its links to hybrid threats and foreign influence operations. His broader research interests include international security, European security, China's foreign policy, and the role of international actors in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). He is also a member of the Secretariat of the Ideologies and Conspiracy Narratives Panel within the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation.